Live 19 Nov 1995 version
[Spoken intro:] Well I'm here tonight uh, not just to salute Frank's artistry because, well, he is the patron saint of New Jersey, and uh, since his rise from the streets of Hoboken, Frank has basically owned the place. But uh, he has been gracious enough to loan me a small piece of it by the beach. We first met at a, at a party about six months ago and we talked about the Jersey shore and I was glad to find that his conversation was uh, still peppered with the kind of words that've made our state great.
So uh, my, my first recollection of, of Frank's voice was uh, coming out of a jukebox, was in a dark bar on a Sunday afternoon when my mother and I went in searching for my father, and uh, she said uh, I always remember she said, she said "Listen to that, that's Frank Sinatra, he's from New Jersey." It, it was a voice filled uh, it was a voice filled with bad attitude, life, beauty, excitement, a nasty sense of freedom, sex, and a sad knowledge of the ways of the world. Every song seemed to have its postscript, "and if you don't like it, here's a punch in the kisser", you know. But uh, it was the deep, the deep blueness of Frank's voice that affected me the most uh, and while his music became synonymous with black tie, the good life, the best booze, women, sophistication, his blues voice was always the sound of hard luck, and men late at night with the last ten dollars in their pockets, trying to figure a way out.
So tonight, I wanna to sing something from my favorite Sinatra album, "Only The Lonely." And, on behalf - yeah, that's one of the greatest ones, you know - and on behalf of all New Jersey, Frank, I wanna say: "Hail Brother, you sang out our soul. Happy Birthday!" So, so from one Italian singer to another, from uh, for Old Blue Eyes, this is "Angel Eyes."
I try to think that love's not around
But still it's uncomfortably near
Tonight my heart is losing ground
'Cause my angel eyes ain't here
Angel eyes that devil sent
They glow unbearably bright
And need I say that my love is misspent
Misspent with angel eyes tonight
So drink up all you people
Order anything you see
Drink up all you happy people
'Cause the drinks and the jokes are on me
Now pardon me man 'cause I've got to run
You see the flags are uncommonly clear
I wanna know who's her new number one
And why my angel eyes ain't here
Excuse me while I disappear
ANGEL EYES is a 1958 song by Frank Sinatra. See the original Frank Sinatra version for more details.
Not to be confused with the Little Steven And The Disciples Of Soul song ANGEL EYES that Bruce Springsteen participated in the recording of.
The above lyrics are for live 19 Nov 1995 performance of ANGEL EYES at Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, CA, during Frank Sinatra's eightieth birthday tribute concert. The song was played solo on acoustic guitar. The concert was broadcast on TV.
ANGEL EYES was performed off-tour on 19 Nov 1995 at Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, CA, during Frank Sinatra's eightieth birthday tribute concert.
List of available versions of ANGEL EYES (Frank Sinatra) on this website:
ANGEL EYES (Frank Sinatra) [Live 19 Nov 1995 version]