How Frank nearly did it . . . Pie Tray
13 THINGS YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT MY WAY
This year sees the 50th anniversary of the release of Frank sinatra’s famous single ‘My Way’. it remained in the UK Top 40 for a record-breaking 75 weeks . . .
1) Over the years, it has been picked as a Desert island Disc by many castaways, including film producer harvey Weinstein, philanthropist reginald Kray and motorist Kenneth Noye.
2) sTaTisTics indicate that My Way is most commonly sung in public spaces by men between 55 and 75 years of age between 11pm and midnight, after at least half a dozen pints of beer. after half a dozen glasses of white wine, women of the same age prefer to sing ‘i Will survive’.
3) The lyrics of My Way were penned by veteran pop star Paul anka to a tune originally commissioned in 1956 by Nikita Khrushchev to accompany the entry of the soviet army into hungary.
‘ it is a stirring melody. Our patriotic troops gained great comfort from humming it as they marched,’ observed Khrushchev in his memoirs, which were also called My Way. ‘ Furthermore, it is a tune that strikes terror into the heart of the counter-revolutionaries.’
4) PaUl aNKa wrote the lyrics at one o’clock in the morning.
‘ i sat down at an old iBM electric typewriter and said to myself: “if Frank were writing this, what would he say?” Then it came to me in a flash. he’d say: “i can’t stand squealers. Plug that guy!” But, on reflection, i thought that sounded too harsh. so then it came to me: “and now, the end is near, so on your knees, fatso!” and i thought, yeah, i’m halfway there.’
5) While writing the lyrics, Paul anka found it hard to come up with fresh rhymes for My Way.
having exhausted both ‘Byway’ and ‘shy way’, he tried ‘sly stray’, ‘cry, prey!’, ‘i Pay’, ‘ sky Grey’, ‘Thigh spray’, ‘Die! slay!’ and ‘Pie Tray’, but none of them sent out quite the right message.
6) MUsicOlOGisTs continue to debate the line, ‘i ate it up and spit it out’. some argue that ‘it’ refers to a stick of chewing gum, while others insist it was an undercooked Brussels sprout.
ON The strength of sinatra’s hit, Mai Wei was the most popular name for a newborn baby in Peking in 1970.
8) FraNK siNaTra reportedly disliked the song, and resented it becoming known worldwide as his signature tune. ‘i wouldn’t sing it again, if i had My Way,’ he grumbled.
9) The original French version of My Way is called apres vous, or ‘after You’, but sinatra wanted it altered to something more appropriate to his character.
10) aT his inaugural Ball, President Trump and First lady Melania danced to the legendary song. halfway through, the new President invited members of his administration, including vice President Pence, to join in on a specially revised chorus: ‘Your Way’.
11) aFTer a public vote, the town of Deference, in arkansas, was recently renamed My Way.
The newly revised constituion of the town permits driving on whatever side of the road takes your fancy, the licence to burp, break wind and urinate in the street and, in the event that a park bench is full, the freedom to sit down on any stranger’s lap. ‘ This is the meaning of true liberty,’ says the Mayor of My Way, loudon Kleer.
12) aFTer singing the first two lines of My Way, Frank sinatra would sometimes be heckled by pedants.
‘Tell me this, Frank,’ they would yell. ‘First, you mention having regrets, then you say you’ve had too few to mention. so answer me this, Frank — why mention them, Frank? Why?’
rather than set aside valuable time for tackling this philosophical conundrum, Ol’ Blue eyes opted to have the pedants escorted from the concert hall or cabaret venue by trained operatives. The records show they would then be obliged to take the blows.
13) iN his recently published autobiography, David cameron confessed to whistling My Way as he walked back into Number 10 following his resignation announcement. Boris Johnson has already made plans to do the same.