The Sweetness and the Sorrow

For "music night" this evening at The Wild Reed I share Shirley Bassey's stirring rendition of the song that's been on my mind (and heart) of late: Marvin Hamlisch and Edward Klebansince's "What I Did for Love," from the musical A Chorus Line.

As Wikipedia notes: "[The song] was quickly recognized for its show-business potential outside Broadway and was picked up by popular singers to include in their performances in their club and television appearances. Both female and male singers have made it an inclusion in their recorded albums to great effect."

Shirley Bassey recorded "What I Did for Love" for her 1976 album, Love, Life and Feelings. Following is her 1979 performance of the song on the BBC TV series she had at the time.

Kiss today goodbye
The sweetness and the sorrow
We did what we had to do
And I can't regret
What I did for love, what I did for love

Look, my eyes are dry
The dream was ours to borrow
It's as if we always knew
And I won't forget what I did for love
What I did for love

Gone
Love is never gone
As we travel on
Love's what we'll remember

Kiss today goodbye
And point toward tomorrow
Wish me luck, the same to you
Won't forget, can't regret
What I did for love

For more of Shirley Bassey at The Wild Reed, see:
• Time of the Tigress
• The Living Tree: Shirley Bassey and Me
• The Rhythm Divine
• History Repeating
• Oscar Highlights 2013
• Quote of the Day – February 26, 2013
• Shirley, Shirley, Shirley!
• Happy Birthday, Shirley!

Previously featured musicians at The Wild Reed:
Dusty Springfield | David Bowie | Kate Bush | Maxwell | Buffy Sainte-Marie | Prince | Frank Ocean | Maria Callas | Loreena McKennitt | Rosanne Cash | Petula Clark | Wendy Matthews | Darren Hayes | Jenny Morris | Gil Scott-Heron | Shirley Bassey | Rufus Wainwright | Kiki Dee | Suede | Marianne Faithfull | Dionne Warwick | Seal | Sam Sparro | Wanda Jackson | Engelbert Humperdinck | Pink Floyd | Carl Anderson | The Church | Enrique Iglesias | Yvonne Elliman | Lenny Kravitz | Helen Reddy | Stephen Gately | Judith Durham | Nat King Cole | Emmylou Harris | Bobbie Gentry | Russell Elliot | BØRNS | Hozier | Enigma | Moby (featuring the Banks Brothers) | Cat Stevens | Chrissy Amphlett | Jon Stevens | Nada Surf | Tom Goss (featuring Matt Alber) | Autoheart | Scissor Sisters | Mavis Staples | Claude Chalhoub | Cass Elliot | Duffy | The Cruel Sea | Wall of Voodoo | Loretta Lynn and Jack White | Foo Fighters | 1927 | Kate Ceberano | Tee Set | Joan Baez | Wet, Wet, Wet | Stephen “Tin Tin” Duffy | Fleetwood Mac | Jane Clifton | Australian Crawl | Pet Shop Boys | Marty Rhone | Josef Salvat | Kiki Dee and Carmelo Luggeri | Aquilo | The Breeders | Tony Enos | Tupac Shakur | Nakhane Touré | Al Green | Donald Glover/Childish Gambino | Josh Garrels | Stromae | Damiyr Shuford | Vaudou Game | Yotha Yindi and The Treaty Project | Lil Nas X | Daby Touré