Ann-Margret started recording for RCA in 1961, but her recording career was not as successful as her concurrent movie career. She had a sexy, throaty singing voice comparable to Eartha Kitt or Nancy Sinatra, and RCA attempted to capitalize on her "Female Elvis" comparison by her recording a version of Presley's "Heartbreak Hotel" and other songs stylistically similar to Presley. She scored one minor hit, "I Just Don't Understand" (which entered the Billboard Top 40 in the third week of August 1961 and stayed 6 weeks, peaking at #17.) Her only charting album is The Beauty and the Beard (1964), on which she was accompanied by trumpeter Al Hirt. The contract with RCA ended in 1966.
Years later, she returned to music at the end of Disco era. Her 1980 album, "Ann-Margret" became a success with both singles, "Midnight Message" and "Love Rush" reaching the Top 10 of the Hot Dance Club Songs chart. In the early 1980s, the album was followed up with the single, "Everybody Needs Somebody Sometimes" and the B-Side "Hold Me/Squeeze Me." Ann Margret has continued to record music sporatically since then.
[edit]Film career
In 1961 she also made her film début for in Pocketful of Miracles, starring Bette Davis, Glenn Ford, and Hope Lange, a remake of the Oscar-winning 1933 film Lady for a Day; both versions were directed by the great Frank Capra. She followed that role with the successful remake of Rodgers' and Hammerstein's musical State Fair in 1962. Her next starring role, as the all-American teenager in Bye Bye Birdie, made her a major star. When she filmed Viva Las Vegas with Elvis Presley the two began an affair that received considerable attention from the gossip columnists in various media. The reports led to a showdown with a very worried Priscilla Beaulieu, which she recounts in her 1985 book, Elvis and Me, including Ann-Margret's attempt to "cut her off at the pass" with a press announcement that Ann-Margret and Elvis were engaged to be married. Although he ended the affair, Presley remained a friend and continued to send her flowers at the opening of each of her stage appearances until he died. Of all the Hollywood starlets he had worked with or had a relationship with, Ann-Margret was the only one to attend his funeral.
In 1963, Ann-Margret was featured and guest-starred, in animated form, in an episode of Hanna-Barbera's The Flintstones as "Ann-Margrock." Decades later, she recorded the theme song to the live-action film The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas in character as Ann-Margrock. The song she recorded was a modified version of the "Viva Las Vegas" theme.\
In March 1966, Ann-Margret and entertainers Chuck Day and Mickey Jones teamed up for a USO tour to entertain U.S. servicemen in remote parts of Vietnam and other parts of Southeast Asia. She still has great affection for the veterans and refers to them as "my gentlemen". [1] Ann-Margret, Day and Jones reunited for an encore of this tour for veterans and troops at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada in November 2005. [2]
In 1971, she starred in Mike Nichols's Carnal Knowledge, marking a change from her sex-kitten musical roles, garnering a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. The following year, while performing at Lake Tahoe, Nevada, she fell 22 feet from the stage and suffered injuries that put her out of commission for several months. Throughout the 1970s, Ann-Margret balanced her live performances with a string of critically acclaimed dramatic film performances that played against her glamorous image, including Tommy in 1975, for which she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress. In addition, she has been nominated for ten Golden Globe Awards, winning five times including Best Actress for Tommy. She also did a string of successful TV specials, starting with The Ann-Margret Show for NBC in 1968. Now in her mid-60s, she continues to act in movies.
In 1994, she published an autobiography titled Ann Margret: My Story (ISBN 0-399-13891-9). She has been married to actor Roger Smith since 1967. Smith suffers from myasthenia gravis, and Ann-Margret has devoted much of her life to caring for him.
In 2001 Ann-Margret made her first appearance in a stage musical, playing the character of Mona Stangley in a new touring production of The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.
She has also filmed the movie "Mem-o-re", where she stars with Billy Zane and Dennis Hopper.
Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone
Ann-Margret Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Seems we can't get along,
No matter what I do
I don't appeal to you
Makes no difference whether
I am right or wrong
If we can't be sweethearts
This much you can do
Please don't talk about me when I'm gone
Oh, Honey, though our friendship ceases from now on
And listen, if you can't say anything real nice
It's better not to talk at all, that's my advice
We're parting, you go your way, I'll go mine
It's best that we do
Here's a kiss, I hope that this brings lots of luck to you
Makes no difference how I carry on
Just remember
Please don't talk about me when I'm gone.
The lyrics of Ann-Margret's song "Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone" describe a relationship that has reached a point of irreconcilable differences. The singer acknowledges that despite being together for years, she and her partner cannot seem to get along, and no matter what she does, she cannot win their affection. She implores her partner to refrain from speaking ill of her when she is no longer around, urging them to maintain a level of decorum even in their separation. She acknowledges that they may no longer be friends, but she urges them to refrain from cruelty and meanness toward her in their speech.
One of the most striking aspects of the lyrics is the singer's insistence on maintaining basic human decency toward each other even in the face of a relationship breakdown. She recognizes that all people have flaws and make mistakes, but she implores her partner to look past those mistakes and to speak of her with kindness and respect. This suggests a level of maturity and self-awareness that is often absent in breakups and relationship breakdowns, emphasizing the importance of maintaining respect for each other as individuals even if the romance has come to an end.
Overall, Ann-Margret's "Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone" is a powerful statement on the importance of maintaining civility and respect for each other even in moments of great turmoil and difficulty. It emphasizes the idea that even when relationships come to an end, we still have a responsibility to be decent and respectful toward each other, recognizing each other's inherent worth and treating each other with kindness and compassion.
Line by Line Meaning
Years we've been together
We have been in each other's lives for a long time
Seems we can't get along,
We are having trouble getting along with each other
No matter what I do
I have tried everything I could to make things better between us
I don't appeal to you
You are not happy with me and don't find me attractive or appealing
Makes no difference whether
It doesn't matter if
I am right or wrong
I can be either right or wrong, but it won't change how you feel about me
If we can't be sweethearts
If we can't be in a romantic relationship
This much you can do
At least you can do this one thing
Please don't talk about me when I'm gone
Please don't gossip or badmouth me when I'm no longer around
Oh, Honey, though our friendship ceases from now on
Even though we are no longer going to be friends after this
And listen, if you can't say anything real nice
If you can't say something positive or kind
It's better not to talk at all, that's my advice
It's best to say nothing at all in that case
We're parting, you go your way, I'll go mine
We are going our separate ways
It's best that we do
It's the best thing for us to do
Here's a kiss, I hope that this brings lots of luck to you
As a goodbye gesture, I am giving you a kiss and hoping that good things come your way
Makes no difference how I carry on
It doesn't matter how I move on with my life
Just remember
I only ask one thing of you
Please don't talk about me when I'm gone.
Please don't gossip or spread negativity about me when I'm no longer around
Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing, Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Bee Palmer, Sidney Clare, Sam Stept
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind