We didn’t really (obviously) get to spend an evening with Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett. What we did do was spend the evening with Andrew Walesch as he sang the most beloved songs of Frank and Tony. The Great Hunter and I were treated to a birthday dinner by my brother and his husband at a local live music venue, The Blue Strawberry. I might have mentioned this before. We had gone to see a singer perform Patsy Cline’s songs last year.

One of the songs Walesch performed was Tony Bennett’s iconic song, “The Lady is a Tramp”.

She gets too hungry, for dinner at eight
She likes the theater and never comes late
She never bothers, with people she’d hate
That’s why the lady is a tramp

Doesn’t like dice games, with barons or earls
Won’t go to Harlem in ermine and pearls
Won’t dish the dirt with the rest of the girls
That’s why this chick is a tramp

She loves the free, cool wind in her hair
Life without care
She’s broke and it’s oak
Doesn’t like California, it’s cold and it’s damp
That’s why the lady is a tramp

As I sat there listening to the words of this song, I thought, what’s up with this song? Why does that make the lady a tramp? I know only three meanings of the noun “tramp”…it’s a hobo, it’s a dog in an animated movie…or it’s a…ho. And how do I know it was a “ho”? Well, my mom told me.

Sometime back in the 1960s, my mom and I were at the kitchen sink doing the dinner dishes. Back then, you didn’t watch television while doing chores, the only t.v. was in the living room. Back then, you listened to the radio. I must have asked to listen to one of the more popular stations because a song I particularly liked came on. I was singing along:

The path was deep and wide from footsteps leading to our cabin
Above the door there burned a scarlet lamp.
And late at night a man would knock
And there would stand a stranger.
Yes, I’m the son of Hickory Holler’s tramp.

(O. C. Smith, 1968 Son of Hickory Holler’s Tramp)

Mom stopped and looked at me and sternly asked “why do you like that song?” I remember my eyes got wide and I was searching for the answer and all I could come up with was “I dunno, I guess I just like the music.” “Do you know what a tramp is?” she asked me. Well, of course I didn’t unless you want to count it was Red Skelton’s character Klem Kadiddlehopper, he was a tramp. She proceeded to explain to me that women that were tramps were not good women. I don’t think she went into detail…that didn’t come until several years later.

So, why, I thought would the woman described in this song be called a tramp? It certainly didn’t fit into my definition of a tramp. Because inquiring minds want to know, I turned to Google. I learned that this song “is a satirical description of a genuine woman who gets insulted by people in high society. The lyrics focus on how this “tramp” (woman of questionable morals, a vagrant, or general good-for-nothing) is actually just an unpretentious and honest individual.” (This song was written around 1937 when the world was just a little different .) (https://melodyinsight.com/frank-sinatra-the-lady-is-a-tramp-lyrics-meaning/)

The final song of the evening was a song we had been waiting for all evening, Frank’s signature song “I Did It My Way”. As Walesch sang the  lyrics:

 And now the end is here
And so I face that final curtain
My friend I’ll make 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
I did it, I did it my way

Sitting there in the darkened lounge, and hearing those words, I immediately started thinking about our brother, Steve, and how he courageously met his final curtain. And even though it’s been two years since Steve died, I was powerless to stop the tears that gathered in the corners of my eyes.  I did as I most often do when I start to cry at inappropriate times, I just let the tears run down my face. I ignore them and hope that if anyone else has seen them, they will ignore them too and only wipe them away when I think no one will notice.
It’s a beautiful song and it was a beautiful evening.

The next morning we learned that Tony Bennett had passed away at the age of 96.