Barbra Streisand has recorded more than 60 albums, almost all with Columbia Records. Her early works in the 1960s (her debut The Barbra Streisand Album which won two Grammy Awards in 1963, followed by The Second Barbra Streisand Album, The Third Album, My Name Is Barbra, etc.) are considered classic renditions of theater and nightclub standards, including her version of Happy Days Are Here Again. Beginning with My Name Is Barbra, her albums were often medley-filled keepsakes of her television specials.
Starting in 1969, Streisand tackled contemporary songwriters; like many talented singers of the day, she found herself a fish out of water in attempts to tackle rock, but her vocal talents prevailed and she gained newfound success with the pop and ballad-oriented Richard Perry-produced album Stoney End in 1971. The title track, written by Laura Nyro, was a big hit for Streisand.
Streisand's 1980 album, Guilty featured the songwriting, production and vocal talents of Barry Gibb and was the best-selling album of her recording career. During the 1970s, she was also highly prominent in the pop charts, with number-one records like The Way We Were, Evergreen, No More Tears (Enough Is Enough) (her duet with Donna Summer), and Woman In Love; some of these came from soundtracks of her films. She recently took part in supporting Haiti in singing "We are the World 25th anniversary.
When the 1970s ended, Streisand was named the most successful female singer in the U.S. - only Elvis Presley and The Beatles having sold more albums. [1]
[1] In 1982, New York Times music critic Stephen Holden wrote that Streisand was "the most influential mainstream American pop singer since Frank Sinatra."
Isn't It A Pity
Barbra Streisand Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I look at you.
I get a thrill
I never knew.
Isn't it a pity
We never met before?
Here we are at last.
The two of us
A perfect team.
Isn't it a pity
We never met before?
Imagine all the lonely years we've wasted.
Me with the neighbors.
You at silly labors.
What joys untasted.
My nights were sour,
Spent with Schopenhauer
Let's forget the past.
Let's both agree
That I'm for you
And you're for me.
And it's such a pity
We never, never met before.
Imagine all the years we've wasted.
Fishing for salmon
Losing at backgammon.
What joys untasted.
Me at the Prado,
You in Colorado.
Happiest of girls I'm sure to be
If only you would say to me
That it's such a pity
We never met before.
What an awful pity
We never, never met before.
In the song "Isn't It a Pity," Barbra Streisand sings about a missed opportunity for love. She looks at someone she's attracted to and feels a thrill she's never experienced before, and wonders why they never met earlier. The two of them are finally together, like a dream, a perfect team, but it's too late because so many lonely years were wasted. The song is talking about the regret that comes with not meeting the right person sooner, and the missed opportunities that come with that regret.
The lyrics of the song are a measure of the poet's longing for her beloved. The poet is using despair and disappointment as their primary themes. She regrets the time she spent in loneliness and the lost opportunities on a better relationship that she could have had. It's about the lost moments of life, the times we could have fallen in love but didn't. It's a reminder for people to grab the chance when it arrives because life is short, and it's the moments we shared with the right person that make it worthwhile.
Line by Line Meaning
It's a funny thing.
There is something strange and interesting happening.
I look at you.
When I see you, I become attentive and interested.
I get a thrill I never knew.
You make me feel excited and happy in a way that I haven't experienced before.
Isn't it a pity
We never met before?
Here we are at last.
It's like a dream.
It's unfortunate that we didn't meet each other earlier, but now that we've finally met, it feels unreal and like a dream come true.
The two of us
A perfect team.
As a pair, we complement each other perfectly and work well together.
Imagine all the lonely years we've wasted.
Me with the neighbors.
You at silly labors.
What joys untasted.
It's sad to think about all the time we spent alone, doing mundane things like chatting with neighbors or working on insignificant tasks when we could have been experiencing joy and happiness together.
My nights were sour,
Spent with Schopenhauer
Let's forget the past.
Let's both agree
I used to have unhappy evenings spent reading Schopenhauer's philosophy. But let's let go of the past and come to an agreement.
That I'm for you
And you're for me.
I realize that we're meant to be together, and I hope you feel the same way.
And it's such a pity
We never, never met before.
It's a real shame that we haven't met until this point in our lives.
Imagine all the years we've wasted.
Fishing for salmon
Losing at backgammon.
What joys untasted.
Just think of all the precious time we spent doing mundane things like fishing or playing backgammon, when we could have been enjoying more meaningful experiences.
Me at the Prado,
You in Colorado.
I could be admiring art in the Prado, and you could be in Colorado at this moment.
Happiest of girls I'm sure to be
If only you would say to me
That it's such a pity
We never met before.
I'd be overjoyed if you admitted that it's a shame we didn't meet earlier, and I hope that you feel the same way.
What an awful pity
We never, never met before.
It's truly a shame that we didn't meet earlier, and it's something I regret.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: GEORGE GERSHWIN, IRA GERSHWIN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Robo
on Evergreen (Love Theme from A Star Is Born)
I love Melinda Vesterfelt