DO YOU KNOW
Paul Anka wrote the lyrics for this song based on a French song called “Comme d’habitude”, recorded by Claude Francois in 1967. Anka heard it in France and wrote “My Way” when he returned to New York. He gave it to Frank Sinatra, who recorded it on the 30th of December 1968.
Despite being the signature song for Frank Sinatra, he didn’t like it actually, and said in his later years about it as “a Paul Anka pop hit which became a kind of national anthem”.
In the UK, this song entered the charts six times between 1970-1971 becoming the song with the longest stay on the chart.
A 2005 survey by Co-Operative FuneralCare showed that this track was the most requested one at funerals in the UK. Spokesman Phil Edwards said, “It has that timeless appeal – the words sum up what so many people feel about their lives and how they would like their loved ones to remember them.”
VIDEO
LYRICS
And now, the end is near
And so I face the final curtain
My friend, I’ll say it clear
I’ll state my case, of which I’m certain
I’ve lived a life that’s full
I traveled each and every highway
And more, much more than this, I did it my wayRegrets, I’ve had a few
But then again, too few to mention
I did what I had to do
And saw it through without exemption
I planned each charted course
Each careful step along the byway
And more, much more than this, I did it my wayYes, there were times, I’m sure you knew
When I bit off more than I could chew
But through it all, when there was doubt
I ate it up and spit it out
I faced it all and I stood tall and did it my wayI’ve loved, I’ve laughed and cried
I’ve had my fill, my share of losing
And now, as tears subside
I find it all so amusing
To think I did all that
And may I say, not in a shy way
Oh, no, oh, no, not me, I did it my wayFor what is a man, what has he got?
If not himself, then he has naught
To say the things he truly feels
And not the words of one who kneels
The record shows
I took the blows
And did it my wayYes, it was my way