How Do You Keep The Music Playing
Tony Bennett Lyrics
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How do you make it last?
How do you keep the song from fading too fast?
How do you lose yourself to someone?
And never lose your way
How do you not run out of new things to say?
And, and since we know we're always changing
How can it be the same? Yeah
You're sure your heart will fall apart
Each time you hear her name
I know the way you feel for her
It's now or never
The more I love, the more that I'm afraid
In her eyes may not see forever
Forever
Tony if we can be the best of lovers
And be, baby, be the best of friends
If we can try with every day to make it better as it grows
With any luck, then I suppose
The music never ends
Yes, I know, I know the way I feel for her
It's now or never, now or never
The more I love, the more that I'm afraid, more, more that I'm afraid
That in her eyes, I may not see forever
Forever, forever, forever
If we can be the best of lovers
Baby if we can be, ooh, be the best of friends
If we can try with every day to make it better as it grows
With any luck, I suppose
The music ne-ne-ever, never, never, never, never ends
Never ends
The song “How Do You Keep The Music Playing” talks about the difficulties and challenges that come with the pursuit of eternal love. The first verse poses a question: “How do you keep the music playing?” which can be interpreted as asking how to keep the spark of a relationship alive. This is followed by another question: “How do you make it last?” which is an open inquiry on how to make a relationship work in the long run. The third line, “How do you keep a song from fading too fast?” continues with the same theme - how to maintain a connection and passion in a relationship.
The second verse is more introspective and talks about how to lose oneself in a relationship while still maintaining a sense of individuality. “How do you lose yourself to someone, and never lose your way?” suggests that it’s easy to lose yourself in a relationship and forget where you stand as an individual. The next question, “How do you not run out of new things to say?” addresses the issue of what happens when the initial excitement of a relationship has passed, and how to keep the communication going.
The song acknowledges the fact that people and relationships change over time, and the challenge is to keep things interesting, to keep the music playing. The chorus suggests that true love is a combination of a deep friendship and a passionate romance. It also acknowledges the difficulty of the task, as it asks how, year after year, the heart can withstand hearing the name of a loved one without falling apart. In the end, the song suggests that if both partners work on constantly improving the relationship, the music never ends.
Line by Line Meaning
How do you keep the music playing
How do you maintain the love and passion in a relationship, just like the music that keeps playing
How do you make it last
How do you ensure that your love and relationship will last forever
How do you keep a song from fading too fast
How do you keep the spark and excitement in a relationship from fading away too quickly
How do you lose yourself to someone
How do you give yourself completely to someone you love
And never lose your way
Without getting lost or losing sight of who you are as a person
How do you not run out of new things to say
How do you keep the relationship fresh and exciting with new conversations and experiences
And if we know we're always changing
Given the fact that people change over time
Why should it be the same
Why should we expect the relationship to remain the same without any effort
And tell me how year after year
How can we maintain the love and passion in a relationship even as the years go by
You're sure your heart will fall apart
Without the person you love, it would feel like your heart is shattered into a million pieces
Each time you hear her name
Just merely hearing the person's name can be so emotionally overwhelming
I know the way I feel for you, it's now or never
I know that my love for you is so strong that I can't wait any longer to express it
The more I love, the more that I'm afraid
The more in love I am, the more scares me because the possibility of getting hurt increases
That in your eyes, I may not see forever, forever
I'm afraid that one day you may stop loving me and our love won't last forever
If, if we can be the best of lovers
If we can have both an intense romantic and a loving friendship relationship with each other
Yet be the best of friends
While also having a deep understanding and mutual respect as friends
If we can try with everyday to make it better
If we can both put forth the effort to improve the relationship day by day
As it grows, with any luck, then I suppose
As the relationship flourishes and grows stronger, hopefully
The music, the music, the music
The love and passion in the relationship
Never, never, never ends
Will never come to an end
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Tratore
Written by: Michel Jean Legrand, Alan Bergman, Marilyn Bergman
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Mark Blackburn
Tony Bennett / George Michael – How Do You Keep The Music Playing?
Tony Bennett, in his 95th year has outlived several, celebrated “Duets” partners – including George Michael: At this moment Siriusly Sinatra is playing their duet of How Do You Keep The Music Playing?' I confess to getting goosebumps hearing the power of both their 'young and old' voices, intertwined in unison and in harmony – restrained power – like a couple of muscle cars, their engines at idle, until the 'full-throated roar' of their final crescendo – on the words “. . . the music never never ends!”
A song by the 'The Bergmans' -- Marilyn and Alan – that has a brief Wikipedia entry (below). For reasons I can't express I'm just grateful that Sirius programmer 'Jersey Lou' Simon included on his playlist this night!
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"How Do You Keep the Music Playing?" is a song composed by Michel Legrand, with lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bergman for the 1982 film Best Friends, where it was introduced by James Ingram and Patti Austin. It was one of three songs with lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bergman that were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 55th Academy Awards.
Tony Bennett recorded it three times: The Art of Excellence (1986), Duets: An American Classic (with George Michael) (2006) and Duets II (with Aretha Franklin) (2011).
Thanks for sharing, Tony Bennett. Celebrated this night at Sinatra Family - Forum - "Other Celebrities" https://sinatrafamily.com/forum/showthread.php/6558-Tony-Bennett?p=1308222#post1308222
Jack Jacinto
A Funny Anecdotes ....Vic my elder Brother and I went Mae,eting in the Blumentritt area..1985 newly installed 5th Avenue depot..as we Go marketing si Bjctima mahukig mamakengke. So,E Lady relative asked: “ Vic,. GALIT AKO KAY BIY! Bakit Hundi mo pinatapon ang Taning? “NYOR eat ka lang..kita mo nagkaron ka ng SingKwenta walang kahit AP hitap di ba?
Oo nga ano?ano ba tinanong?
Wala! (sumakit na naman 47tiyan natin nu Vux!
Pag dating ng 5th Ave..NAY SI JUNIOR BIGLANG NAG KARON NG 50 pesos! Swerte talaga nitong Pandak na ito!
Hahaha! Sino ba nakita n’yo Vic. Si Dely yata Nay.
Ah oo. Alam mo anak na Negro..alam ng lahat na ikaw yun laging labas maso ng lugar ng mga baliw!
Ma maman.Toitoo ba ..MABUTI YUN OTANKA!
Baliw nga yan Leroy SK Ta ang talim!
Maraming ganyan sa De Kcampo! bang yun...?sabi ng Vic Tima%...yan na nga! Tapos she put a 50 pesos peso bill! They waved giidbye at each ither.
Galit
S’ya n sabi ng Vic?..
JackStrait
Wow I thought it would be impossible to top the version with Aretha, but this is pretty amazing! I love hearing Tony sing the higher part at the end of this version.
Dwayne McDowell
George is great but respectfully the aretha's is just Rawwwwwwww thrill !
Dwayne McDowell
But on the record of Aretha ...Tony cried with the emotions she pulled out! If this isn't something that can't be top!
Richard Lee
@Tom-Bot Well, thank you for agreeing, discerning one. Was a singer once, know what it takes to really deliver on a song, and it is sometimes surprising, always interesting to hear various versions of good songs, and who does, and who doesn't. Tony, for me, also owns Girl Talk, vocal-wise. Neil Hefti otherwise, and why not? He wrote it, bless him. Mancini also very good on this. But i got off subject here, didn't i.
Tom-Bot
@Richard Lee I think he does. Aretha is a great singer, one of the greatest singers of all time, no question. But she misses the mark on that one while I think Tony comes so straight from the heart, I think, he's impossible to top.
Richard Lee
but he does, doesn't he. nobody ever sang this song better than Tony.
Josie Centeno
Beautiful music. ❤️💫❤️💯
What a voice of GM!! & TM good job💫✅💯
Zoe Horner
George Michael is excellent and complements Tony Bennett very well. Apparently it only took one take. 👌❤️
Warren Fuchs
GM was Brilliant
Warren Fuchs
I like how George's voice adjusts to the music