My partner was a big fan of Ms. Lee that he sent her flowers when she was performing in San Francisco at the Fairmount. She was so gracious for the flowers and gave him tickets to see her show and he got to meet her after the performance. My partner passed away from AIDS and I was so grateful to Ms. Lee to give him opportunity to me her. Every time I hear Ms. Lee brings me back to that time to a happy and sad time in my life.
Thank you for your loving & thoughtful sharing of your beautiful memory of meeting Peggy Lee & her total empathy for you both. Such sharings are so much needed in this world, in this life. You got to live out a dream & expressed your gratitude with much kindness.
The older one gets, the more you understand this song. The fear of pain and horror....and it's the fear that is is the most dreaded. Because after it's all done....is that all there is ?
For some of us this is absolute truth. Had I only understood this when I was young my pain wouldn’t be so sharp as it is today. I was once so young as to be hopeful.
i feel that this song can be interpreted as being about not letting fear of death and pain and heartbreak stop you from living, and instead finding meaning in 'all that there is'.
I always end up bawling when I watch this. My mom was the same age as Peggy Lee, and lived an unhappy life. When this song came on the radio in 1969, my mom always became very angry. She didn't want to believe that that's all there is, but the reality is, that's all there was - my mom's life didn't get better. She deserved better, and didn't get it.
God, I’m So sorry to hear about your mom and her suffering,, My Dad and I used to listen to Peggy Lee, especially this song, he passed away from alcoholism 😢 We were Very close
@@glendahalpert6590 Thanks for the thoughts. My mom also fell into heavy alcoholism, and it was a major factor in her demise. She suffered a massive hemorrhagic stroke at age 64, and lived nearly all the next six years in nursing homes before dying a few months after turning age 70. Above I said that she lived an unhappy life, but it only became unhappy when the wheels came off my parents' marriage in the late 1950s.
She is the real deal. She sings with a kind of deadpan expression at times, and yet communicates brilliantly. Her velvet voice, her intelligence, her nuance. She really is magic.
As a dumb teenager in '69 we used to make fun of the song as we were rock 'n rollers then. Funny how you change over time and now I think it's a great song. Love Sinatra too. :-)
Very good description of Peggy, especially as relates to her intelligence. I'll bet even God gives her an audience from time to time. Hope you're having a ball in Heaven (and that goes for one of her ardent fans, Betty Daum). R.I.P., to both of these ladies.
Never screamed. Never busted a blood vessel trying to sing as loud as possible. No histrionics, no nudity or vulgarity...and Peggy Lee makes more of a lasting impact with almost a whisper than all the screechers combined. Gosh she was good.
Always loved this song. To me, it's about life and society telling you what's important and what's great, but this girl wasn't fooled, she thought for herself and realized that it was up to her to figure out what's important and great and what's not.
My sister, Rachel, after being diagnosed with terminal stomach cancer, aged 64, used to spend some weekends with me and my husband. One morning during breakfast, she took out her phone and played this song, I was shocked, but it is only now, 10 months later since she died that I understand what she was trying to convey to us. I play this video over and over.
Now Rachel knows that that's not all there is, after all. It never was all that there is but we mortals are so incapable of seeing how things really are. I hope you and your husband are hopeful and wise. God bless you. (from a well wisher in London)
Solomon once said that everything is meaningless. And I must tell you, without God, it all is. Nothing matters. Nothing will fulfill. Nothing means anything. But oh, with Jesus, everything means something.
Today this song is ringing in my ear. My grandmother used to sing it in her mid 60's. Now in my mid-60s, I finally understand the words:-) Is that all there is?
1969 What a year! Man walks on the moon, Woodstock, Charles Manson, Chappaquiddick, Viet Nam Draft lottery, Stonewall Riot, Hurricane Camille, Beatles release "Abbey Road", Easy Rider, Midnight Cowboy, Stone's free concert Altamont fan killed. I remember it all. I was 13 years old and singing along with Peggy Lee "Is that all there is?" In some way, I felt older then. My history teacher said we were going into the period of disillusionment following a period of idealism. It helped to put it all in perspective.
Ir SURE did!!! Come to think of it, it has never abated----what with the present Washington spectacle really having us "rap" "Is THIS all there is?!!"........THANK YOU....."I shall be released"-----(Nina Simone) is a much more "comforting" anthem as we grow old!........
I love this song. This song is one that keep me from ending it all after a bad break up. I have had many disappointments in life. But like Peggy I'm not ready for that Final disappointment.
By 1969 it was deep into the rock era and some thought Peggy was a relic from the past but them she came back on the scene and had this great tune at her very young age of 49. And then earlier in the year 57 year old Perry Como had a hit with "Seattle". Never count anyone out. Peggy reached #11 with this one. Amazing singer and actress as well.
One of my Dad's favorite songs. Born on the lower West Side in "Hell's Kitchen" in 1919, when it was truly Hell, he passed in 1989. He moved to Newark, NJ in the early 50's when he married my Mom & raised 5 sons (I'm 4th of 5). He was a man of his time: WW2 Navy vet, strong, silent, handsome & "oddly" generous, since he grew up with so little. I was with him when he passed, along with my Mom & hospice... I was in my 20's... I'll never forget that day or my great Dad💔
My mother loved this song..she died in 1997..my son was talking about something..and he said..is that all there is..and boom I was back in 1969..just like that..
Your comment made me smile sir. Not "i heard a joke" smile. More like "i understand every letter of that comment very deeply and personally" smile. And that a smile i get very rarely these days. Thanks.
No matter what life hands you, keep a POSITIVE attitude! Life should be 5% the facts of what occurs[good and bad] and 95%YOUR POSITIVE ATTITUDE and the actions you take! Cherish each and every day like a DIAMOND and do your best to help other people,especially those who are less fortunate than you are."Peggy Lee &Albert Camus"
Driving away from Memphis on my Honeymoon with my beloved wife (1969) This was magical...headed into the darkness after a wonderful dinner at Embers in Memphis...With rice in our hair...Now, she has been gone for now 15 years,...And I know about that final, devastating disappointment. Sometimes, That is ALL that there is. Cherish the ones that you love, because you never know what is just around the corner.
Dec. 26, 1979, Columbus, GA, a chilly night. My 18th birthday (legal drinking age then), driving around in my friend's 72 Buick Electra 225 land shark, drinking beer and smoking cigars. Around 1 am we saw fire trucks beside a suburban house. Stopped and got out with our cigars to see what was going on. Firefighters brought out the bodies of two little girls and laid them on the lawn, gave CPR to no avail. I'd never heard of this song but it captures perfectly how that tragedy affected me. Lee was/is a genius of the highest order and I recommend her early 90s album "There'll be Another Spring," a work of reinterpreted classics and originals to anyone.
So true, have as much fun as you can because that really is all there is. I don't mean to suggest that people should be hedonistic but just enjoy life and be kind.
It's probably a good thing I didn't hear this song when I was a child; it would have haunted me to the point of obsession. Last night, I played it over and over again until all my depths had been explored and my tears shed. Best sleep I had in months.
Glad is was cathartic for you. My mother HATED this song, and she was not a person inclined to hate anything. She thought it was a quick, one-way trip into depression.
After the madness of everything up to that point, and afterward, it was like an oasis or the center of a storm, just a brief few minutes of peace. Once in awhile you run into one.
Love the film, love the song and love, Peggy Lee. 👏👏👏👍 This song and Teri Garr's beehive hairdo and her jamming to The Monkees, are reasons enough to dig Scorseses' offbeat comedy!😂
I remember when this song came out, I was in junior high school. I thought at the time how depressing it was, but now all these years later I find it somehow comforting. Ironic.
I remember sitting at the kitchen table one summer with my aunt after she would come home from work and she'd pour herself a stiff drink and we'd play this song over and over and laugh and enjoy each others company...her late 60's... me 14 years old...those were the good old days😏 here's to you aunt Virgie🍸
I recall it was about '52. I was a busboy at Sahati's Stateline Country Club, So. Tahoe. Ms. Lee was performing there, the busboys were all entranced with this magnificent creature. One night we were across the street at the bar at Harvey's. She entered, the bar hushed and one of the busboys (normally a quiet mannered kid, but with a few beers under his belt) jumped up and shouted, "Well, I'll be damned, it's PEGGY LEE!". Those, indeed, were the days.
Dan Schell I was born in august ‘52, worked at both Harvey’s & Sahara Del Webb / High Sierra hotels, & I’m reading this now in November 2019. Life is amazing. Nice story, Dan.
I always admired Miss Peggy Lee for insisting and insisting and insisting Capitol release this song which she knew would result in a profound moment in her already long and remarkable career. The label finally gave in, pressing the minimum number of copies allowable, and just as Peg envisioned, the record climbed right onto the pop charts, went all the way to #13 and won Peggy Lee a far overdue Grammy award.
Mark Farnaway No, just different, The music industry has always had to be dragged kicking and screaming to a new style, or unique way of doing things. Then, when the inevitable happens and it succeeds, they all quickly jump on the bandwagon like they knew it would all along….
Sounds right. Capital records also were reluctant to release The Beatles' Hey Jude. They complained about the length. Talk about bozos whom haven't got a clue. Glad Peggy got the grammy. About time!
She really just wanted to grow old with someone 💔Her Father was an alcoholic and her Stepmother hit her over the head with a frying pan.She finally escaped by getting into showbusiness.
I think that I will have this song played at my funeral. It really strips life down to the bare minimum, doesn't it ? Life let's you down. Love lets you down. Even death will let you down. Merry Christmas !
@@iancopestick6757 I really hope you find excitement and joy! I know it can be hard. I have lived with depression since I was a child,. It is just the way my brain is made. I am 55 and recently started feeling less numb. I will keep you in my thoughts.
Ian, It depends how you look at life. Life has its ups and downs, but if you are a positive person look at the good and ignore the bad. God bless you. You seem to be feeling good, part of you any ways. Merry Christmas to you. This part.
That song, Bonnie and Clyde and Winchester Cathedral all creeped the hk out of me as a 5/6 yr old. Didn’t know what any of them meant but the chord progressions drew me in and helped to create this overly serious melancholy artist I am today. Even now as I write this I haven’t heard these songs in years but now I just have to. Thanks😒!
She is my favorite singer, even though I am from Russia, but in her I recognize myself precisely in those life difficulties that she had. I will definitely go to Westwood Cemetery in Los Angeles to give flowers to my favorite jazz artist. Her songs have always inspired me and inspire me to live, it's a pity that I didn't find her alive, I would so like to ask her and talk to her...but, unfortunately, I was born shortly before her death in 2000, and she died in 2001, she lives in our hearts and souls, rest in peace, Peggy, thank you very much for your eternal creativity, which continues to live. 😞❤❤❤❤❤
@@kyrstenwinterlake549 Thank you, I will definitely go to Los Angeles and lay flowers on her grave and post a minute of silence in her honor. I love jazz, but her songs are the ones I remember the most and are etched into my memory and they help me live.
And, isn't that all there is? This came out in 1969. Lots of crap going on in the country then. But really, I looked forward no being lonely (12 years old), and I'm still lonely (62). Sucks for some, not for the chosen
So choose yourself Diana, don't wait for some nameless force to choose you. Better the devil you know, right? Have a read of listen little man by Wilhelm Reich, you can read a portion of it for free at listenlittleman . com There's wisdom there that might help you.
For those who feel life owes them something special - this is their song . For those that believe life is something of an opportunity , something , a chance to make something special of - this song is a song of apathy . Peggy Lee makes you decide which way your gonna pick .Hauntingly performed as much as your choice haunts you . Thank you Peggy Lee .
Not at all. I know that life will never give anyone anything special. The only thing we've got is that we're all going to die disappointed. That's why this song is so good.
@@iancopestick6757 I think the song will be interpreted by each individual depending on how they feel. Some will see it as a song sang by a woman that always wanted something drastic to have more impact and others may see it as those challenges in life were not challenging enough to a strong person or even that she has always been in a state of not caring about anything, even death. Others might see it as just sarcasm.
that is one interpretation. but i see it so differently - i see it as an acknowledgement of the contradictions in life, the insignificance of each one of us ultimately, but also a celebration of each of us, of life and feelings and love and dance.. ahh it is all wrapped up and twisted and sad and... just lovely. every few years i revisit it and see something different as i go through the stages in my life, too. just wonderful.
One of the most genius songs ever written sung by one of the greatest female singers of all time. Reminds me to keep my chin up in spite of all of life's let-downs and disappointments and bad things that happen to us all. Thank you Peggy.
When I was a young girl this song became popular. I could relate to it even Then. Coming from a confusing and lonely childhood. But than I heard the true gospel of Jesus Christ . John 3:16. As I studied, I had my questions answered. God loves me, us. He really does ! This isn't all there is. There's more ! I hope Peggy found it. I like to think she did.
You do realise this is seen in Britain we don't do God here he doesn't exist it's just a thing of control for the weak and feeable minded take control for yourself and own actions instead of using the excuse of some mythical non existent being who supposedly lives in the sky
I had a chance to see Miss Peggy Lee perform live twice....Once in a little nightclub called The Ballroom on Manhattan's West Side....And once in her one-woman Broadway show called "Peg"....She was so uniquely her own person, a great stylist and interpreter of the lyric; there was no other singer remotely like her....Her delivery was always just right....She always under sang a song, paying great attention to the lyrics....Watch her eyes and facial expressions as she weaves her magic telling her story in each song....She was a great chanteuse on the same level as Edith Piaf and Mabel Mercer....None of these great story-tellers of song will ever be forgotten....
I have no idea what she's talking about, but the music arrangement is absolutely BRILLIANT!! The discordant melodies backing her vocals and lyrics borderline as creepy. It's simply beautiful! THIS is what we got in 1969. Imagine music anywhere near the sophistication of this song today?? Ha!!
This is indeed the great Peggy Lee's most significant song of her fantastic reportoire. At 75 I find myself asking that very same question about the pourpose of Life !
If that's all there is, if nothing we really do matters in the end, no destiny, no legavy, the only thing that matters is what we do, how we treat each other, and the joy we take in the small joys of life. Compassion. Kindness. Gratitude. Humility. Love. And some laughter.
Terrific. Peggy Lee is one of those artists whose talent and skill can't be described... But she was simply sublime. A friend told me about her, I didn't get her at first but I listened, watched and listened again. Now Peggy Lee is under my skin, she had expression and sincerity.
Wow....can't believe you've never heard Ms. Lee's music before. You must be really young. Peggy Lee is one of the greatest. I so wish I would've been part of that generation. :(
I never heard of her either until the movie "Beach Bum" came out. They played this song in the movie and I liked it so much I just had to research it to find it on youtube. Now I know who she is and she is certainly talented with a lot of wisdom.
"I'm not ready for that final disap-Pointment"... That is so essentially Peggy Lee. She just nails it. Unforgettable. One of my all-time favorites, this song and especially this particular performance.
I ADORE this woman/ Her elegance, her intelligence, her supreme musicality, her (Ahhhh...) beauty, and that voice!. When she is performing I am elevated for a time to a higher plane where all of life is beautiful. Friends, I give you the all time Queen of Songstress's, MISS PEGGY LEE
I was in the shower at my mum and dads, must have been 16, and heard this, took me years to find it. I found it in my 60’s , from the day I first heard it I was hooked, so powerful when I first heard it I said to myself that’s what I want to be played at my funeral. A bit strange, I know but it that all there is?
This song has never been more relevant that it is now, in the 2020s. We have never had access to so much, yet so few seem to be happy with their lot, complaining about what they DON'T have and how what they DO doesn't live up to their expectations. It's quite heartbreaking and I can't see the world malaise getting any better.
What a masterpiece. I find it to be inspiring. She isn't afraid of death, she regards it as just another disappointment. First time hearing it today and I know I'll be listening for years. What a wonder it is to have video of her performing this live, it could just as easily not been uploaded at all and this marvelous performance would be lost to time. Even though she is gone she lives on through her art and continues to touch us today. Life is funny..
My take on the song was always if you don't have an expectation you won't have a disappointment ...every time you expect something it's going to be disappointing ...nothing is ever as good or as bad as it's imagined... You survive...But break out the booze and have a ball with your friends It's what you do in between the expectations... It's John Lennon's famous saying Life is what happens while you're making plans... I adore this song
