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Meaning of "torch song" in the English dictionary

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DICTIONARY
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ETYMOLOGY OF THE WORD TORCH SONG

From the phrase to carry a torch for ( someone).
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Etymology is the study of the origin of words and their changes in structure and significance.
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PRONUNCIATION OF TORCH SONG

torch song play
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GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF TORCH SONG

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
Torch song is a noun.
A noun is a type of word the meaning of which determines reality. Nouns provide the names for all things: people, objects, sensations, feelings, etc.

WHAT DOES TORCH SONG MEAN IN ENGLISH?

Torch song

A torch song is a sentimental love song, typically one in which the singer laments an unrequited or lost love, either where one party is oblivious to the existence of the other, where one party has moved on, or where a romantic affair has affected the relationship. The term comes from the saying, "to carry a torch for someone", or to keep aflame the light of an unrequited love. Tommy Lyman started the use in his praise of My Melancholy Baby. Torch singing is more of a niche than a genre, and can stray from the traditional jazz-influenced style of singing, although the American tradition of the torch song typically relies upon the melodic structure of the blues. Some examples of torch songs are "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man", "Lili Marlene", "One for My Baby", "Cry Me a River", "The Man That Got Away", "Ne me quitte pas" and "Here's That Rainy Day", "By the Time I Get to Phoenix", "One Less Bell to Answer", "Losing My Mind", "And I Am Telling You", "I Will Always Love You" and "You're Beautiful".

Definition of torch song in the English dictionary

The definition of torch song in the dictionary is a sentimental or romantic popular song, usually sung by a woman.

WORDS THAT BEGIN LIKE TORCH SONG

toran
torbanite
Torbay
torbernite
torc
torch
torch singer
torchable
torchbearer
torcher
torchier
torchiere
torchlight
torchlike
torchlit
torchon lace
torchwood
torchy
torcular

WORDS THAT END LIKE TORCH SONG

birdsong
drinking song
evensong
folk song
for a song
gospel song
love song
marching song
on song
part song
patter song
plainsong
pop song
prick song
school song
singsong
siren song
song
swan song
theme song

Synonyms and antonyms of torch song in the English dictionary of synonyms

SYNONYMS

Translation of «torch song» into 25 languages

TRANSLATOR
online translator

TRANSLATION OF TORCH SONG

Find out the translation of torch song to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.
The translations of torch song from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «torch song» in English.

Translator English - Chinese

火炬歌
1,325 millions of speakers

Translator English - Spanish

canción de la antorcha
570 millions of speakers

English

torch song
510 millions of speakers

Translator English - Hindi

मशाल गीत
380 millions of speakers
ar

Translator English - Arabic

الشعلة أغنية
280 millions of speakers

Translator English - Russian

песня факел
278 millions of speakers

Translator English - Portuguese

torch Song
270 millions of speakers

Translator English - Bengali

মশাল গান
260 millions of speakers

Translator English - French

Torch Song
220 millions of speakers

Translator English - Malay

Lagu obor
190 millions of speakers

Translator English - German

Torch Song
180 millions of speakers

Translator English - Japanese

トーチソング
130 millions of speakers

Translator English - Korean

토치 노래
85 millions of speakers

Translator English - Javanese

Torch song
85 millions of speakers
vi

Translator English - Vietnamese

ngọn đuốc bài hát
80 millions of speakers

Translator English - Tamil

ஜோதி பாடல்
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Marathi

मशाल गाणे
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Turkish

Meşale şarkısı
70 millions of speakers

Translator English - Italian

torch song
65 millions of speakers

Translator English - Polish

piosenka pochodnia
50 millions of speakers

Translator English - Ukrainian

пісня факел
40 millions of speakers

Translator English - Romanian

cântec torță
30 millions of speakers
el

Translator English - Greek

φακό τραγούδι
15 millions of speakers
af

Translator English - Afrikaans

fakkel lied
14 millions of speakers
sv

Translator English - Swedish

fackla sång
10 millions of speakers
no

Translator English - Norwegian

lommelykt sang
5 millions of speakers

Trends of use of torch song

TRENDS

TENDENCIES OF USE OF THE TERM «TORCH SONG»

The term «torch song» is regularly used and occupies the 69.680 position in our list of most widely used terms in the English dictionary.
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100%
FREQUENCY
Regularly used
68
/100
The map shown above gives the frequency of use of the term «torch song» in the different countries.
Principal search tendencies and common uses of torch song
List of principal searches undertaken by users to access our English online dictionary and most widely used expressions with the word «torch song».

FREQUENCY OF USE OF THE TERM «TORCH SONG» OVER TIME

The graph expresses the annual evolution of the frequency of use of the word «torch song» during the past 500 years. Its implementation is based on analysing how often the term «torch song» appears in digitalised printed sources in English between the year 1500 and the present day.

Examples of use in the English literature, quotes and news about torch song

EXAMPLES

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «TORCH SONG»

Discover the use of torch song in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to torch song and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.
1
"Torch Song Trilogy" The Movie
Press kit includes 2 pamphlets and 6 photographs.
Anne Bancroft, Harvey Fierstein, Matthew Broderick, 1988
2
Elvis Costello, Joni Mitchell, and the Torch Song Tradition
Author Larry David Smith, as in his Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, and American Song, considers the complicated intersection of biography, creative philosophy, artistic imperative, and stylistic tendencies in the work of both Joni Mitchell ...
Larry David Smith, 2004
3
Torch Song Tango Choir
Paegle takes us through the tumult of displacement and migration with a strong sense for the folk songs and tango music of her youth. What emerges from this diverse collection is a sensual and allusive space where music and memory coincide.
Julie Sophia Paegle, 2010
4
Torch Song Trilogy
Characters: 4 male, 2 female Tony Award Winner, Best Play 1983 Includes: The International Stud, Fugue in a Nursery, Widows and Children First!
Harvey Fierstein, 1979
5
Torch Song
When 1920s bootlegger and night-club owner Nick Marvel is transported to the 1990s, he finds himself face-to-face with troubled history professor Toss DuLauriers, whose feelings for Nick are threatened by the past. Original.
Valerie Kirkwood, 1996
6
Touchstone Anthology of Contemporary Creative Nonfiction: ...
... town and were part of a strip of unhappy inns left to die after the interstate lanced Tucson's flank. When I was twelve this belt still flourished, and my first night in this city was spent in a neighboring motel with 56 Charles Bowden Torch Song.
Lex Williford, Michael Martone, 2007
7
With the Snow Queen
... how good we felt, so we toasted ourselves, the snow, and the day. We had all been on hand in 1984, cheering the Olympic torch as it came through on its way to the Summer Games in Los Angeles. The whole town of Aureole 299 Torch Song.
Joanne Greenberg, 1991
8
Jews, Race and Popular Music
As we saw in Chapter 1 , developing as a popular genre among urban white audiences, the torch song's topic and ballad form allowed for a vocal expressiveness that linked it with the blues song as sung by African-American women like Ma ...
Jon Stratton, 2009
9
The Jazz Age: Popular Music in the 1920's
Alec Wilder names Clarence Williams's "I Ain't Got Nobody," published in 1915, as the number with which "the torch song had arrived to stay."18 He next singles out Raymond Hubbell's "Poor Butterfly" — surely a torcher even if it takes a ...
Arnold Shaw, 1987
10
The Musical as Drama: A Study of the Principles and ...
The torch song like "The Man I Love" that gets out of its show and becomes a standard makes people hum along, or dance — hum the misery, dance the anguish. Some may think travesty misses the tone of such performed anguish. I do not ...
Scott McMillin, 2006

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «TORCH SONG»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term torch song is used in the context of the following news items.
1
Fiona Apple's “Criminal” Gets a Bluesy, Brilliant Makeover as a …
But as usual, the folks of Postmodern Jukebox find a way: Their cover transmutes the tune into a sultry, '40s-era torch song, gilding Apple's melody with lots of ... «Slate Magazine, Jul 15»
2
Stage Views: An American in Paris' Brandon Uranowitz On Torch
Stage Views: An American in Paris' Brandon Uranowitz On Torch Song Trilogy, Hand to God and Sydney Lucas. By Andrew Gans 13 Jun 2015 ... «Playbill.com, Jun 15»
3
Interview: Elaine C Smith on new theatre show Torch Song Divas
But now the lady from Lanarkshire is taking song performance onto another level ... "And we've come up with this idea which we're calling Torch Song Divas. «Glasgow Evening Times, Jun 15»
4
Vintage Torch Songs for Your Summer Crush
Today marks the birthday of the “Lady of Song,” Ella Fitzgerald. Famous for her silky voice and successful jazz standards, Fitzgerald knew how to bring tears to ... «Flavorwire, Apr 15»
5
Premiere: Kelly Clarkson Delivers On The Torch Song Front With …
The torch song, which Clarkson co-wrote with Greg Kurstin, is much less upbeat than previous releases like “Heartbeat Song” and “Let Your Tears Fall,” but it ... «MTV.com, Feb 15»
6
Nikki Lane's 'FaLaLaLaLove Ya' a hot Christmas torch song
Nikki Lane, "FaLaLaLaLove Ya," (New West Records). It's good to toss on hot Christmas songs early in the season, before repetition burns off their energy. «Los Angeles Times, Dec 14»
7
Torch Song
"You say you'll cut your bangs/I'm calling your bluff" – what the hell kind of breakup song is that? The kind that could only come from Radiator Hospital. «RollingStone.com, Sep 14»
8
Britney Spears' “Womanizer” Sounds Better as a Sultry '40s Torch
... and their latest—an impressive cover of Britney Spears' “Womanizer,” done in the style of a '40s torch song—doesn't disappoint. To my ear, the song sounds ... «Slate Magazine, Jul 14»
9
Radiator Hospital releasing a new LP, 'Torch Song' ft. members of …
Radiator Hospital had one of 2013's most excellent relatively-overlooked albums with their full-band debut Something Wild, and they're now following it with ... «Brooklyn Vegan, Jul 14»
10
Judy Garland and the Oscar fuck-up of 1954
Grammatical nitpicking at that title aside, I unabashedly adore this tune and consider it the quintessential torch song. It's one of the first musical numbers of the ... «A.V. Club Milwaukee, Jun 14»

REFERENCE
« EDUCALINGO. Torch song [online]. Available <https://educalingo.com/en/dic-en/torch-song>. Apr 2024 ».
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