My son, Michael, is 40 today. In June I will be 80.
My dear friend Francis emailed me this video of the song My Way along with a note, “This is how I feel about my life and yours…”
Here is the original of the song recorded by Frank Sinatra in the late 1960s:
Here are the lyrics:
My way
And now, the end is near
And so I face the final curtain
My friends, 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
But 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 chartered 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, 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, no, not me
I did it my way
For what is a man, what has he got
If not himself then he has not
To say all the things he truly feels
And not the words of one who kneels
The record shows, I took the blows
But I did it my way
Paul Anka wrote the song. According to Google, while singer-songwriter legend Paul Anka has left a long trail of hits over his 60-year career, he admits that early on, he was terrified to pen a tune for Frank Sinatra. “He’d always tease me, ‘hey kid, when are you going to write me a song?'”
It wasn’t the last song Sinatra recorded. He went on to record “The Best Is Yet Come.”
Thank you Michael for all the joy you have brought your mother Susan and me and your sister Claire and our expanding Newton/Maloney families.
The best is happening every day. The rain has stopped. The sun has peeped out. The buds are appearing. Portland, Oregon, where Michael and his family lives, is looking great.
See all my friends tomorrow. Thank you Francis. (I told you yesterday, it was going to drop today.) — Harry Newton
