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.
Softly as I Leave You
Frank Sinatra Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
For my heart would break if you should wake and see me go
So I leave you softly, long before you miss me
Long before your arms can beg me stay
For one more hour or one more day
After all the years, I can't bear the tears to fall
So, softly as I leave you there
(Long before your arms can beg me stay)
(For one more hour) or one more day
After all the years, I can't bear the tears to fall
So softly as I leave you there
As I leave I you there
As I leave I you there
Frank Sinatra's song "Softly as I Leave You" is a beautiful yet sad ballad about separation and leaving someone you love. The lyrics express the singer's desire to leave quietly and without causing any pain or heartbreak to the person they're leaving behind. The opening line "Softly, I will leave you softly" sets the tone for the rest of the song, as the singer wants to go unnoticed and leave without any drama. The reason behind this decision is that the singer's heart would break if the person woke up to see them leaving, and it would be too hard for them to see the pain they're causing.
The following verse "Long before you miss me, long before your arms can beg me stay" captures the idea that it's better to leave early on, before the emotions and feelings become too intense, making it harder for both people to leave. The singer knows that if they stay for another hour or even a day, it will only make things more difficult for them to leave. The final verse reveals the singer's pain and inner struggle, "After all the years, I can't bear the tears to fall, so softly as I leave you there." It's evident that the singer has been with the person for a long time, and leaving them will break their heart. However, they must leave, and doing it softly is the most delicate gesture they can make.
Overall, the song's lyrics convey a sense of resignation and sadness mixed with tenderness and compassion. It reflects a love that's coming to an end and the need for a gentle goodbye.
Line by Line Meaning
Softly, I will leave you softly
I will leave you gently without creating any disturbance.
For my heart would break if you should wake and see me go
If you woke up and saw me leaving, I would be heartbroken as I do not want to hurt you.
So I leave you softly, long before you miss me
I am leaving you softly in advance, so that you probably don't even notice my absence.
Long before your arms can beg me stay
I am leaving you before you have a chance to ask me to stay, because I have made up my mind.
For one more hour or one more day
I do not want to prolong the inevitable, even if it were for just one more hour or day.
After all the years, I can't bear the tears to fall
I cannot handle the emotions that leaving you will bring and I cannot bear to see either of us cry.
So, softly as I leave you there
I will depart gently and without a fuss, leaving you with fond memories of better times.
(Softly, long before you kiss me)
(Long before your arms can beg me stay)
(For one more hour) or one more day
As I leave I you there
As I depart from your life, I hope that you can find happiness and move on from this moment without any lingering sadness or regret.
As I leave I you there
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Giorgio Calabrese, Antonio De Vita, Harold David Shaper
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
FLORINDO CROCE
Oggi 1° Aprile 2016 è venuto a mancare Giorgio Calabrese, autore di questa canzone e di tante altre magnifiche canzono: Tributo a lui!
Piano
mentre ti allontani,
cerca che il tuo passo
non mi svegli
mentre tu te ne vai.
Niente
non ti chiedo niente
oggi ed oltre il tempo tu sarai
accanto a me.
Nel ricordo va
non ti chiederò
di restare ancora ma
fa piano
che non ti senta.
Piano, piano.
Va
non ti chiederò
di restare ancora ma
fa piano
che non ti senta.
Piano, piano.
Fa piano
piano, piano.
Jobes
I played this for my Father at his funeral. Brings lots of mixed feelings and memories flooding back. X
Denise Dale
Played this at my Dad's funeral too. He had suffered dementia for several years and he softly left me during that time, and to the end. God bless him.
John Hughes
@Denise Dale 09
Jackie Mcmeekin
I always fill up when I hear this beautiful, passionate song about leaving someone you love! Frank was a consummate vocalist, actor, and performer. R.I.P. Frank! 👍☺️
gregory knudson
Are you kidding me? This song is so beautiful...thank you Frank. You never disappoint! 💙
Gary Dougan
the orchestration if flawless and the background singers really make this a very emotional piece.
Joel Houlette
Elite comment. The background vocals are incredible.
deetown46
I know my husband did this intentionally. God rest & bless his beautiful soul. I have never known a man who could have ever been a more perfect gentleman, his entire being. I love and so miss you Roger .
Jay Kaplan
They just don’t make songs like this anymore. Brilliant!
Tom Vecchione
Absolutely