All You'll Ever Get
When I think about how old I am,
near,
When I think about how old I am,
near,
too near to 50. I look at the people
I admire
I admire
and see where they were at my age.
The terrifying thing is that so many of them
were dead before they reached my age of 47.
Robert Johnson, 27, Jack Kerouac, 46,
Lester Bangs, 33, Kurt Cobain, 27, Hank Williams, 29,
Elvis Presley, 42. The list goes on and
on and on. When I think about my age,
and the life I've lived, I think I should
prepare myself to go at any minute.
Like in " My Way," I've got my regrets,
but I can still sleep at night. I've still got
a lot I want to achieve, but I can live with
that too, I suppose. We've all had certain
opportunities, and limitations, you do
what you can with the hand you're dealt,
and live with the consequences. That's
the best and the worst you can hope for,
and all you'll ever get.
on and on. When I think about my age,
and the life I've lived, I think I should
prepare myself to go at any minute.
Like in " My Way," I've got my regrets,
but I can still sleep at night. I've still got
a lot I want to achieve, but I can live with
that too, I suppose. We've all had certain
opportunities, and limitations, you do
what you can with the hand you're dealt,
and live with the consequences. That's
the best and the worst you can hope for,
and all you'll ever get.
And now, the end is near
ReplyDeleteAnd 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 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 for 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
In 1967 Claude François sang "Comme d'habitude" (As Usual) with Jacques Revaux about a failed marriage. Paul Anka acquired adaptation rights to the music. Later, at a dinner in Florida, he heard Frank Sinatra announce that he was quitting show business. "I'm sick of it; I'm getting the hell out." When Anka rewrote the song he said to himself, "'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 .... But that's the way he talked." On 30 December 1968, Sinatra recorded his version of the song in one take, which was released in early 1969 on the "My Way" album and became his signature song. Needless to say, Sinatra did not "get the hell out" but was forced to include the song in every performance. He became so tired of it that openly mocked it before singing it. For example, in 1979 he told the audience, "And of course, the time comes now for the torturous moment -— not for you, but for me. I hate this song. I HATE THIS SONG! I got it up to here [with] this goddamned song!"