When I was 15 and 16 in high school, I became acquainted with Frank Sinatra. The texture of the arrangements and simplicity of the lyrics were perfect for his classic voice. I present to you "A Man Alone" as a bonus, something extra.
A Man Alone is a pensive ballad where a confident man proclaims that he has come to terms with being alone while admitting he faces down loneliness at night. There is a verse that harkens fond memories of Casablanca when he sings... "A man who knows love is seldom what it seems... Only other people's dreams" I draw an immediate connection between what Frank sings and Rick's bravado in Casablanca after his heartbreak:
Rick: I'm not fighting for anything anymore except myself. I'm the only Cause I'm interested in.
Ilsa: (after a significant pause) Richard. Richard, we loved each other once. If those days meant anything at all to you...
Rick: I wouldn't bring up Paris if I were you. It's poor salesmanship.
Ilsa: Please, please listen to me. If you knew what really happened. If you only knew the truth.
Rick: I wouldn't believe you no matter what you told me. You'd say anything now to get what you want.
Ilsa (scornfully): You want to feel sorry for yourself, don't you? With so much at stake, all you can think of is your own feeling. One woman has hurt you and you take your revenge on the rest of the world. You're a, you're a coward and a weakling...
Annina: Oh! (relieved) Monsieur. You are a man. If someone loved you very much, so that your happiness was the only thing that she wanted in the world, but she did a bad thing to make certain of it, could you forgive her?
Rick: Nobody ever loved me that much.
If you have not seen Casablanca, I recommend it beyond all movies. It is the greatest film Hollywood ever produced in my opinion and is to this day my favorite film.
Frank also sings As Time Goes By, however it somehow falls short of Dooley Wilson's performance, even if he couldn't really play a piano. :) I give to you A Man Alone by Frank Sinatra. May you all be fools in love.
A MAN ALONE
In me, you see a man alone
Held by the habit of being on his own
A man who listens to the trembling of the trees
With sentimental ease
In me, you see a man alone
Behind the wall he's learned to call his home
A man who still goes walkin' in the rain
Expecting love again
A man not lonely except when the dark comes on
A man learning to live with memories of midnights that fell apart at dawn
In me, you see a man alone
Drinking up Sundays and spending them alone
A man who knows love is seldom what it seems
Only other people's dreams
A man learning to live with memories of midnights that fell apart at dawn
In me, you see a man alone
Drinking up Sundays and spending them alone
A man who knows love is seldom what it seems
Just other people's dreams
