Born in Hoboken, New Jersey, to Italian immigrants, Sinatra began his musical career in the swing era with bandleaders Harry James and Tommy Dorsey. Sinatra found success as a solo artist after he signed with Columbia Records in 1943, becoming the idol of the "bobby soxers". He released his debut album, The Voice of Frank Sinatra, in 1946. Sinatra's professional career had stalled by the early 1950s, and he turned to Las Vegas, where he became one of its best known residency performers as part of The Rat Pack. His career was reborn in 1953 with the success of From Here to Eternity, with his performance subsequently winning an Academy Award and Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor. Sinatra released several critically lauded albums, including In the Wee Small Hours (1955), Songs for Swingin' Lovers! (1956), Come Fly with Me (1958), Only the Lonely (1958) and Nice 'n' Easy (1960).
Sinatra left Capitol in 1960 to start his own record label, Reprise Records, and released a string of successful albums. In 1965, he recorded the retrospective September of My Years, starred in the Emmy-winning television special Frank Sinatra: A Man and His Music, and released the tracks "Strangers in the Night" and "My Way". After releasing Sinatra at the Sands, recorded at the Sands Hotel and Casino in Vegas with frequent collaborator Count Basie in early 1966, the following year he recorded one of his most famous collaborations with Tom Jobim, the album Francis Albert Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim. It was followed by 1968's collaboration with Duke Ellington. Sinatra retired for the first time in 1971, but came out of retirement two years later and recorded several albums and resumed performing at Caesars Palace, and reached success in 1980 with "New York, New York". Using his Las Vegas shows as a home base, he toured both within the United States and internationally until a short time before his death in 1998.
Sinatra forged a highly successful career as a film actor. After winning an Academy Award for From Here to Eternity, he starred in The Man with the Golden Arm (1955), and received critical acclaim for his performance in The Manchurian Candidate (1962). He appeared in various musicals such as On the Town (1949), Guys and Dolls (1955), High Society (1956), and Pal Joey (1957), winning another Golden Globe for the latter. Toward the end of his career, he became associated with playing detectives, including the title character in Tony Rome (1967). Sinatra would later receive the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award in 1971. On television, The Frank Sinatra Show began on ABC in 1950, and he continued to make appearances on television throughout the 1950s and 1960s. Sinatra was also heavily involved with politics from the mid-1940s, and actively campaigned for presidents such as Harry S. Truman, John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan, though before Kennedy's death Sinatra's alleged Mafia connections led to his being snubbed.
While Sinatra never formally learned how to read music, he had an impressive understanding of it, and he worked very hard from a young age to improve his abilities in all aspects of music. A perfectionist, renowned for his dress sense and performing presence, he always insisted on recording live with his band. His bright blue eyes earned him the popular nickname "Ol' Blue Eyes". Sinatra led a colorful personal life, and was often involved in turbulent affairs with women, such as with his second wife Ava Gardner. He went on to marry Mia Farrow in 1966 and Barbara Marx in 1976. Sinatra had several violent confrontations, usually with journalists he felt had crossed him, or work bosses with whom he had disagreements. He was honored at the Kennedy Center Honors in 1983, was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Ronald Reagan in 1985, and the Congressional Gold Medal in 1997. Sinatra was also the recipient of eleven Grammy Awards, including the Grammy Trustees Award, Grammy Legend Award and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. After his death, American music critic Robert Christgau called him "the greatest singer of the 20th century", and he continues to be seen as an iconic figure.
Sinatra died with his wife at his side at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles on May 14, 1998, aged 82, after a heart attack. Sinatra had ill health during the last few years of his life, and was frequently hospitalized for heart and breathing problems, high blood pressure, pneumonia and bladder cancer. He was further diagnosed as having dementia. He had made no public appearances following a heart attack in February 1997. Sinatra's wife encouraged him to "fight" while attempts were made to stabilize him, and his final words were, "I'm losing." Sinatra's daughter, Tina, later wrote that she and her sister, Nancy, had not been notified of their father's final hospitalization, and it was her belief that "the omission was deliberate. Barbara would be the grieving widow alone at her husband's side." The night after Sinatra's death, the lights on the Empire State Building in New York City were turned blue, the lights at the Las Vegas Strip were dimmed in his honor, and the casinos stopped spinning for a minute.
Sinatra's funeral was held at the Roman Catholic Church of the Good Shepherd in Beverly Hills, California, on May 20, 1998, with 400 mourners in attendance and thousands of fans outside. Gregory Peck, Tony Bennett, and Sinatra's son, Frank Jr., addressed the mourners, who included many notable people from film and entertainment. Sinatra was buried in a blue business suit with mementos from family members—cherry-flavored Life Savers, Tootsie Rolls, a bottle of Jack Daniel's, a pack of Camel cigarettes, a Zippo lighter, stuffed toys, a dog biscuit, and a roll of dimes that he always carried—next to his parents in section B-8 of Desert Memorial Park in Cathedral City, California.
His close friends Jilly Rizzo and Jimmy Van Heusen are buried nearby. The words "The Best Is Yet to Come", plus "Beloved Husband & Father" are imprinted on Sinatra's grave marker. Significant increases in recording sales worldwide were reported by Billboard in the month of his death.
Begin the Beguine
Frank Sinatra Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It brings back the sound of music so tender
It brings back a night of tropical splendor
It brings back a memory ever green
I'm with you once more under the stars
And down by the shore an orchestra's playing
And even the palms seem to be swayingWhen they begin the beguine
To live it again is past all endeavor
Except when that tune clutches my heart
And there we are, swearing to love forever
And promising never, never to part
What moments divine, what rapture serene
Till clouds came along to disperse the joys we had tasted
And now when I hear people curse the chance that was wasted
I know but too well what they mean
So don't let them begin the beguine
Let the love that was once a fire remain an ember
Let it sleep like the dead desire I only remember
When they begin the beguine
Oh yes, let them begin the beguine, make them play
Till the stars that were there before return above you
Till you whisper to me once more
"Darling, I love you"
And we suddenly know, what heaven we're in
When they begin the beguine
When they begin the beguine
Frank Sinatra's song Begin the Beguine evokes a longing for a past love and an experience in a tropical paradise. The lyrics describe how the beginning of the song brings back memories that are "ever-green" and pull the singer back to a time when he was with his love under the stars and listening to an orchestra playing. The song reminds him of moments "divine" and "rapture serene" that he shared with his love, but that were eventually disrupted by the appearance of clouds. The singer then pleads with the musicians not to begin the song again, stating that he wants the memory of the love to remain an ember and not be rekindled.
Line by Line Meaning
When they begin the beguine
The start of the beguine music piece
It brings back the sound of music so tender
It reminds of a gentle melody
It brings back a night of tropical splendor
It takes back to a beautiful tropical evening
It brings back a memory ever green
It revives a forever green memory
I'm with you once more under the stars
I am with you again under the starry sky
And down by the shore an orchestra's playing
An orchestra is playing near the shore
And even the palms seem to be swaying
The palm trees appear to be dancing
When they begin the beguine
The start of the beguine piece again
To live it again is past all endeavor
To relive that moment is impossible
Except when that tune clutches my heart
Except when that melody takes over my emotions
And there we are, swearing to love forever
There we are, promising to love forever
And promising never, never to part
And making a vow to never, ever separate
What moments divine, what rapture serene
What divine moments, what peaceful joy
Till clouds came along to disperse the joys we had tasted
Until something came along to ruin the joy we experienced
And now when I hear people curse the chance that was wasted
And now when I hear people complain about opportunities missed
I know but too well what they mean
I understand very well what they are talking about
So don't let them begin the beguine
So do not let the beguine music start again
Let the love that was once a fire remain an ember
Let the love that was once strong remain as a small flame
Let it sleep like the dead desire I only remember
Let it rest like the passion that has already died
When they begin the beguine
When the beguine starts again
Oh yes, let them begin the beguine, make them play
Oh yes, let the music begin, make them play the tune
Till the stars that were there before return above you
Until the stars that were once present in the sky are back
Till you whisper to me once more
Until you whisper those words to me again
"Darling, I love you"
"My love, I cherish you"
And we suddenly know, what heaven we're in
And we suddenly realize what kind of paradise we are in
When they begin the beguine
When the beguine music starts again
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Cole Porter
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@Jigaboo123456
Lyrics
When they begin the beguine, it brings back the sound of music so tender,
It brings back a night of tropical splendor, it brings back a memory ever green.
I'm with you once more under the stars, and down by the shore an orchestra's playing
Even the palms seem to be swaying, when they begin the beguine.
To live it again is past all endeavor, except when that tune clutches my heart,
And there we are, swearing to love forever, and promising never, never to part.
What moments divine, what rapture serene,
Till clouds come along to disperse the joys we had tasted,
And now when I hear people curse the chance that was wasted,
I know but too well what they mean.
So don't let them let the love that was once a fire remain an ember
@azores5
"Cuando ellos comenzaron el Beguine
Me regresaron recuerdos de un sonido tierno
regresaron recuerdos de una noche de esplendor tropical
recuerdos siempre vivos
Estoy contigo otra vez,bajo las estrellas
y en la playa toca una orquesta
Hasta las palmeras parecen bailar
cuando ellos comienzan el beguine
revivirlo es relegar todo
excepto cuando esa tonada estruja mi corazón
Y ahí estamos,jurandonos amor,prometiendo nunca apartarnos
Qué momento divino,que nos atrapa
Hasta las nubes se apartan
las dichas que probamos
Y ahora que escucho a la gente maldecir
por las oportunidades desperdiciadas
ahora sé lo que querían decir
asi que No los dejen comenzar el beguine
dejen que el amor que se encendióuna vez sea una brasa
dejenlo dormido,como el deseo de morir
Yo sólo recuerdo
cuando ellos comenzaron el beguine
Oh,sí,dejenlos tocar el beguine,haganlos tocar
hasta que las estrellas que una vez estuvieron aquí,regresen
Hasta que murmures para mi otra vez Cariño,te amo
Y de pronto conocemos el paraiso en el que estamos
cuando ellos comienzan el beguine"
@PhilFeedback
Very nice and relaxing song, thanks for sharing! My wife and I are listening to it in our backyard during this pandemic 2020.
Hope everyone is staying safe
@neliarios2700
I’m from Brasil listening from my backyard. Stay safe.
@AlCuster-q5h
The
One &only
@DeborahHeidt
What I love about Sinatra, our greatest singer ever, is that the minute you hear his voice you know it is Frank. No one sounds like him - no one ever will!!
A voice so timeless, once you hear it, you know.
@jadezee6316
Fantastic vocal... Frank!
@debrabrown8901
Beautiful, one of my favorite Cole Porter songs.
@guitarpicka1
Not a day passes ...when I don`t think about Frank Sinatra...Absolute Class... in an era of Wonderful Music and Wonderful Performing Artists and Musicians.
@bh5606
Perfect.
@mariopavez
The best performance of this wonderfull song... and LIVE!
@andyw7978
Ann-Margret and Xavier Cugat - 2 versions - give them a listen