Minnelli's first film appearance was at the age of three in the final scene of the 1949 musical In the Good Old Summertime, starring her mother and Van Johnson. Minnelli started performing at age 16, in 1963, in an Off-Broadway revival of the musical Best Foot Forward, for which she received good notices. The next year, her mother invited Minnelli to perform with her at the London Palladium. The audience loved her, launching her musical career. She returned to Broadway at 19, and won a 1965 Tony Award for Flora the Red Menace. Minnelli would also receive Tony Awards for The Act in 1978 and a special Tony in 1974. She was nominated in 1984 for The Rink but lost to her costar, Chita Rivera.
The film The Sterile Cuckoo (1969), in which Minnelli starred as a love-seeking teenage misfit, garnered the young actress her first Academy Award nomination. In 1972, Minnelli won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role as Sally Bowles in the movie version of Cabaret, along with Joel Grey who won an Oscar reprising his role from the original Broadway production (that of the Emcee).
Minnelli has the distinction of being one of the few Academy Award winners whose parents are both Academy Award nominees. She has also won an Emmy Award for the 1972 TV special Liza with a Z. Minnelli received a 1990 Grammy Legend Award. She received Golden Globe Awards for Cabaret and for the TV movie A Time to Live.
Minnelli, like her mother, is known for her powerful vocal style, as in her trademark songs "Cabaret" and "Theme from New York, New York". Minnelli's original version of the latter, for the film in which she was a co-star with Robert DeNiro, preceded Frank Sinatra's successful cover version (for his Trilogy album), by two years.
After her performance as leading lady to Dudley Moore in 1981's Arthur, Minnelli made fewer, and fewer successful, film appearances.
She returned to Broadway in 1997, taking over the title role in the musical Victor/Victoria, replacing Julie Andrews. In his review, New York Times critic Ben Brantley commented, "her every stage appearance is perceived as a victory of show-business stamina over psychic frailty... She asks for love so nakedly and earnestly, it seems downright vicious not to respond."
Following her 2002 wedding to David Gest, Minnelli and Gest signed with the American cable network VH1 to star in their own reality series, but production of the series was cancelled at the last minute.
In 2004 and 2005 she appeared as a recurring guest star on the critically acclaimed TV sitcom Arrested Development as the lover of sexually and socially awkward Buster Bluth.
On January 1, 2006, she sang "New York, New York" at the second inauguration of New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. Other famous performances were at the 1978 Studio 54 party honoring New York City's revival, at which a guest was Mayor Ed Koch; the reopening of the Statue of Liberty on July 4, 1986; and at a 2001 New York Mets baseball game that was the metro area's first major sporting event after the September 11 attacks.
In 2013, she guest-starred on the NBC musical drama Smash, where she performed the number A Love Letter From the Times. She also reprised her role in the fourth season of Arrested Development.
If There Was Love
Liza Minnelli Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Satellites talking, to clatter our lives
Banks of predictions, policies made
Prophecies broken, violence deranged (deranged, deranged)
And if there was love, would that be enough?
And if there was love, would that be enough?
Pollsters and planners, incredibly sad
Indelibly inking, their names across our lives
Individual freedom, intrinsically curbed
Inspiration nil, slavery ten
And if there was love, would that be enough?
And if there was love, would that be enough?
And if there was love, would that be enough?
And if there was love, would that be enough?
I've been working for a long time
Scattering smiles
Must I swallow my pride?
There's a hole in the sky, as distant and vast
As our moral vacuum, and growing as fast
And if there was love, would that be enough?
And if there was love, would that be enough?
And if there was love, would that be enough?
And if there was love, would that be enough?
"They that have power to hurt and will do none,
That do not do the thing they most do show,
Who, moving others, are themselves as stone,
Unmoved, cold and to temptation slow;
They rightly do inherit heaven's graces
And husband nature's riches from expense;
They are the lords and owners of their faces,
Others but stewards of their excellence.
The summer's flower is to the summer sweet,
Though to itself it only live and die,
But if that flower with base infection meet,
The basest weed outbraves his dignity:
For sweetest things turn sourest by their deeds;
Lilies that fester smell far worse than weeds."
The lyrics of Liza Minnelli's song "If There Was Love" reflect a reflection on the current state of society, with powerful symbols and an array of complex emotions. The opening lines imply that those in positions of power hold vast influence over people's lives through their policies and actions, most of them disregardful of love or compassion. The banks of predictions and policies also seem to suggest that much of what is driving our world is based on fear and calculation rather than love and empathy.
The repeated lines of "and if there was love, would that be enough" can be interpreted as a plea to society asking if an infusion of love would be enough to fix what is broken. In the next verse, we see how the wealthy and influential pollsters and planners are only concerned with their own interests, and their decisions and opinions are stamped on our lives without care for the consequences on ordinary people. The reference to individual freedom being curbed in favor of slavery indicates that there is an enormous societal gap and inequality, and people feel trapped and powerless.
The third verse is a reflection on personal identity and the vast emptiness that seems to be prevalent in the world. The idea of working for a long time and scattering smiles, mixed with the mention of swallowing pride and the hole in the sky, give the impression of someone who feels their efforts to create a better world are insignificant, and the issues are too significant for any one person to fix. The reference to the moral vacuum symbolizes the absence of personal values and a sense of abandonment, while the growing pace describes the rate at which society is heading towards this negativity.
Overall, the song questions the state of affairs of the world and implores us to strive for love and empathy in our actions and policies, to combat the emptiness, and to create positive change in society.
Line by Line Meaning
Men of affairs, women with power
People with power and influence
Satellites talking, to clatter our lives
Advancements in technology taking over our lives
Banks of predictions, policies made
Speculations and decisions being made
Prophecies broken, violence deranged (deranged, deranged)
Predictions that have not come true leading to chaos and disturbance
And if there was love, would that be enough?
Wondering if love would be sufficient to mend the world's problems
Pollsters and planners, incredibly sad
People responsible for making decisions being unhappy
Indelibly inking, their names across our lives
Leaving their mark on the world we live in forever
Individual freedom, intrinsically curbed
Personal liberties being restricted
Inspiration nil, slavery ten
Lack of creativity leading to feeling trapped and enslaved
I've been working for a long time
The singer has been working hard for a while
Scattering smiles
Trying to be happy and bring cheer to others
Must I swallow my pride?
Wondering if she must suppress her feelings
There's a hole in the sky, as distant and vast
Something missing in our world
As our moral vacuum, and growing as fast
Our lack of morals is increasing rapidly
They that have power to hurt and will do none,
Those who can hurt others, but choose not to
That do not do the thing they most do show,
People who pretend to be someone they are not
Who, moving others, are themselves as stone,
People who can influence others without being affected themselves
Unmoved, cold and to temptation slow;
Emotionally distant and not easily swayed
They rightly do inherit heaven's graces
They deserve God's blessings
And husband nature's riches from expense;
They are able to preserve nature's beauty
They are the lords and owners of their faces,
They are in complete control of themselves
Others but stewards of their excellence.
Others can only care for their greatness
The summer's flower is to the summer sweet,
Something that is attractive and fleeting
Though to itself it only live and die,
It has a limited lifespan
But if that flower with base infection meet,
If it is exposed to something unclean, it loses its beauty
The basest weed outbraves his dignity:
A lowly weed would be better than the corrupted flower
For sweetest things turn sourest by their deeds;
Things that start out good can turn sour because of what they do
Lilies that fester smell far worse than weeds.
Even something beautiful can be ruined and become unpleasant
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: CHRISTOPHER LOWE, NEIL TENNANT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
David Armstrong
They that have pow'r to hurt and will do none,
That do not do the thing they most do show,
Who, moving others, are themselves as stone,
Unmoved, cold, and to temptation slow:
They rightly do inherit heaven's graces
And husband nature's riches from expense;
They are the lords and owners of their faces,
Others but stewards of their excellence.
The summer's flower is to the summer sweet
Though to itself it only live and die,
But if that flower with base infection meet,
The basest weed outbraves his dignity:
For sweetest things turn sourest by their deeds;
Lilies that fester smell far worse than weeds.
(Sonnet 94: W. Shakespeare)
Adey_Barrett
I love the way Liza is quoting Shakespeare's Sonnet 94 at the end of this song - especially the last two lines: For sweetest things turn sourest by their deeds, lilies that fester smell far worse than weeds. Her breathy dramatic vocals over Pet Shop Boys' cold electronica go so well together...
weirdalfan1980
Seriously underrated and under appreciated album.
Maria Lebron
Im with you 100%.
Phil Newton-England
Absolutely.....this album is a work of genius 💙💙💙. Still stands up today 2020
Gasparuccio X
totally
DAVID GEERLING
+weirdalfan1980 Hi !! YEP...Thanks to the Pet Sop Boys :):)
Jamie Switzer
+weirdalfan1980 oh yes, definitely!!
William Lyons
one of the best things liza ever did, sadly, it never sold well in the US. Though I and most of my friends loved it! She looked great too!
Jeffrey Wiesemann
I agree!! CRIMINALLY UNDERRATED LP!!!!!!
Nathan Farias
Why she didn’t continue in this direction is a shame .. she had good success in Europe with this sound .. her dramatic style is perfect for lush electronica ..