Sinatra did it his way

Manila, Philippines – ‘FATAL’ SONG – Among videoke, karaoke, and sing-along bars habitués, the “national anthem” is Frank Sinatra’s “My Way.” There’s the warning that if you want to create mayhem, or even get killed, sing “My Way” off key, offending other bar patrons waiting to sing, of course, “My Way.”

Sinatra’s recorded other great songs – “All the Way,” “From Here to Eternity,” “If You Are But a Dream,” “Strangers in the Night,” to name four – “My Way” is most associated with Sinatra, also known as Ol’ Blue Eyes and Chairman of the Board.

He is considered the Entertainer of the Century, his singing and acting career spanning six decades.

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HIS WAY – But why is “My Way” THE Sinatra song?

Perhaps, because the lyrics best described Sinatra, in everything he did he did it his way – even if at times he was misunderstood and even censured.

Actually, “My Way” is a French song songwriter-singer Paul Anka fell in love with. He wrote its English lyrics and would have no other singer to sing it but Frank Sinatra.

In the book “The Story Behind the Song,” Anka related how “My Way” came to be.

Here’s the lyrics of “My Way”:

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 traveled each and ev’ry 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,
But 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,
No, oh 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!

(Tomorrow, the story behind the song, as narrated by Paul Anka in the book by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen & Jo-Ann Geffen.)