LISTENING
I did it my way by Frank Sinatra
My Way is a song popularized by Frank Sinatra. This page provides information about the song and links to the lyrics and the official video.
I did it my way by Frank Sinatra
Level
Beginner and intermediate students.
Facts about the song
- Song: My way
- Album: My way
- Date of release: 1969
- Genre: Traditional pop
- Lenght of the song: 4 minutes and 35 seconds.
- Writer:
Paul Anka - Composer: Claude François, Jacques Revaux
- Produced by: Sonny Burke
Interesting information about the song
The song was popularized by Frank Sinatra. Its lyrics were written by Paul Anka and set to music based on the French song “Comme d”habitude” composed in 1967 by Claude François and Jacques Revaux. Anka”s English lyrics are unrelated to the original French song.
Anka re-wrote the original French song for Sinatra, subtly altering the melodic structure and changing the lyrics:
“At one o’clock in the morning, I sat down at an old IBM electric typewriter and said, “If Frank were writing this, what would he say?” And I started, metaphorically, “And now the end is near.” I read a lot of periodicals, and I noticed everything was “my this” and “my that”. We were in the “me generation” and Frank became the guy for me to use to say that. I used words I would never use: “I ate it up and spit it out.” But that’s the way he talked. I used to be around steam rooms with the Rat Pack guys – they liked to talk like Mob guys, even though they would have been scared of their own shadows.”
The video
The lyrics
Language points
The song includes many interesting language points:
Expressions that may be useful to students:
- And now, the end is near,
And so I face the final curtain.
My friends, I’ll say it clear;
I’ll state my case of which I’m certain. - I’ve lived a life that’s full –
I’ve travelled each and every highway.
And more, much more than this,
I did it my way.
Source: Wikipedia
