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.
The House I Live in
Frank Sinatra Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A name, a map, or a flag I see
A certain word, democracy
What is America to me
The house I live in
A plot of Earth, a street
The grocer and the butcher
The children in the playground
The faces that I see
All races and religions
That's America to me
The place I work in
The worker by my side
The little town the city
Where my people lived and died
The howdy and the handshake
The air a feeling free
And the right to speak your mind out
That's America to me
The things I see about me
The big things and the small
The little corner newsstand
Or the house a mile tall
The wedding and the churchyard
The laughter and the tears
The dream that's been a growing
For a hundred and fifty years
The town I live in
The street, the house, the room
The pavement of the city
Or the garden all in bloom
The church the school the clubhouse
The million lights I see
But especially the people
That's America to me
In "The House I Live In," Sinatra laments America's racist tendencies, and its persistent lack of unity. "What is America to me?" he sings, answering his own question: "a name, a map, or a flag I see, a certain word, democracy." The country is not a physical location, but a set of ideals, he suggests. Sinatra goes on to describe the minutiae of everyday life in America in the song's verses. He paints a picture of a humble, working-class neighborhood with people from all walks of life. He sings about the grocers and butchers, the children in the playground, the people he works with, and the town where his people have lived and died.
The chorus of the song is where Sinatra's true feelings about America come through: "The house I live in, my neighbors white and black." He clearly believes in unity, but acknowledges that "the walls between us stand so very tall." Sinatra acknowledges the existence of racism and prejudice, without letting those dark elements completely overtake his vision of America. He believes in the promise of the country and the ideals that it represents, even as he criticizes some of its shortcomings.
Line by Line Meaning
What is America to me
What is the true definition of America to me?
A name, a map, or a flag I see
Is America defined by a mere name, a geographical location on a map, or a flag?
A certain word, democracy
Or is America more accurately defined by the idea and practice of democracy?
The house I live in
For me, America is the home where I reside
A plot of Earth, a street
It is a physical space in the world with my specific address and surroundings
The grocer and the butcher
It is the people and small businesses surrounding me that provide me with necessities
And the people that I meet
It is the individuals I encounter in my daily life within my community
The children in the playground
America to me is the youth playing in the park
The faces that I see
It is the diverse people and their various appearances that I see
All races and religions
It is the multitude of cultures and beliefs that are present in America
That's America to me
These elements uniquely make up the experience of America for me
The place I work in
For me, America is also the location where I earn a living
The worker by my side
The people whom I work with are also a component of America for me
The little town the city
Both small towns and bustling cities are what America means to me
Where my people lived and died
It is where generations of my family have called their home and some may even pass here as well
The howdy and the handshake
It is the polite gestures of hospitality that make me feel welcomed as an American
The air a feeling free
The sense of freedom is what defines the country for me
And the right to speak your mind out
It is the ability I have to openly voice my opinions without fear of persecution
That's America to me
These aspects together define America as a unique experience for me
The things I see about me
The physical environment around me is another important component of what America means to me
The big things and the small
This encompasses everything from grand landmarks to small details in my surroundings
The little corner newsstand
It is the small mom-and-pop shops that dot many neighborhoods
Or the house a mile tall
It is also the modern architecture and large buildings that display the country's innovation and progress
The wedding and the churchyard
It is significant life events, such as weddings and funerals, that add to the country's rich culture and traditions
The laughter and the tears
It is the range of emotions that I experience in connection with the people and events of America
The dream that's been a growing
It is the hope that's been alive for so many years
For a hundred and fifty years
The hope has persisted for more than a century and a half
The town I live in
For me, America is also the town where I dwell
The street, the house, the room
It is the specific location within the town where I have established my life
The pavement of the city
It is the concrete that symbolizes everyday city life
Or the garden all in bloom
It is also the beauty of nature that can be found in the country's many gardens
The church the school the clubhouse
It is the community spaces that allow individuals to gather and build a shared identity
The million lights I see
It is the bright lights that take over the city at night
But especially the people
It is the individuals who make America so unique and special to me
That's America to me
All of these aspects mark America as a one-of-a-kind experience for me
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: LEWIS ALLAN, EARL ROBINSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Shawn Yepes
I love this man may he Rest In Peace. I hope his music continues to live on for ever
Anthony Lariccia
No more can be said .
The Greatest, A Men !
Rich in 212
Thanks to my parents, I have been a Sinatra fan all my life. This is one of the songs I keep coming back to, and I was lucky enough to see him perform it live at Radio City Music Hall. RIP, good sir.
The Old Main Guy
Best song he's ever written. It's up there with God Bless the USA just because the words give you such a sense of pride. This is Frank Sinatra at his best
Ron Mac
This song was written by Abel Meeropol, not Frank Sinatra. Abel Meeropol also wrote Billie Holiday's "Strange Fruit".
The Old Main Guy
@Ron Mac oh good to know. Either way the song is iconic
Ron Mac
No problem. Abel Meeropol was an interesting man. If you have time you should read about him. He also taught author James Baldwin when he was in high school. He also later adopted the children of Ethel & Julius Rosenberg after they were executed in 1953, thanks to Trump's late buddy Roy Cohn.
Use your nogos
The rosenbergs were instrumental in giving Stalin the information for the atomic bomb, hence practically beginning the Cold War. They deserved what they were given.
Ron Mac
@Use your nogos as I understand it, the Rosenberg's conviction was based solely on the testimony of David Greenglass, the brother of Ethel Rosenberg. The Rosenberg's sons have stated their parents were the victims of Cold War propaganda. Living in 2021 I can't say the Rosenberg's "deserved what they got". I don't know if they did what they did were convicted of. I do know that J. Edgar Hoover's FBI committed some of the most heinous violations of American's civil rights in his pursuit of fame and prestige. You ever hear of Co-intelpro? But then you sound like a Fox Snooze simple mind who doesn't question what the government does. Unless of course the president happens to be a Democrat.
Movin N Groovin
Heard this for the first time few days ago the things that are going on in our country right now more people should listen to this song.