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.
Soliloquy
Frank Sinatra Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I guess he'll call me the "old man"
I guess he'll think I can lick
Every other feller's father
Well, I can
I bet that he'll turn out to be
The spittin' image of his dad
Than his pudding-headed father ever had
I'll teach him to wrestle
And dive through a wave
When we go in the mornings for our swim
His mother can teach him
The way to behave
But she won't make a sissy out o' him
Not him! Not my boy! Not Bill
[Chorus:]
Bill, I will see that he is named after me, I will
My boy, Bill! He'll be tall
And tough as a tree, will Bill
Like a tree he'll grow
With his head held high
And his feet planted firm on the ground
And you won't see nobody dare to try
To boss or toss him around
No pot-bellied, baggy-eyed bully will toss him around
I don't give a damn what he does
As long as he does what he likes
He can sit on his tail
Or work on a rail
With a hammer, hammering spikes
He can ferry a boat on a river
Or peddle a pack on his back
Or work up and down
The streets of a town
With a whip and a horse and a hack
He can haul a scow along a canal
Run a cow around a corral
Or maybe bark for a carousel
Of course it takes talent to do that well
He might be a champ of the heavyweights
Or a feller that sells you glue
Or President of the United States
That'd be all right, too
His mother would like that
But he wouldn't be President unless he wanted to be
Not Bill!
[Chorus]
And I'll be damned if he'll marry the boss' daughter
A skinny-lipped virgin with blood like water
Who'll give him a peck
And call it a kiss
And look in his eyes through a lorgnette
Say, why am I talkin' on like this?
My kid ain't even been born, yet!
I can see him when he's seventeen or so
And startin' to go with a girl
I can give him lots of pointers, very sound
On the way to get 'round any girl
I can tell him ...
Wait a minute
Could it be?
What the hell
What if he is a girl?
What would I do with her?
What could I do for her?
A bum with no money
You can have fun with a son
But you got to be a father to a girl
She mightn't be so bad at that
A kid with ribbons in her hair
A kind o' neat and petite
Little tin-type of her mother
What a pair
I can just hear myself bragging about her
My little girl
Pink and white
As peaches and cream is she
My little girl
Is half again as bright
As girls are meant to be
Dozens of boys pursue her
Many a likely lad does what he can to woo her
From her faithful dad
She has a few
Pink and white young fellers of two and three
But my little girl
Gets hungry every night and she comes home to me
I got to get ready before she comes
I got to make certain that she won't be dragged up in slums
With a lot of bums like me
She's got to be sheltered
And be dressed in the best money can buy
I never knew how to get money
But, I'll try, by God! I'll try
I'll go out and make it or steal it
Or take it or die
The song “Soliloquy” by Frank Sinatra is a poignant piece that reflects on the responsibilities and hopes that come with fatherhood. The song is written as a monologue from the perspective of a man who is about to become a father, and he muses on what kind of father he will be and what kind of child his son will be. The lyrics are deeply reflective, and Sinatra does a masterful job of communicating the character’s emotions through his performance.
In the first verse, the man imagines what his son will think of him, imagining that he will be seen as an “old man” who can take on any other father. The second verse speaks of his hope that his son will be like him in some ways, but have more common sense than he did. He goes on to say that he wants to teach his son to be strong and independent, but not a “sissy.” He goes on to describe his vision of his son as a tall and tough man who won’t be pushed around by others.
Line by Line Meaning
I wonder what he'll think of me
I'm anxious about my impression on him
I guess he'll call me the "old man"
He'll probably call me a fatherly figure
I guess he'll think I can lick
Every other feller's father
Well, I can
He will think I can fight others' fathers and I actually can
I bet that he'll turn out to be
The spittin' image of his dad
I assume he'll be very similar to his dad
But he'll have more common sense
Than his pudding-headed father ever had
Although like his dad, he'll have more common sense
I'll teach him to wrestle
And dive through a wave
When we go in the mornings for our swim
I will teach him to swim and wrestle when we go out in the mornings
His mother can teach him
The way to behave
But she won't make a sissy out o' him
Not him! Not my boy! Not Bill
But his mother won't make him a coward, I won't let that happen to my son Bill
[Chorus:]
Bill, I will see that he is named after me, I will
My boy, Bill! He'll be tall
And tough as a tree, will Bill
Like a tree he'll grow
With his head held high
And his feet planted firm on the ground
And you won't see nobody dare to try
To boss or toss him around
No pot-bellied, baggy-eyed bully will toss him around
I will name him after me, call him Bill. He will be tall and robust like a tree, sturdy and unbreakable, no one will boss Bill around
I don't give a damn what he does
As long as he does what he likes
I don't care what he grows up to do, as long as he enjoys it
He can sit on his tail
Or work on a rail
With a hammer, hammering spikes
He can do manual labor like sitting around or working with tools.
He can ferry a boat on a river
Or peddle a pack on his back
Or work up and down
The streets of a town
With a whip and a horse and a hack
He can work in water vessels or carrying a backpack, or even work with a horse and a cart in the streets
He can haul a scow along a canal
Run a cow around a corral
Or maybe bark for a carousel
Of course, it takes talent to do that well
He can operate a scow along the waterways, manage cows in the ranch, or even call out for a carousel ride
He might be a champ of the heavyweights
Or a feller that sells you glue
Or President of the United States
That'd be all right, too
His mother would like that
But he wouldn't be President unless he wanted to be
Not Bill!
He could become heavyweight champion or even president, but only if it's what he desires. His mother may want him to be President, but the decision is Bill's
[Chorus]
repeated
And I'll be damned if he'll marry the boss' daughter
A skinny-lipped virgin with blood like water
Who'll give him a peck
And call it a kiss
And look in his eyes through a lorgnette
Say, why am I talkin' on like this?
My kid ain't even been born yet!
He can't marry the boss's daughter, a frigid girl with no passion who calls a peck on the cheek a kiss while looking through a magnifying glass, but that's a conversation for another time; Bill's not even born yet
I can see him when he's seventeen or so
And startin' to go with a girl
I can give him lots of pointers, very sound
On the way to get 'round any girl
I can tell him ...
Wait a minute
Could it be?
What the hell
What if he is a girl?
What would I do with her?
What could I do for her?
A bum with no money
You can have fun with a son
But you got to be a father to a girl
When Bill's nearly 17 and interested in girls, I will teach him how to attract them. But hold on, I can't do that to a girl, will he have a girl instead? However, what kind of good could he do for her, he's broke. Having a son might be enjoyable, but being a girl's father is different
She mightn't be so bad at that
A kid with ribbons in her hair
A kind o' neat and petite
Little tin-type of her mother
What a pair
But maybe having a daughter is not that bad. An adorable little girl with ribbon in her hair who looks like her mother? That would be nice.
I can just hear myself bragging about her
My little girl
Pink and white
As peaches and cream is she
My little girl
Is half again as bright
As girls are meant to be
I can already hear myself tell everyone how great my little girl is. As pink and white as peaches and cream, she'll be half again as smart as other girls.
Dozens of boys pursue her
Many a likely lad does what he can to woo her
From her faithful dad
She has a few
Pink and white young fellers of two and three
But my little girl
Gets hungry every night and she comes home to me
Many potential suitors pursue her, but her father is still her best companion. Although she has a few young friends, she still comes home hungry to her father
I got to get ready before she comes
I got to make certain that she won't be dragged up in slums
With a lot of bums like me
She's got to be sheltered
And be dressed in the best that money can buy
I never knew how to get money
But, I'll try, by God! I'll try
I'll go out and make it or steal it
Or take it or die
I need to prepare prior to my daughter's arrival, making sure she won't grow up like me around poor indigent people. I will promise to provide her with the finest things money can get. I've never understood how to make money but I will do anything required to provide for her safety and comfort, even if it means stealing or dying.
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC
Written by: Oscar Hammerstein II, Richard Rodgers
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Antonio Rinaldi
I wonder what he'll think of me
I guess he'll call me "the old man"
I guess he'll think I can lick
Ev'ry other fella's father
Well, I can!
I bet that he turns out to be
The spittin' image of his dad
But he'll have more common sense
Than his puddin'-headed father ever had
I'll teach him to wrassle and dive through a wave
When we go in the morning for our swim
His mother can teach him the way to behave
But she won't make a sissy out o' him
Not him! Not my boy! Not Bill!
Bill. I will see that he is named after me, I will.
My boy, Bill, he'll be tall and tough as a tree, will Bill!
Like a tree he'll grow with his head held high
And his feet planted firm on the ground
And you won't see nobody dare to try to boss or toss him around!
No pot-bellied, baggy-eyed bully'll boss him around
I don't give a damn what he does as long as he does what he likes!
He can sit on his tail or work on a rail with a hammer and hammer in spikes!
He can ferry a boat on a river or peddle a pack on his back
Or work up and down the streets of a town with a whip and a horse and a hack
He can haul a scow along a canal, run a cow around a corral
Or maybe bark for a carousel
Of course, it takes talent to do that well
He might be a champ of the heavyweights or a fella that sells you glue
Or President of the United States, that'd be all right, too
[Spoken:]
His mother would like that, but he wouldn't be President unless he wanted to be
Not Bill!
My boy, Bill he'll be tall and as tough as a tree, will Bill
Like a tree he'll grow with his head held high
And his feet planted firm on the ground
And you won't see nobody dare to try to boss or toss him around!
No fat-bottomed, flabby-faced, pot-bellied, baggy-eyed bully'll boss him around
And I'll be damned if he'll marry his boss's daughter
A skinny-lipped virgin with blood like water
Who'll give him a peck and call it a kiss
And look in his eyes through a lorgnette
Hey, why am I takin' on like this?
My kid ain't even been born yet!
I can see him when he's seventeen or so and startin' in to go with a girl
I can give him lots of pointers, very sound, on the way to get 'round any girl
I can tell him
Wait a minute!
Could it be?
What the hell!
What if he is a girl?
You can have fun with a son
But you got to be a father to a girl
She mighn't be so bad,at that
A kid with ribbons in her hair!
A kind of neat and petite little tin-type of her mother!
What a pair!
My little girl, pink and white as peaches and cream is she
My little girl is half again as bright as girls were meant to be!
Dozens of boys pursue her, many a likely lad
Does what he can to woo her from her faithful dad
She has a few pink and white young fellas of two and three
But my little girl gets hungry ev'ry night and she comes home to me!
I gotta get ready before she comes
Gotta make certain that she won't be dragged up in slums with a lot o' bums like me
She's gotta be sheltered and fed and dressed in the best that money can buy!
I never knew how to get money but, I'll try, by God! I'll try!
I'll go out and make it or steal it
Or take it or die!
Stanley
I wonder what he'll think of me
I guess he'll call me "the old man"
I guess he'll think I can lick
Ev'ry other fella's father
Well, I can!
I bet that he turns out to be
The spittin' image of his dad
But he'll have more common sense
Than his puddin'-headed father ever had
I'll teach him to wrassle and dive through a wave
When we go in the morning for our swim
His mother can teach him the way to behave
But she won't make a sissy out o' him
Not him! Not my boy! Not Bill!
Bill. I will see that he is named after me, I will.
My boy, Bill, he'll be tall and tough as a tree, will Bill!
Like a tree he'll grow with his head held high
And his feet planted firm on the ground
And you won't see nobody dare to try to boss or toss him around!
No pot-bellied, baggy-eyed bully'll boss him around
I don't give a damn what he does as long as he does what he likes!
He can sit on his tail or work on a rail with a hammer and hammer in spikes!
He can ferry a boat on a river or peddle a pack on his back
Or work up and down the streets of a town with a whip and a horse and a hack
He can haul a scow along a canal, run a cow around a corral
Or maybe bark for a carousel
Of course, it takes talent to do that well
He might be a champ of the heavyweights or a fella that sells you glue
Or President of the United States, that'd be all right, too
[Spoken:]
His mother would like that, but he wouldn't be President unless he wanted to be
Not Bill!
My boy, Bill he'll be tall and as tough as a tree, will Bill
Like a tree he'll grow with his head held high
And his feet planted firm on the ground
And you won't see nobody dare to try to boss or toss him around!
No fat-bottomed, flabby-faced, pot-bellied, baggy-eyed bully'll boss him around
And I'll be damned if he'll marry his boss's daughter
A skinny-lipped virgin with blood like water
Who'll give him a peck and call it a kiss
And look in his eyes through a lorgnette
Hey, why am I takin' on like this?
My kid ain't even been born yet!
I can see him when he's seventeen or so and startin' in to go with a girl
I can give him lots of pointers, very sound, on the way to get 'round any girl
I can tell him
Wait a minute!
Could it be?
What the hell!
What if he is a girl?
You can have fun with a son
But you got to be a father to a girl
She mighn't be so bad,at that
A kid with ribbons in her hair!
A kind of neat and petite little tin-type of her mother!
What a pair!
My little girl, pink and white as peaches and cream is she
My little girl is half again as bright as girls were meant to be!
Dozens of boys pursue her, many a likely lad
Does what he can to woo her from her faithful dad
She has a few pink and white young fellas of two and three
But my little girl gets hungry ev'ry night and she comes home to me!
I gotta get ready before she comes
Gotta make certain that she won't be dragged up in slums with a lot o' bums like me
She's gotta be sheltered and fed and dressed in the best that money can buy!
I never knew how to get money but, I'll try, by God! I'll try!
I'll go out and make it or steal it
Or take it or die!
Eric Toogood
This was a real surprise to me, Sinatra's rendition of this great piece of music is quite simply brilliant. What a voice!
Lady Laraine
Frank Sinatra was supposed to play "Billy Bigelow" in the film version of "Carousel," according to an interview I saw on TV with Shirley Jones. She said that Frank showed up to film the movie version and quickly backed out when he saw there were two cameras to film the CinemaScope version. Criticizing that he was there "to film one movie", not two. After this happened, Sinatra was dubbed as difficult to work with. Although I thought Gordon MacRae did a fantastic job--I would have loved to have seen Sinatra do it instead.
dmnemaine
Not as vocally "correct" as John Raitt or Gordon MacRae, but definitely a better "acting" job than either of them.
rad2damax
I'm really just blown away by this performance. So heart felt... and at the end he is belting it out solidly. It's SO impressive. What a voice...and what wonderful phrasing. Nobody else else like Frank.. just incredible.
CaravanKen54
Trying to have a baby.......and this song keeps poping into my head...I think it's how every potential father feels..
ALAN GRANVILLE
Sinatra treats this as a story, which of course he did to every song he ever sang. Others who've sung it may have better voices but no one can get to the heart of the lyrics like Frank and he wrings every ounce of emotion in a superlative performance.
Pherond
Even at my ripe age of 16, I can safely say this is one of my favorite songs of all time. Sinatra was beyond a legend; he was a phenomena. And also my favorite musician of all time. And this is my favorite song, probably.
Lorraine Liberti
@dontzenyourselfout I meant it in such a complimentary way.
Lorraine Liberti
Pherond Just heard this for the very first time at the "overripe" age of 64! You're 25 now and wonder how your taste in music has evolved. Such a unique person you must be.
Jane Doe
This song reminds me of my Dad too. I cry everytime I hear it. My Dad sang "My Little Girl" to me,