Frank Sinatra was truly one of those rare gems who managed to capture the hearts of every age. To mark the centenary of Sinatra’s life, we have compiled another “best of” at the Indiependent – with our most treasured Sinatra songs and the reasons why they are so dear to us.
It Was a Very Good Year – Amie Bailey
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHJ3iZpfBRI
Recorded by Frank Sinatra in 1966 (the track was originally performed by Bob Shane in 1961), ‘It Was a Very Good Year’ is half a century old, but remains one of music’s most timeless classics. It’s a story of growing up, told through memories of a man’s most memorable years at the ages of seventeen, twenty-one and thirty-five.
As the protagonist remembers “small town girls / and soft summer nights”, later “city girls / who lived up the stairs” and later still “[riding] in limousines / their chauffeurs would drive”, the listener can’t help but reminisce themselves.
The beautiful lyrics combined with a calming, sultry instrumental are a memory, a dream in themselves, taking you back to whenever or wherever it may choose. Such a focus reminiscing could easily make for negative atmosphere, but ‘It Was A Very Good Year’ is a wonderfully positive, hopeful track of a life “poured sweet and clear”. Thanks to this, alongside a gorgeous instrumental and, of course, Sinatra’s smooth-as-silk, distinctive vocals, it is easily one of Sinatra’s most stunning tracks, and of course a favourite of many.