Burt Bacharach – Do You Know the Way to San Jose (2023) Peinture par Noël Van Hoof

Although Burt Bacharach has reached a respectable age, his death came to me as a shock. His music is strongly connected to my childhood (we're talking about the late 60s and early 70s) for the simple reason that his songs – many of them famous hits – were often heard on the radio. And when I think of Burt Bacharach, I also think of Dionne Warwick, his most important interpreter. It is a strange idea to make a selection of only three songs from the hundreds of songs that Bacharach has written, most of them with the lyrics of Hal David. The Bacharach songs are evergreens, his oeuvre is a kind of candy store. The three works I have chosen are therefore quite at random. Bacharach songs are often called “popular music” and “easy listening”. However, all singers who have ever sung the work of this great songwriter believe that his music is far from "easy". The only thing that is easy, is to give his music a place to your heart.
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Do you know the way to San José?
I've been away so long
I may go wrong and lose my way
Do you know the way to San José?
I'm going back to find
Some peace of mind in San José

L.A. is a great big freeway
Put a hundred down and buy a car
In a week, maybe two
They'll make you a star
Weeks turn into years, how quick they pass
And all the stars that never were
Are parking cars and pumping gas

You can really breathe in San José
They've got a lot of space
There'll be a place where I can stay
I was born and raised in San José
I'm going back to find
Some peace of mind in San José

Fame and fortune is a magnet
It can pull you far away from home
With a dream in your heart you're never alone
Dreams turn into dust and blow away
And there you are without a friend
You pack your car and ride away
I've got lots of friends in San José
Do you know the way to San José?

Oh, L.A. is a great big freeway
Put a hundred down and buy a car
In a week, maybe two
They'll make you a star
Weeks turn into years,how quick they pass
And all the stars that never were
Are parking cars and pumping gas
I've got lots of friends in San José
Ohhhh, Do you know the way to San José?
Hmmmm, Can't wait to get back to San José

Thèmes connexes

Burt BacharachDionne WarwickSan Jose