Paul Albert Anka (born July 30, 1941, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada) is a Leba… Read Full Bio ↴Paul Albert Anka (born July 30, 1941, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada) is a Lebanese-Canadian singer and songwriter.

He began singing as a child, first starting in the St Elijah Syrian Orthodox Church choir in Ottawa. As a student at Ottawa's Fisher Park High School he was part of a trio called the Bobby Soxers.

Encouraged by his parents, at age 14 he recorded his first single, I Confess. In 1957 he went to New York City where he auditioned for ABC, singing a lovestruck verse he had written to a former babysitter, Diana Ayoub. The song, Diana, brought Anka instant stardom as it rocketed to number one on the charts. Diana is one of the best selling 45s in music history. He followed up with four songs that made it into the Top 20 in 1958, making him one of the biggest teen idols of the time. He toured Britain and then, with Buddy Holly, toured Australia.

His talent went beyond singing, writing Buddy Holly's giant hit, It Doesn't Matter Anymore, the theme for Johnny Carson's Tonight Show, Tom Jones' biggest hit record, She's A Lady, and the English lyrics for My Way, Frank Sinatra's signature song and sung by many well known artists, including Greta Keller, for whom the words were very fitting.

In the 1960s, Anka would begin acting in motion pictures as well as writing songs for them, most notably the theme for the hit movie The Longest Day. From his movie work, he wrote and recorded his monster hit, Lonely Boy. He then went on to become one of the first pop singers to perform at the Las Vegas casinos.

After more than ten years without a hit record, in 1974 he teamed up with Odia Coates to record the number 1 hit, Having My Baby. They would record two more duets that both made it into the Top 10. In 1975, he wrote a jingle for Kodak called The Times of Your Life. The jingle became so popular, he recorded it as a full song, The Times of Your Life, and it became a hit a year later.

By the 1970s, Anka's career centered around adult contemporary and big-band standards, played regularly in Las Vegas. On September 6, 1990, he became a naturalized citizen of the United States. He returned to his home town to buy a part of the Ottawa Senators hockey team.

In 1999 he visited Lebanon for sell-out performances at the Forum de Beyrouth (The Beirut Forum).

Paul Anka was elected to the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1980. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6840 Hollywood Blvd. In 1991, the Government of France honored him with the title "Chevalier in the Order of Arts and Letters". He was appointed an officer of the Order of Canada in 2005.

On the WB show Gilmore Girls, Lorelai named her new dog Paul Anka. He also made a guest appearance as himself in the episode "The Real Paul Anka", which aired April 11, 2006.

Paul Anka recently did a live session on Live @ The Orange Lounge playing songs from his new cover-CD Rock Swings.

Notable rap artist Jay-Z featured his vocals on the track I Did it my Way on The Blueprint 2: The Gift & the Curse in 2002.

He became infamous amongst musicians (and more recently to internet users) for a mid-70's after-show tirade which was secretly recorded by a "snake we later fired" (Anka: Fresh Air interview). The diatribe, in which Anka berates his crew and band members, has spawned a number of in-joke references and quotations, the main ones being: "The guys get shirts", "Where's Joe?", and "Slice like a hammer."

My Best Friend's Wife
Paul Anka Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I took to her, she took to me
And now we're meeting secretly

From four to five
My dreams all come alive
Would she ever leave me
I live from day to day

And if it ends
I lose two friends
I can't win either way

[Chorus:]
My best friend's wife
Is the love of my life
I just don't know
What to do about it
My best friend's wife
Is the love of my life
I just don't know
What to do about it

We get together socially
And she's with him
She's not with me

I try to hide
The way I feel inside
Going through the changes
So no one can tell

They say it's Heaven
Being in love
I'd hate to be in Hell

[Chorus:]

Would she ever leave me
I live from day to day

And if it ends
I lose two friends
I can't win either way

[Chorus:] 2X to fade

Overall Meaning

Paul Anka's song My Best Friend's Wife is a heart-wrenching expression of the forbidden love between a man and his best friend's wife. The song portrays a man who has fallen for his best friend's wife, and they are forced to meet secretly. The singer expresses his inner turmoil in the lyrics, saying he lives from day to day, wondering if she will ever leave him. He is also afraid he will lose both his best friend and his lover if his affair is discovered. The man finds it difficult to control his emotions, and he tries to hide his feelings, going through changes so that no one can tell.

The chorus of the song captures the essence of the singer's inner conflict, as he repeats that his best friend's wife is the love of his life, but he does not know what to do about it. He understands the impact of his actions on his friendship, and he is confused and uncertain about how to resolve his dilemma. Overall, the song is a poignant reflection of the difficulty of navigating a forbidden love and the consequences that arise from such circumstances.

Line by Line Meaning

I took to her, she took to me
I fell for her, she fell for me

And now we're meeting secretly
We're sneaking around to see each other

From four to five
During this brief hour

My dreams all come alive
My desires all come to fruition

Would she ever leave me
I wonder if she would ever be with me exclusively

I live from day to day
I am constantly living in the moment, unsure of what will happen next

And if it ends
If this arrangement comes to an end

I lose two friends
I will lose not only her, but also my best friend

I can't win either way
No matter what happens, I will come out as a loser

My best friend's wife
The woman married to my closest friend

Is the love of my life
She is the one I have been waiting for