Bono was asked to introduce Frank Sinatra when the vocal legend was given the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 1994 Grammy Awards. When I saw Bono giving this speech on TV, I was really moved... especially that part where he says, "To know tenderness and romance you've got to have had your heart broken". One thing about Bono's writing is that he NEVER sounds corny... his speech came across as honest and straight from the heart.
Frank never did like Rock and Roll
Rock and Roll people love Frank Sinatra because Frank has got what we want: swagger and attitude;
Who's this guy that every city in America wants to claim as their own?
It's 1945 and the U.S. Cavalry are trying to get their asses out of Europe, but they never really do
People say that Frank hasn't talked to the press, they wanna know how he is, what's on his mind
This is the conundrum of Frank Sinatra
Ladies and gentlemen, are you ready to welcome a man heavier than the Empire State,
Will you welcome the King of New York City, Francis Albert Sinatra!
And he's not crazy about guys wearing earrings either
But he doesn't hold it against me
And anyway, the feeling is not mutual
he's big on attitude, serious attitude, bad attitude
Frank's the Chairman of the bad
Rock and Roll plays at being tough but this guy, well, he's the boss
The boss of bosses
The man
The big bang of pop
I'm not gonna mess with him, are you?
This painter who lives in the desert, this first-rate, first-take actor
This singer who makes other men poets
Boxing clever with every word
Talking like America
Tough, straight-up, in headlines
Comin' through with the big stick, the aside, the quiet compliment
Good cop, bad cop, all in the same breath
You know his story 'cause it's your story
Frank walks like America -- cock-sure
They're part of another kind of invasion AFR -- American Forces Radio (sic)
Broadcasting a music that'll curl the stiff upper-lip of England and the rest of the world
Paving the way for Duke Ellington, the big band, Tommy Dorsey
And right out in front -- Frank Sinatra
His voice as tight as a fist
Opening at the end of a bar
Not on the beat, over it, playing with it, splitting it like a jazz man, like Miles Davis
Turning on the right phrase and the right song
Which is where he lives, where he lets go, where he reveals himself
His songs are his home and he lets you in
But you know that to sing like that you've gotta have lost a couple of fights
To know tenderness and romance you've got to have had your heart broken
But you know Sinatra's out there more nights than most punk bands
Selling his story through the songs
Telling and articulate in the choice of those songs
Private thoughts on a public address system
Generous
Left and right brain hardly talking
Boxer and painter, actor and singer, lover and father, bandman and loner
Troubleshooter and troublemaker
The champ who would rather show you his scars than his medals
He may be putty in Barbara's hands
But I'm not gonna mess with him, are you?
more connected than the Twin Towers,
as recognizable as the Statue of Liberty,
and living proof that God is a Catholic!