♫ Walk On By ♫

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Last night I played Simon & Garfunkel’s Bridge Over Troubled Waters, feeling that it reflected what we are all, no matter which side of the pond we are on, going through these days.  I considered Eve of Destruction, but as our friend rawgod reminded me, Bridge Over Troubled Waters was about hope, whereas Eve of Destruction was only about realization.  So, tonight I debated, pondered, and agonized … and finally I decided that … I would play something just because I like the sound of it.  To heck with social consciousness and deep meaning … I just want a song that makes me want to sing along for now.  And so I bring you …

Dionne Warwick!

dionne-warwick

The songwriting team of Burt Bacharach and Hal David wrote this. Bacharach came up with the music, and David wrote the lyrics about a woman asking her former lover to leave her alone.

This was released as the B-side to Warwick’s single Any Old Time Of The Day. She’d had several releases that went nowhere, and her latest tune was, in the opinion of her label, her manager, and herself, her last shot at making the Top 40. Murray the K, whose show on radio station WINS was the top-rated program in New York, wouldn’t play it. No matter how many people called and pleaded with him, he played the B-side instead because he knew that was the tune with potential. Warwick’s record company wasn’t happy with this, but listeners agreed with Murray and Walk On By became the hit.

According to Bacharach …

“‘Walk On By’ was the first time that I tried putting two grand pianos on a record in the studio. I can’t remember if I played and Artie Butler played or if Paul Griffin and Artie Butler played but here were two grand pianos going on. I knew the song had something. It was a great date. I walked out of that studio and we had done two tunes in a three-hour session, ‘Walk On By’ and ‘Anyone Who Had A Heart’. I felt very good leaving knowing that I had two monster hits on my hands. You never know for sure but you feel a great satisfaction.”

An interesting bit of trivia … On May 12, 2002, Dionne Warwick was arrested at Miami International Airport after baggage screeners found marijuana inside a lipstick container she was carrying. The UK publication The Sun reported the story with the headline: “Walk on high, Dionne.”

Walk On By
Dionne Warwick

If you see me walking down the street
And I start to cry each time we meet
Walk on by, walk on by

Make believe
That you don’t see the tears
Just let me grieve
In private ’cause each time I see you
I break down and cry
And walk on by (don’t stop)
And walk on by (don’t stop)
And walk on by

I just can’t get over losing you
And so if I seem broken and blue
Walk on by, walk on by

Foolish pride
Is all that I have left
So let me hide
The tears and the sadness you gave me
When you said goodbye
Walk on by (don’t stop)
Walk on by (don’t stop)
Walk on by (don’t stop)
Walk on

Walk on by
Walk on by
Foolish pride
Is all that I have left
So let me hide
The tears and the sadness you gave me
When you said goodbye
Walk on by (don’t stop)
And walk on by (don’t stop)
Now you really gotta go so walk on by (don’t stop)
If you leave you’ll never see the tears I cry
Now you really gotta go so walk on by (don’t stop)

Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Burt Bacharach / Hal David
Walk On By lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Royalty Network

22 thoughts on “♫ Walk On By ♫”

  1. Oh bother! Having recently indulged my Propensity for Loquacity on today’s music post, it occurred to me to return to yesterday’s excellent choice to read the comments and your responses to those comments…mine as well as others! Upon my return I discover that my comment did not post and mayhaps continues floating around somewhere in the nether world of blogdom! My two arthritic fingers used for typing are much in need of a rest and resurrecting my verbose original comment is a daunting prospect at present. You may well be considering yourself fortunate for my misfortune. Sigh…as another unmentioned song says “yesterday’s gone” and so is my comment! The only thing that should be said, besides the fact that Dionne Warwick only grows more beautiful with age (something that entirely eludes me), is one word…Thank-You! Although a hyphenated word, as is my preference and distinguishing choice for this word, is correctly understood as two words with a hyphen betwixt them! If, as the inimitable Shakespeare said : “Brevity is the soul of wit.”, I have indeed failed! Again, Thank-YOU!

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    • I was tempted to follow this one up with “Do You Know the Way to San Jose” tonight, but … I resisted the urge. Still, that one is going through my head … and now … I cast the spell of an earworm upon you! Do you know the way to San Jose?
      I’ve been away so long. I may go wrong and lose my way
      Do you know the way to San Jose?
      I’m going back to find some peace of mind in San Jose.
      No charge for the earworm … it’s on the house 😉

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