God Bless the Child (Billie Holiday song)


"God Bless the Child" is a song written by Billie Holiday and Arthur Herzog Jr. in 1939. It was first recorded on May 9, 1941 and released by the Okeh Records in 1942.
Holiday's version of the song was honored with the Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 1976. It was also included in the list of Songs of the Century, by the Recording Industry Association of America and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Recording session

Session #44: 799 Seventh Avenue, New York City, May 9, 1941, Eddie Heywood and his Orchestra with Roy Eldridge, Jimmy Powell and Lester Boone, Ernie Powell, Eddie Heywood, Johan Robins, Paul Chapman, Grachan Moncur II, Herbert Cowans, Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday recorded the song again in 1956 and it was included in her album Lady Sings the Blues''.
Many other artists have also recorded the song,

Origin and interpretation

In her autobiography Lady Sings the Blues Holiday indicated that an argument with her mother over money led to the song. She stated that during the argument her mother said "God bless the child that's got his own." The anger over the incident led her to use that line as the starting point for a song, which she worked out in conjunction with Herzog.
In his 1990 book Jazz Singing, Will Friedwald describes the song as "sacred and profane," as it references the Bible while indicating that religion seems to have no effect in making people treat each other better.