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.
Long Ago
Frank Sinatra Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
(Crowd laughs and then subsides)
Only kiddin', kids
Long ago and far away
I dreamed a dream one day
And now that dream is here beside me
Long the skies were overcast but
You're here at last
Chills run up and down my spine
Aladdin's lamp is mine
The dream I dreamed was not denied me
Just one look and then I knew
That all I longed for long ago was you
Chills run up and down my spine
Aladdin's lamp is mine
The dream I dreamed was not denied me
Just one look and then I knew
That all I longed for long ago was you
The lyrics to Frank Sinatra’s song “Long Ago” are about a person who has finally found the love that they have been longing for. The song begins with the singer reminiscing about a dream they had a long time ago, which has now come true. The dream was of finding true love and now they have found that person. The skies were overcast before, but now that the person they love is here, the clouds have passed. The singer is filled with joy and excitement as chills run up and down their spine because they feel like they have found their own version of Aladdin’s lamp. Just one look at this person and the singer knew that they had found the love they have been longing for.
The song's lyrics suggest that the singer has been waiting patiently for their love to arrive. They have been through a lot of ups and downs in their life, but they never gave up on their dream of finding true love. The reference to Aladdin’s lamp is a metaphor for finding something that is considered impossible. Just like how Aladdin found something magical that granted him his wishes, the singer feels like they have found the person they have been longing for.
Line by Line Meaning
Long ago and far away
A statement to indicate the time distance between the present moment and a time, which was long back in the past.
I dreamed a dream one day
To express that the singer had a dream, a vision, or a desire that he wished to achieve.
And now that dream is here beside me
To express that the singer's dream has been fulfilled and has come true, and it is now present in his life.
Long the skies were overcast
A statement to indicate that the artist had been through challenging times where things were not looking up for him.
But now the clouds have passed
To express that the difficult times have come to an end, and the artist has moved on to a better phase in his life.
You're here at last
To express the singer's happiness and excitement that the person he had been waiting for has finally arrived in his life.
Chills run up and down my spine
A statement to indicate the singer's feeling of excitement and joy he feels when he's with the person he's waited for.
Aladdin's lamp is mine
To express that the artist has found something rare and precious, often symbolized as the mythical Aladdin's lamp.
The dream I dreamed was not denied me
To express that the artist's dream was fulfilled, and he did not face any oppositions that stopped him from fulfilling the dream.
Just one look and then I knew
To express that the artist's feelings towards the person standing before him were crystal clear, unique, and profound.
That all I longed for long ago was you
To express that the singer's true desire included the person he is with, indicating that the person completed him.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: JAMES TAYLOR
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@zarintaa
Way past your bedtime
Only kiddin', kids
Long ago and far away, I dreamed a dream one day
And now that dream is here beside me
Long the skies were overcast but now the clouds have passed
You're here at last
Chills run up and down my spine, Aladdin's lamp is mine
The dream I dreamed was not denied me
Just one look and then I knew
That all I longed for long ago was you
Chills run up and down my spine, Aladdin's lamp is mine
The dream I dreamed was not denied me
Just one look and then I knew
That all I longed for long ago was you
@Imani_AM
When I heard this song for the first time, in a very special movie to me, Cover Girl (1944) I felt that this was the most beautiful song I'd ever heard. Now, hearing it sung for the first time by my favorite singer, I am in tears 🎼💙
@phaasch
I can never hear this song without getting a lump in my throat. I think everyone has a " long ago and far away" Moment in their lives with which they can identify. It is sublime. music from this era works on a completely different part of our psyche from what we have nowadays. deeper, more resonant. I'm glad the song means as much to you as it does to me.
@IgnacioCacace
I never watched that movie. Good recomendation by the way. I will watch tonigh. Thank you!.
@Boonruang911
My sweetheart has passed away This is one of his favorite songs
@VeerPattanaik-kx5xe
so sorry to hear about your loss!!
@jackiemcmeekin6551
Such passionate and romantic lyrics to a beautiful melody sung by a commensurate vocalist, Mr. Sinatra. 🥰👍☺️
@OperaJH
Consummate
@oct1402
always, always makes me calm.
@fineart10
Voice, lyrics.... This tune has whole that music must be.....
@bjornkok29
great to hear and see Mom & Dads old Recors, thank u Frank