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.
Deep in a Dream
Frank Sinatra Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The smoke from my cigarette climbs through the air
The walls of my room fade away in the blue
And I'm deep in a dream of you
The smoke makes a stairway for you to descend
You come to my arms, may this bliss never end
For we love anew just as we used to do
When I'm deep in a dream of you
We glide through a lover's refrain, you're so appealing
That I'm soon revealing my love for you over again
My cigarette burns me, I wake with a start
My hand isn't hurt, but there's pain in my heart
Awake or asleep, ev'ry mem'ry I'll keep
Deep in a dream of you
The lyrics to Frank Sinatra's song "Deep in a Dream" evoke feelings of nostalgia and longing for a past love. The first few lines describe the singer's physical surroundings as he prepares to sink into a state of reverie. The slow pace and calm tone set the stage for the dreamlike state the singer finds himself in as he begins to reminisce about a past love. The lyrics paint a vivid picture of the singer's emotions as he longs to be reunited with the person he's dreaming about.
The smoke from the cigarette adds to the atmosphere of the dreamworld, creating a surreal feeling that elevates the singer's consciousness above his physical surroundings. The dream becomes more vivid as the song progresses, with the appearance of musical accompaniment that reflects the singer's emotions. The music is sweet and hypnotic, and it transports the singer and his lover into a world of their own where their love reignites. The song reaches an emotional climax as the singer confesses his love once again.
The last verse brings the listener back to reality, as the singer awakens from his dream. The dream may be over, but the memories will live on deep in his heart. The lyrics of "Deep in a Dream" are a poignant reminder of the power of memory and the intense emotions that come with lost love.
Line by Line Meaning
I dim all the lights and I sink in my chair
I lower the intensity of all the lights in the room and I slump in my seat
The smoke from my cigarette climbs through the air
The fumes from my cigarette rise up into the atmosphere
The walls of my room fade away in the blue
The boundaries of my bedroom begin to vanish into a bluish hue
And I'm deep in a dream of you
I'm lost in a vivid fantasy featuring no one but you
The smoke makes a stairway for you to descend
The smoke creates a symbolic staircase for you to come down
You come to my arms, may this bliss never end
You come to embrace me, and I hope this moment lasts forever
For we love anew just as we used to do
We experience this love again, just how we once did
When I'm deep in a dream of you
Whenever I'm consumed by my illusions about you
Then from the ceiling, sweet music comes stealing
Suddenly, melodious tunes trickle down from above
We glide through a lover's refrain, you're so appealing
We move effortlessly to a romantic melody, you captivate me so much
That I'm soon revealing my love for you over again
I can't help but express my affection for you all over again
My cigarette burns me, I wake with a start
My cigarette has burned me, I quickly snap out of my reverie
My hand isn't hurt, but there's pain in my heart
While my hand isn't physically wounded, my heart aches with a longing for you
Awake or asleep, ev'ry mem'ry I'll keep
Regardless of whether I'm awake or asleep, I'll cherish every memory
Deep in a dream of you
In the depths of my dreams, where thoughts of you are inescapable
Lyrics © RESERVOIR MEDIA MANAGEMENT INC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: EDDIE DE LANGE, JIMMY VAN HEUSEN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
robert allen
If you've just broken up with your lover, don't listen to this. It'll kill you. Then again, you're glad to be unhappy, right? I know I was.
Tony Sirius
I'd say the opposite. Had my heartbreak 3 years ago. This album and a buzzed late night downtown stroll is experience every heartbreak should experience. Pain is an emotion too. Very underrated one too.
Nuclear Weapons
Fools rush in, so here I am... very glad to be unhappy...
TJ Loing
is this a movie quote?
Guns Cars and Digits
I see what you did there.
Nathan Parsons
This and In Only The Lonely are such brilliant heartache albums. They almost make the pain enjoyable
TheNull_Lotus
I've been listening to Sinatra since I was 11 years old. This is probably my favorite song his discography. Actual brilliant, beautiful stuff.
Debbie Kordon
Wow, that voice, that interpretation. Fantastic.
Harry Hagan
Who wrote this fabulous song? Wow! Sinatra forever!
Gari Gold Richardson
Jimmy Van Huesen is the writer of the song. Lyrics by Eddie De Lange.