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.
So Sorry I Said
Liza Minnelli Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
If it's just a prison, I'm locked in it too
I tried to leave you but after all that we had said
I went to pieces when I should have shouted and screamed instead
So sorry, I said
Your powers of persuasion, those quizzical eyes
Have tired and tied me with innocent guile
I should have stalked out gone and painted the town bright red but instead
So sorry, I said
How tough it gets, don't talk to me about it
To pay off your debts, I worked on overtime
And you say you never believed in luck
If you need a reason, consider me mad
An old retainer, loyal and sad
I bought my freedom but after all that we had shared
I couldn't leave you, think of the skins I'd have to shed instead
So sorry, I said
So sorry, I said
So sorry, I said
The opening lines of "So Sorry, I Said" expressed a sense of resigned loyalty to the significant other. The singer is saying that she will be with her partner regardless of what difficulties may come their way, that she is in this ghetto and prison as much as he is. The lyrics reflect a relationship that has not been easy and the singer has tried to leave before, but had not been successful. The second verse speaks to the partner's power of persuasion and the hold that he has over her. The singer had thought of leaving before, but the partner played on her emotions so much that she could not imagine leaving him. It is a testament to the power of love that ties individuals and keeps them in relationships that are difficult.
The third verse talks of the sacrifices that the singer has made for her significant other. She has worked overtime to help pay off his debts, and yet he still does not believe in luck. The last verse talks about why the singer cannot leave the partner, and it's that she has already bought her freedom but cannot bring herself to leave him. She imagines that she would have to shed too many skins to begin again and that it is better to stay with the devil she knows.
The song is a poignant depiction of the complexities of love and the difficulties that come with having to make tough decisions. It is a melancholic ballad that speaks of the struggles of long-term relationships and the bonds that keep individuals together. The song's meaning is very relatable to anyone who has been in a difficult romantic relationship and has had to choose between leaving or staying.
Line by Line Meaning
If this is a ghetto, I'm in it with you
I am committed to you, even if it means facing hardship and adversity.
If it's just a prison, I'm locked in it too
I am willing to be with you, even if it means being confined and trapped in a challenging situation.
I tried to leave you but after all that we had said
I attempted to part ways, but our shared history made it difficult for me to walk away.
I went to pieces when I should have shouted and screamed instead
I suffered a breakdown and regret not expressing my emotions more assertively at the time.
Your powers of persuasion, those quizzical eyes
I am drawn to your ability to influence and charm me with your intriguing gaze.
Have tired and tied me with innocent guile
Your innocent yet crafty ways have exhausted me and bound me to you.
I would have walked out and after all the tears we shed
I was prepared to end things between us, despite the emotional pain it would cause.
I should have stalked out gone and painted the town bright red but instead
In hindsight, I should have left and enjoyed myself instead of staying, but I didn't.
How tough it gets, don't talk to me about it
I cannot handle any more difficulties, so please refrain from discussing any hardships with me.
To pay off your debts, I worked on overtime
I went above and beyond to help you pay off your debts, even if it meant sacrificing my own time and energy.
And you say you never believed in luck
You claim to be skeptical of luck and chance, despite depending on it to get us out of tight situations.
If you need a reason, consider me mad
I am deeply devoted to you, even if it means being labeled as crazy or irrational.
An old retainer, loyal and sad
I have been a long-time supporter and follower of yours, but it has made me unhappy and melancholic.
I bought my freedom but after all that we had shared
I thought that I could escape our relationship by purchasing my freedom, but our shared history made it impossible for me to move on.
I couldn't leave you, think of the skins I'd have to shed instead
I felt that I was too deeply ingrained in our relationship to leave, even if it meant having to change my entire identity and personality.
So sorry, I said
I apologize for my mistakes and for not being able to leave you, even though I know it would be best for both of us.
So sorry, I said
I feel remorseful and regretful for my actions and words.
So sorry, I said
I express my apologies and ask for forgiveness.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: CHRISTOPHER LOWE, NEIL TENNANT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@edgarfilho6129
Lyric:
If this is a ghetto, I'm in it with you
If it's just a prison, I'm locked in it too
I tried to leave you but after all that we had said
I went to pieces when I should have shouted and screamed instead
So sorry, I said
Your powers of persuasion, those quizzical eyes
Have tired and tied me with innocent guile
I would have walked out and after all the tears we shed
I should have stalked out gone and painted the town bright red but instead
So sorry, I said
How tough it gets, don't talk to me about it
To pay off your debts, I worked on overtime
And you say you never believed in luck
If you need a reason, consider me mad
An old retainer, loyal and sad
I bought my freedom but after all that we had shared
I couldn't leave you, think of the skins I'd have to shed instead
So sorry, I said
So sorry, I said
So sorry, I said
@tatakajaia2965
If this is a ghetto, I'm in it with you
If it's just a prison, I'm locked in it too
I tried to leave you but after all that we had said
I went to pieces when I should have shouted and screamed instead
So sorry, I said
Your powers of persuasion, those quizzical eyes
Have tired and tied me with innocent guile
I would have walked out and after all the tears we shed
I should have stalked out gone and painted the town bright red but instead
So sorry, I said
How tough it gets, don't talk to me about it
To pay off your debts, I worked on overtime
And you say you never believed in luck
If you need a reason, consider me mad
An old retainer, loyal and sad
I bought my freedom but after all that we had shared
I couldn't leave you, think of the skins I'd have to shed instead
So sorry, I said
So sorry, I said
So sorry, I said
@tuco359
я уже и забыл, как прекрасна эта песня
@user-st5gy7ep7o
I discovered this song in 2020 and I’m speechless how good is it. I now listen to it every day.
@TheFireline
discovered it today :-)
@evg931
Прекрасная песня!💎💐🍇💖
@BernardProfitendieu
I discovered it in 1989 - 30+ years of listening to it and it still sounds good!!
@allanhernandez2508
Beautiful song. Well done Pet Shop Boys and Liza Minnelli!
@user-sc3jb1ve3n
А я - в1990 (или в 91?) . Благодаря интернету "нашел" её в 2017! Песня - непередаваемо грустно-прекрасная. Обожаю творчество Лайзы! Женщина с трудной и тяжёлой судьбой
@RBS_
...an elegant, subdued Liza, singing with sophisticated flair, about someone, who is so fearful of being alone, they apologize to their emotionally abusive lover with self-defeatist, insecure, & masochistic tendency....& looks sublime, while doing it...So Sorry, LIZA said.....
@nathanfarias1051
Totally agreed .. always wanted her to continue in this direction .. one slight critique of the album is they restrained her voice a bit too much .. in interviews they wanted a more subdued delivery.. but I think a little more of her theatrical delivery would have worked better ..
@francoisgouws7288
Wonderful comment!