It is the song of every karaoke bar, every retirement party, and way too many funerals. You know the one. That swelling brass, the defiant lyrics about facing the final curtain, and Frank Sinatra’s unmistakable phrasing. Most people assume it’s an American standard, born in the heart of Las Vegas or a smoky New York studio. But the reality is a bit more complicated—and a lot more international. My Way written by Paul Anka wasn't actually "written" by him in the traditional sense, at least not the melody.
He stole it. Well, he bought it. For one dollar.
Honestly, the history of this track is a masterclass in opportunistic genius. In 1967, Paul Anka was on vacation in the south of France. He heard a song on the radio called "Comme d’habitude," performed by Claude François. It wasn’t a defiant anthem about individuality; it was a dreary pop tune about a couple falling out of love and the boredom of a dying relationship. It was about the "usual" routine of a bored marriage. Most people would have just changed the station. Anka, however, heard something else entirely. He flew to Paris, tracked down the rights holders, and negotiated the rights to the melody. He didn't even care about the original French lyrics. He just wanted that specific, ascending chord progression.
The 5 A.M. Rain and the Sinatra Ultimatum
Think about the pressure. It’s 1968. Paul Anka is a young heartthrob-turned-songwriter sitting in a Florida restaurant with Frank Sinatra. Ol' Blue Eyes is cranky. He tells Anka, "I’m quitting the business. I’m sick of it; I’m getting out. But I want to do one last album."
Anka realized he had the opportunity of a lifetime. He went back to his apartment in New York during a thunderstorm at two in the morning. He sat down at an IBM electric typewriter. He didn't write for himself. He wrote for the man he’d just had dinner with. He adopted Sinatra’s persona—the "Rat Pack" swagger, the use of words like "eat it up and spit it out." He finished the song at five in the morning.
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The song My Way written by Paul Anka became a garment tailored specifically for one man's ego. It wasn't about a guy in France bored with his wife anymore. It was about a titan looking back on a life of controversy, success, and stubbornness. Anka later admitted that his record company was furious he gave the song away. They wanted him to record it. He told them he couldn't; he knew he didn't have the gravitas to sell those lyrics. Only Sinatra could.
David Bowie’s Missed Opportunity
Here is a bit of trivia that usually melts people's brains: David Bowie almost wrote this song first. Seriously. Before Anka got the rights, a young, pre-Ziggy Stardust Bowie was asked to write English lyrics for "Comme d’habitude."
He wrote a version called "Even a Fool Learns to Love." It was... not great. The publishers rejected it. Shortly after, Anka swooped in, secured the rights, and the rest is history. Bowie was reportedly so annoyed by the success of "My Way" that he wrote "Life on Mars?" as a sort of parody or response to the song’s structure. If you listen closely to the chord changes in "Life on Mars?", you can actually hear the echoes of the French original. It’s a fascinating "what if" of music history. If Bowie’s lyrics had been accepted, Sinatra never would have touched the song, and it likely would have faded into obscurity as a late-sixties British pop curiosity.
Why the Song is Actually a Bit Dark
We view it as a triumph. We sing it when we win. But if you actually look at the lyrics My Way written by Paul Anka provides, they are incredibly solitary. There is no "we." There is no "us." It’s an intensely individualistic, almost narcissistic anthem.
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The protagonist admits they "bit off more than they could chew" but never expresses regret. It’s the ultimate defense of the ego. This is why it resonated so deeply in the late 60s and early 70s as the "Me Generation" began to take shape. It moved away from the folk-protest songs of community and toward the celebration of the self.
Interestingly, Sinatra grew to loathe the song. He thought it was self-indulgent. He felt it was "too on the nose." Yet, he had to sing it at every single show for the rest of his life because the audience demanded it. It became his golden cage.
The Global Phenomenon and the "My Way Killings"
The reach of this composition is honestly staggering. It has been covered by everyone from Elvis Presley (who did a legendary, if slightly bloated, version shortly before his death) to Sid Vicious of the Sex Pistols. The Sid Vicious version is particularly famous because it turns the song's arrogance into a violent, nihilistic joke, sneering at the very idea of "doing it your way."
Then there's the dark side. In the Philippines, the song became notorious for the "My Way Killings." Throughout the 2000s, dozens of people were reportedly murdered in karaoke bars specifically during or after performances of this song. Theories range from the song's "arrogant" tone triggering aggressive drunks to the difficulty of the notes causing people to mock poor singers, leading to brawls. It got so bad that some bars actually removed the song from their machines.
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Technical Craft: How Anka Structured the Hit
Anka understood something about the human ear. He used a "crescendo" structure that mirrors a life story.
- The start is quiet, reflective, almost whispered.
- The middle section introduces the "regrets" but quickly brushes them off.
- The finale is a full-throated roar of brass and percussion.
Musically, the song relies on a descending bass line over a static melody, a technique used since the Baroque era to signify "lament," but Anka flipped it by having the vocals ascend while the bass drops. This creates a tension that feels like someone climbing a mountain while the ground falls away beneath them. It’s brilliant songwriting, even if the melody was "borrowed."
Assessing the Legacy
Today, My Way written by Paul Anka stands as the ultimate crossover hit. It bridged the gap between the old-school crooners and the modern era of the "celebrity personality." It proved that a song doesn't have to be "good" in a traditional, poetic sense to be legendary—it just has to be true to the persona of the person singing it.
Anka’s decision to give the song to Sinatra was probably the smartest business move in the history of music publishing. He took a mediocre French pop song and turned it into a global franchise that still generates massive royalties every time a retiree feels like bragging about their life choices.
Actionable Insights for Music Lovers and Historians
If you want to truly appreciate the depth of this song beyond the Sinatra version, there are a few specific versions you should listen to back-to-back to see how the meaning changes:
- Listen to "Comme d’habitude" by Claude François. Notice how small and sad it feels compared to the Sinatra version. It’s a song about a guy who is bored, not a guy who is a legend.
- Compare Elvis Presley’s 1977 version. It’s heavy, operatic, and carries the weight of a man who knows he is actually facing the "final curtain." It’s much more tragic than Sinatra’s version.
- Check out Nina Simone’s 1971 recording. She speeds it up. It becomes a frantic, rhythmic jazz piece that feels like an escape rather than a reflection.
- Read the lyrics without the music. You’ll notice how few specific details there are. This is the secret to its success; it’s a "blank slate" anthem that anyone can project their own life onto.
If you’re a songwriter, the lesson here is simple: sometimes the best thing you can write isn't for yourself, but for a character. Anka didn't write his own story; he wrote the story the world thought Frank Sinatra lived. That’s where the magic happened.