Petula Clark (born 15 November 1932) is a British singer, actress, and song… Read Full Bio ↴Petula Clark (born 15 November 1932) is a British singer, actress, and songwriter. She started her professional career as a child performer and has had one of the longest careers of any British entertainer, spanning more than eight decades. Clark's professional career began during the Second World War as a child entertainer on BBC Radio. In 1954 she charted with "The Little Shoemaker", the first of her big UK hits, and within two years she began recording in French. Her international successes have included "Prends mon cœur", "Sailor" (a UK number one), "Romeo", and "Chariot". Hits in German, Italian, and Spanish followed. In late 1964 Clark's success extended to the United States with a four-year run of career-defining, often upbeat singles, many written or co-written by Tony Hatch and Jackie Trent. These include her signature song "Downtown" (US number one), "I Know a Place", "My Love" (US number one), "A Sign of the Times", "I Couldn't Live Without Your Love", "Who Am I", "Colour My World", "This Is My Song" (by Charlie Chaplin) (a UK number one), "Don't Sleep in the Subway", "The Other Man's Grass Is Always Greener" and "Kiss Me Goodbye". Between January 1965 and April 1968 Clark charted with nine US Top 20 hits in the US, where she was sometimes called "the First Lady of the British Invasion".

Clark has sold more than 68 million records. She has also enjoyed success in the musical film Finian's Rainbow and in the stage musicals The Sound of Music, Blood Brothers, Sunset Boulevard, and Mary Poppins.

Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petula_Clark

Discography
Petula Clark Sings (1956)
A Date with Pet (1956)
You Are My Lucky Star (1957)
À Musicorama (1958)
Petula Clark in Hollywood / Pet Clark (1959)
Prends mon coeur (1959)
Tête à tête avec Petula Clark (1961)
Rendez-vous avec Petula Clark (1962)
In Other Words (1962)
Petula (1962)
Le soleil dans les yeux (1963)
Ceux qui ont un coeur (1964)
Hello Paris (1964)
Petula au Canada (1964)
Downtown (1965)
I Know a Place (1965)
The World's Greatest International Hits (1965)
Petula '65 (1965)
My Love (1966)
I Couldn't Live Without Your Love (1966)
Petula Clark '66 (1966)
Colour My World (1967)
These Are My Songs (1967)
C'est ma chanson (1967)
Petula Italiana (1967)
The Other Man's Grass Is Always Greener (1968)
Petula (1968)
Portrait of Petula (1969)
Just Pet (1969)
Memphis (1970)
Warm and Tender / The Song of My Life (1971)
Comme une prière (1972)
La chanson de Marie-Madeleine (1972)
Now (1972)
Come On Home (1974)
I'm The Woman You Need (1975)
Je reviens (1977)
Destiny (1978)
Where The Heart Is (1998)
Here For You (1998)
Solitude & Sunshine: The Songs of Rod McKuen (2007)
Lost in You (2013)
From Now On (2016)
Living For Today (2017)
Vu d'ici (2018)

If I Had My Way
Petula Clark Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I'd like to make your golden dreams come true, Dear
If I only had my way
A paradise this world would seem to you, Dear
If I only had my way

You'd never know a care, a pain, or sorrow
If I only had my way
I'd fill your cup of happiness tomorrow

If I only had my way

If I had my way, Dear, forever there'd be
A garden of roses for you and for me
A thousand and one things, Dear, I would do
Just for you, just for you

If I had my way we would never grow old
And sunshine I'd bring every day

You would reign all alone, like a queen on a throne
If I had my way

Overall Meaning

Petula Clark’s song If I Had My Way expresses the desire to make someone’s dreams come true. The lyrics are about wanting to fill someone’s life with happiness and joy. The song begins by stating that if the singer had her way, she would like to make the listener's dreams come true. This is followed by an expression of the wistful desire to transform the world into a paradise for the listener. The singer wishes to ensure that the listener never experiences pain, care or sorrow but is instead besieged with happiness.

The lyrics of the song suggest that the singer would do anything for the person she is singing to. This includes filling their cup with happiness, ensuring that they are never beset by care or sorrow, and filling their life with a garden of roses. If the singer had the power to do anything, she says, she would make sure that the person she is singing to lives their life as though they were a queen, never growing old, and basking in an endless sunlit space.

Line by Line Meaning

I'd like to make your golden dreams come true, Dear
I want to fulfill all of your dreams and desires

If I only had my way
If only I had control over everything

A paradise this world would seem to you, Dear
I want to make this world a paradise for you

You'd never know a care, a pain, or sorrow
I want you to never experience any sort of sorrow or pain

If I only had my way
If only I had control over everything

I'd fill your cup of happiness tomorrow
I want to fill your life with happiness starting from tomorrow

If I had my way, Dear, forever there'd be
If only I had my way, I would keep things perfect and beautiful forever

A garden of roses for you and for me
I imagine a garden of roses for both of us to enjoy

A thousand and one things, Dear, I would do
There are so many things I would do for you if only I had the chance

Just for you, just for you
Everything I do would be just for you

If I had my way we would never grow old
If only I had control over time and aging, we would never have to grow old

And sunshine I'd bring every day
I would ensure that every day is filled with happiness and hope

You would reign all alone, like a queen on a throne
You would be treated like royalty if only I had my way

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: JOSEPH BURNETT, WILLIE JOHNSON, STEVEN KRIKORIAN, ROBERT RANDOLPH

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

If I Had My WayPetula Clark Lyrics

If I Had My Way
Petula Clark Lyrics