There is an intrinsic paradox to My Way being the pop song most commonly chosen as a funeral anthem by British people. Death is a solemn business and one shouldn't mock what is, for most of us, so distressing that thinking straight is difficult. But if the deceased really went through life doing everything 'their' way, why choose, for their farewell, the same musical tribute as all the others?
And did it my way [Verse 4] I've loved, I've laughed and cried I've had my fill, my share of losing And now, as tears subside I find it all so amusing To think I did all that And may I say, not in.
Although the song is indelibly associated with Frank Sinatra and Shirley Bassey, the lyrics were composed by another singer-songwriter, Paul Anka. Those as close as I am to choosing their last song will recall Anka bursting onto the scene, aged 16, in 1957 with his No 1 hit, Diana. Its lyrics were of a feebleness which, to my ear, is still unrivalled:
'I'm so young and you're so old
This, my darling I've been told
I don't care just what they say
'Cause forever I will pray
You and I will be as free
As the birds up in the trees
Oh, please, stay by me, Diana.'
Ten years later the still youthful Anka adapted French hit Comme d'Habitude ('Like I Always Do'), which in turn was translated from an original English song For Me. He did it, said Anka, 'for Frank'. Apparently Ol' Blue Eyes was accompanied by 'two mob guys' when the transaction happened. Offers beyond refusal, etc.
The 26-year-old Anka had undoubtedly made progress as a lyricist but My Way remains a ditty of ineffable banality. The rhymes come in like sledgehammer blows to the skull:
'And now the end is near
So I face the final curtain
My friend, I'll say it clear
I'll state my case of which I'm certain'
The 'case' (is he in court?) includes such declarations as:
'Yes, there were times, I'm sure you know
When I bit off more than I could chew
But through it all when there was doubt
I ate it up and spit it out
I faced it all and I stood tall
And did it my way'
It's not clear to me, at least, what all this gobbling and spitting (surely 'spat', by the way) is about. How can you 'eat' something (ie swallow it) and then 'spit' it out. Surely it should be 'puked it out'. Myself I think I would replace this stanza with the Sid Vicious rewrite:
'There were times, I'm sure you knew
When there was fuck fuck fuck-all else to do
But through it all, when there was doubt
I shot it up or kicked it out
I faced the wall and the world
And did it my way'
Unlovely, I know, and not suitable for every church in the land, but it makes a lot more sense.
In 1967, when he recorded it, Sinatra (standing tall at 5ft 7in in his elevated shoes) was, aged 51, some 31 years short of his final curtain. At that funeral ceremony the attendees were serenaded with a thunderous version, by Frank himself, of Put Your Dreams Away:
'Put your dreams away for another day
And I will take their place in your heart
Wishing on a star never got you far
And so it's time to make a new start'
![Song Song](http://www.traditionalmusic.co.uk/rock-and-pop-songs-with-chords/png/My_Way-Elvis_Presley.png)
As one of the mourners later recalled: 'You could hear everyone gasp … 'Aaaah.' … It was like he rose up on the edge of the coffin; like he was saying, 'Hey, check this out!' One is reminded of the old Hollywood joke: 'I went to his funeral to make sure the old bastard was really dead.' So he was. But 'the Voice' (as Sinatra was nicknamed) lives on and will do, it seems, as long as people keep dying.
'My Way' | |
---|---|
Single by Frank Sinatra | |
from the album My Way | |
B-side | 'Blue Lace' |
Released | 1969 |
Recorded | December 30, 1968, Los Angeles |
Genre | Traditional pop |
Length | 4:35 |
Label | Reprise |
Songwriter(s) | Claude François and Jacques Revaux; English lyrics by Paul Anka |
Producer(s) | Sonny Burke |
'My Way' is a song popularized in 1969 by Frank Sinatra. Its lyrics were written by Paul Anka and set to the music of the French song 'Comme d'habitude' co-composed and co-written (with Jacques Revaux), and performed in 1967 by Claude François. Anka's English lyrics are unrelated to the original French song. The song was a success for a variety of performers including Sinatra, Elvis Presley, and Sid Vicious. Sinatra's version of 'My Way' spent 75 weeks in the UK Top 40, a record which still stands.
- 4Versions
- 4.2Elvis Presley
Background[edit]
Paul Anka heard the original 1967 French pop song, Comme d'habitude (As Usual) performed by Claude François, while on holiday in the south of France. He flew to Paris to negotiate the rights to the song.[1] In a 2007 interview, he said, 'I thought it was a shitty record, but there was something in it.'[2] He acquired adaptation, recording, and publishing rights for the mere nominal, but formal, consideration of one dollar,[3] subject to the provision that the melody's composers would retain their original share of royalty rights with respect to whatever versions Anka or his designates created or produced.[4] Some time later, Anka had a dinner in Florida with Frank Sinatra and 'a couple of Mob guys' during which Sinatra said 'I'm quitting the business. I'm sick of it; I'm getting the hell out.'[2]
Back in New York, Anka re-wrote the original French song for Sinatra, subtly altering the melodic structure and changing the lyrics:
'At one o'clock in the morning, I sat down at an old IBM electric typewriter and said, 'If Frank were writing this, what would he say?' And I started, metaphorically, 'And now the end is near.' I read a lot of periodicals, and I noticed everything was 'my this' and 'my that'. We were in the 'me generation' and Frank became the guy for me to use to say that. I used words I would never use: 'I ate it up and spit it out.' But that's the way he talked. I used to be around steam rooms with the Rat Pack guys – they liked to talk like Mob guys, even though they would have been scared of their own shadows.'
Anka finished the song at 5 in the morning. 'I called Frank up in Nevada – he was at Caesar's Palace – and said, 'I've got something really special for you.''[2] Anka claimed, 'When my record company caught wind of it, they were very pissed that I didn't keep it for myself. I said, 'Hey, I can write it, but I'm not the guy to sing it.' It was for Frank, no one else.'[2] Despite this, Anka would later record the song in 1969 (very shortly after Sinatra's recording was released). Anka recorded it four other times as well: in 1996 (as a duet with Gabriel Byrne, performed in the movie Mad Dog Time), in 1998 in Spanish as 'A Mi Manera' (duet with Julio Iglesias), in 2007 (as a duet with Jon Bon Jovi)[5] and in 2013 (as a duet with Garou).[6]
A few hours before going to celebrate New Year's Eve at the Casino SANDS, Frank Sinatra recorded his version of the song on December 30, 1968, which was released in early 1969 on the ‘’My Way’’ LP and as a single. It reached No. 27 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and No. 2 on the Easy Listening chart in the US. In the UK, the single achieved a still unmatched record, becoming the recording with the most weeks inside the Top 40, spending 75 weeks from April 1969 to September 1971. It spent a further 49 weeks in the Top 75 but never bettered the No. 5 slot achieved upon its first chart run.[7]
Although this work became Frank Sinatra's signature song, his daughter Tina says the singer came to hate the song. 'He didn't like it. That song stuck and he couldn't get it off his shoe. He always thought that song was self-serving and self-indulgent.'[8]
Charts[edit]
Chart (1969) | Peak position |
---|---|
Canada RPM Top Singles[9] | 28 |
Canada RPM Adult Contemporary[10] | 2 |
Ireland (IRMA)[11] | 4 |
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[12] | 5 |
US BillboardHot 100[13] | 27 |
US BillboardAdult Contemporary | 2 |
US Cash Box Top 100[14] | 29 |
Certifications[edit]
Region | Certification | Certified units/Sales |
---|---|---|
Italy (FIMI)[15] | Gold | 25,000* |
United Kingdom (BPI)[17] | Silver | 991,563[16] |
*sales figures based on certification alone |
Versions[edit]
Dorothy Squires[edit]
In the midst of Sinatra's multiple runs on the UK Singles Chart, Welsh singer Dorothy Squires also released a rendition of 'My Way' in Summer 1970. Her recording reached number 25 on the UK Singles Chart and re-entered the chart twice more during that year.
Elvis Presley[edit]
'My Way' | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Elvis Presley | ||||
from the album Elvis in Concert | ||||
B-side | 'America' | |||
Released | October 3, 1977 | |||
Format | 7' single | |||
Recorded | June 21, 1977 | |||
Genre | Pop | |||
Length | 3:51 | |||
Label | RCA Records | |||
Songwriter(s) | Paul Anka and Claude François | |||
Elvis Presley singles chronology | ||||
|
Elvis Presley began performing the song in concert during the mid-1970s, despite Anka's suggestions that the song did not suit him. Nevertheless, on January 12 and 14, 1973, Presley sang the song during his satellite show Aloha from Hawaii Via Satellite, beamed live and on deferred basis (for European audiences, who also saw it in prime time), to 43 countries via Intelsat.
On October 3, 1977, several weeks after Presley's death, his live recording of 'My Way' (recorded for the Elvis In Concert CBS-TV special on June 21, 1977) was released as a single. In the U.S., it reached number 22 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart in late-1977/early-1978 (higher than Frank Sinatra's peak position), number 6 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, and went Gold for its successful sales of over a million copies. The following year the single reached number 2 on the BillboardCountry singles chart but went all the way to number 1 on the rival Cash Box Country Singles chart. In the UK, it reached number 9 on the UK Singles Chart.
Certifications[edit]
Region | Certification | Certified units/Sales |
---|---|---|
Canada (Music Canada)[18] | Platinum | 150,000^ |
United Kingdom (BPI)[19] | Silver | 250,000^ |
United States (RIAA)[20] | Gold | 1,000,000^ |
^shipments figures based on certification alone |
Sid Vicious[edit]
'My Way' | |
---|---|
Single by Sid Vicious | |
from the album The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle | |
Released | 1978 |
Recorded | January–August 1978 |
Genre | Punk rock |
Length | 4:06 |
Label | Virgin Records |
Songwriter(s) | Paul Anka, Sid Vicious (A few lines) |
Producer(s) | Bill Price, Simon Jeffes |
Sex Pistols' bassist Sid Vicious did a punk rock version of the song, in which a large body of the words were changed and the arrangement was sped up. The orchestral backing was arranged by Simon Jeffes.
Interviewed in 2007, Paul Anka said he had been 'somewhat destabilized by the Sex Pistols' version. It was kind of curious, but I felt he (Sid Vicious) was sincere about it.'[2]
Vicious and his girlfriend, Nancy Spungen, changed many of the words when it was recorded, including use of the swear words 'cunt' and 'fuck' as well as the word 'queer' (slang for a gay man). Vicious' reference to a 'prat who wears hats' was an in-joke directed towards Vicious' friend and Sex Pistols bandmate Johnny Rotten, who was fond of wearing different kinds of hats he would pick up at rummage sales.
An edited version of Vicious's cover is played during the closing credits of the films Goodfellas and Juan of the Dead.
In her album The End, released in conjunction with the film Nana 2, singer and actress Mika Nakashima performs a cover of Vicious' version of the song with what sounds like an audience singing background vocals.
Public use[edit]
The song is popularly associated with nostalgia to an individual's lifetime of events. [21] As a result, 'My Way' is the song most frequently played at funeral services in the UK.[22] 'My Way' is also a popular karaoke song around the world. However, it has been reported to cause numerous incidents of violence and homicides among drunkards in bars in the Philippines, referred to in the media as the 'My Way killings'.[23][24]
References[edit]
- ^'How Sinatra did it My Way - via a French pop star and a Canadian lounge act'. the Guardian.
- ^ abcdeMcCormick, Neil (November 8, 2007). 'Paul Anka: One song the Sex Pistols won't be singing'. The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
- ^Paul Anka, 'With Paul Anka, 'Rock Swings', Part Two', interviewed on Fresh Air, WHYY, August 10, 2005
- ^The rights holders including Jacques Revaux and Claude François' heirs sold it to Xavier Niel in 2009
- ^'Classic Songs, My Way'.
- ^Forever_Gentlemen
- ^'Record-Breakers and Trivia - everyHit.com'.
- ^'Sinatra 'loathed' My Way'. BBC. October 30, 2000. Retrieved June 20, 2016.
- ^'Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada'. Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved January 21, 2016.
- ^'Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada'. Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved January 21, 2017.
- ^'The Irish Charts – Search Results – My Way'. Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
- ^'Official Singles Chart Top 100'. Official Charts Company.
- ^Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990 - ISBN0-89820-089-X
- ^Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, May 17, 1969
- ^'Italian single certifications – Frank Sinatra – My Way' (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved June 25, 2013. Select '2013' in the 'Anno' drop-down menu. Select 'My Way' in the 'Filtra' field. Select 'Singoli online' under 'Sezione'.
- ^Copsey, Rob (September 19, 2017). 'The UK's Official Chart 'millionaires' revealed'. Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 19, 2017.
- ^'British single certifications – Frank Sinatra – My Way'. British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved June 25, 2013.Select singles in the Format field.Select Silver in the Certification field.Type My Way in the 'Search BPI Awards' field and then press Enter.
- ^'Canadian single certifications – Elvis Presley – My Way'. Music Canada.
- ^'British single certifications – Elvis Presley – My Way'. British Phonographic Industry.Select singles in the Format field.Select Silver in the Certification field.Type My Way in the 'Search BPI Awards' field and then press Enter.
- ^'American single certifications – Elvis Presley – My Way'. Recording Industry Association of America.If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH.
- ^https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/dec/10/frank-sinatra-songs-for-young-lovers-and-other-capitol-reissues
- ^My Way tops funeral charts – An article in The Guardian
- ^Utton, Dominic (March 28, 2009). 'My Way: The story behind the song'. Daily Express. London: Northern and Shell Media Publications. Retrieved July 11, 2009.
'Meanwhile in the Philippines My Way is so popular at karaoke bars that it has been declared responsible for a number of deaths after arguments over performances degenerated into violence – a social phenomenon referred to by the Philippine media as 'My Way killings'.'
- ^Onishi, Norimitsu (February 6, 2010). 'Sinatra Song Often Strikes Deadly Chord'. The New York Times. Retrieved February 9, 2009.
'Whatever the reason, many karaoke bars have removed the song from their playbooks. And the country's many Sinatra lovers... are practicing self-censorship out of perceived self-preservation.'
External links[edit]
- Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics
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