Bacharach studied music at McGill University and the Mannes School of Music. In the 1950s and the early 1960s he was the pianist, arranger and bandleader for Marlene Dietrich with whom he toured. He teamed with lyricist Hal David and others to write many popular songs in the 1960s and 1970s.
Bacharach's music has been sung by a number of popular singers including The Beatles,The Carpenters, Aretha Franklin, Jack Jones, Tom Jones, Dusty Springfield, Luther Vandross and The Drifters. He met Dionne Warwick, with whom he would form a famed collaboration. His songs are characterized by (1) the use of unexpected harmonic changes and (2) unusual rhythmic patterns and time signatures. He employs times such as 5/4 or 3/2, and frequently goes from one time signature to another in the same song, often after each measure. He also changes keys frequently. An excellent example of his style is "Promises, Promises", from his score to the musical of the same name. He has a total of 52 Top 40 hits. In addition, many of his songs were adapted by jazz artists of the time, such as Stan Getz and Wes Montgomery. The Bacharach-David composition "My Little Red Book", originally recorded by Manfred Mann for the film What's New, Pussycat, and promptly covered by Love in 1965, has become a rock standard. He composed and arranged the soundtrack of the 1967 film Casino Royale.
He has been married four times, to Paula Stewart (1953-1958), to actress Angie Dickinson (1965-1980), to lyricist Carole Bayer Sager (1982-1991) - with whom he collaborated on a number of pieces - and (since 1993) Jane Hanson. He has a total of four children, two girls and two boys.
In 1998 he collaborated on an album called Painted From Memory with singer/songwriter Elvis Costello. His 2005 album At This Time features collaborations with Costello, Rufus Wainwright, and Dr. Dre (who provides bass-and-drum loops).
Bacharach has had cameo roles in a number of Hollywood movies including all three Austin Powers movies. His music is also credited as providing inspiration for these movies.
During subsequent Burt Bacharach concert tours, each show would open with a very brief video clip from the movie Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, with Mike Myers (as Austin Powers) uttering "Ladies and Gentlemen, Mr. Burt Bacharach".
This Empty Place
Burt Bacharach Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Remember when they were always filled with laughter?
But now they're quite deserted
They seem to just echo voices raised in anger
Maybe you will see my face
Reflected there on the pane
In the window of our poor
Forlorn and broken home
Still this house is empty now
There's nothing I can do
To make you want to stay
So tell me how
Am I supposed to live without you?
These walls were lined with pictures
Remember the glass we charged in celebration?
But now I fill my life up
With all that I can to deaden this sensation
Do you recognize the face
Fixed in that fine silver frame
Were you really so unhappy then?
You never said
So this house is empty now
There's nothing I can do
To make you want to stay
So tell me how
Am I supposed to live without you?
Oh, if I could just become forgetful
When night seems endless
Does the extinguished candle care
About the darkness?
It's funny how my memory
Will bring you so close then make you disappear
Meanwhile all our friends must choose
Who they will favour, who they will lose
Hang the garland high or close the door
And throw away the key
This house is empty now
There's no one living here
You have to care about
This house is empty now
There's nothing I can do
To make you want to stay
So tell me how
Am I supposed to live without you?
This house is empty now
There's no one living here
You have to care about
This house is empty now
There's nothing I can do
To make you want to stay
So tell me how
Am I supposed to live without you?
In "This House Is Empty Now," Burt Bacharach and Elvis Costello express the loneliness and emptiness that linger in a house that was once full of love and happiness. The song is poignant, capturing the feeling of loss that comes with a broken relationship. The lyrics talk about the walls that seem to play tricks on you and the rooms that now echo only angry voices. Bacharach and Costello show the profound impact of a broken relationship on a person's life – the lines suggest that the world has come crashing down and there is little that can be done to save things.
The song talks about the love that was once present but now seems to have vanished. The music is slow and melancholic, with a somber piano accompanying the vocals, which makes the song all the more evocative. The lyrics also hint at the idea that some memories can bring people close while others push them apart. The singer is haunted by the memories of a past relationship that was once so meaningful to him, but now he is unable to move on without the object of his affection.
Overall, "This House is Empty Now" is a moving and melancholic song that speaks to anyone who has felt the emptiness and loneliness of a broken relationship. The lyrics, along with the music, capture the sense of isolation that comes with losing someone you love.
Line by Line Meaning
These rooms play tricks upon you
The rooms in this house can deceive you with their emptiness.
Remember when they were always filled with laughter
In the past, these rooms were filled with joy and happiness.
But now they're quite deserted
Currently, the rooms are empty and without life.
They seem to just echo voices raised in anger
The rooms now only seem to reflect the negative memories of fights and arguments.
Maybe you will see my face
Perhaps, if you look closely, you may see my reflection somewhere in the emptiness of this house.
Reflected there on the pane
My reflection may be visible on a windowpane.
In the window up above for long
My reflection may be visible in a window located high above.
In broken home
This house is now a broken home due to our past arguments and your departure.
Yet this house is empty now
Despite the echoes of the past, the house is empty and hollow.
There's nothing I can do
I am helpless to change the emptiness of this house.
To make you want to stay
I cannot convince you to come back and live in this empty house.
So tell me how am I supposed to live without you
I am struggling to cope with your absence and the emptiness left behind.
These walls were lined with pictures
The walls of this house were once decorated with memories and photos.
Remember the glass we charged in celebration
Recall a time when we raised a glass to celebrate happiness in this house.
But now I fill my life up
Nowadays, I am trying to fill my life with anything to distract myself from the emptiness.
With all that I can to deaden this sensation
I am trying everything in my power to numb the pain and feeling of emptiness.
Do you recognize the face
Can you remember the person in the photograph framed on the wall?
Fixed in that fine silver frame
The photograph is encased in a silver frame.
Were you really so unhappy there
Did you hate being in this house so much?
You never said
You never spoke up about your dissatisfaction with this house.
Oh, if I could just become forgetful
I wish I could forget the memories of our life in this house.
When night seems endless
During long, sleepless nights, I feel the emptiness of this house more acutely.
Does the extinguished candle care
Do objects in this house have any feelings or thoughts about our absence?
About the darkness
The emptiness and darkness of this house now that we are gone.
It's funny how the memory
It is strange how memories can bring us together and then separate us.
Will bring you so close then make you disappear
Memories of us can be powerful, but they can also remind us of the emptiness and distance between us.
Meanwhile all our friends must choose
Our mutual friends must take sides or distance themselves from our separation.
Who they will favor, who they will lose
Our friends must decide where their loyalties lie and who they may lose from their lives.
Hang the garland high, or close the door
Our friends must decide whether to celebrate our past or forget about it and move on.
Or throw away the key
Our friends must decide whether to keep or throw away the memories of us as a couple.
There's no one living here
This house is now without life or a family living in it.
You have to care about
You need to remember and acknowledge the emptiness and pain in this house.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Burt Bacharach, Elvis Costello
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@65motowngirl
The first song I heard by her. I was 15. And I was a Dionne Warwick fan ever since.
@d.tucker4929
What a beautiful song written by a great songwriter and delivered by one of the world's greatest singers.
@thomasbarnes796
Well 83 yrs is not too old to discover this song...Worth the wait!
@samthesham5294
Thomas Barnes It's from her debut album Presenting Dionne Warwick her First album Dont Make Me Over was the Hit on the Lp which my mom had.1962. I am 63.
@angelinofajardo6682
A beautiful 60s song that was so advance in that era, and could still be played now in the present generation
@timfragapane2466
And Rest in Power Burt Bacharach, who wrote these beautiful songs for Dionne Warwick.
@dustee
I was a Dionne Warwick fan from the very beginning, and how could you not be with songs like 'This Empty Place'! I was a Burt Bacharach/Hal David fan from the beginning also even when I discovered songs like 'Any day Now' and 'I don't want to cry' sung by Chuck Jackson were written by them. WOW, Hal David and Burt were the best man. :)
@geneayala5885
dustee ....You Had To Be Good...To Sing For Burt Bacharach / Hal David
@cakehole53
Cilla did a fantastic job of this song. Bacharach and David are my favourite composers of the 60s
@tomtv1
One of her early treasures. It should have been a bigger hit.