This week lyrical Tuesday honors Frank Sinatra on his 100th birthday.
Most of you don’t know that this amazing song was actually the remake of a french song called ” comme d’habitude ” by claude françois. the original words were about the end of a love affair.
Paul Anka, after hearing the song while watching French television in Paris, bought the song’s publication and adaptation rights for only one dollar. The original songwriters retained the music-composition half of their songwriter royalties. Anka wrote English lyrics specifically for Frank Sinatra, I was lucky to hear Frank Sinatra perform this song at Madison Square Garden – what an amazing concert!!!!
And now, the end is near;
And so I face the final curtain.
My friend, I’ll say it clear,
I’ll state my case, of which I’m certain.
I’ve lived a life that’s full.
I’ve traveled each and every highway;
And more, much more than this,
I did it my way.
Regrets, I’ve had a few;
But then again, too few to mention.
I did what I had to do
And saw it through without exemption.
I planned each charted course;
Each careful step along the byway,
And more, much more than this,
I did it my way.
Yes, there were times, I’m sure you knew
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.
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 a shy way,
“Oh no, oh no not me,
I did it my way”.
For what is a man, what has he got?
If not himself, then he has naught.
To say the things he truly feels;
And not the words of one who kneels.
The record shows I took the blows –
And did it my way!
Yes, it was my way.
Jane Hall
janehallpsychotherapy.com