Farewell Amanda

“New Jersey always felt like the beginning of something else.” — Jack Kerouac

Happy weekend.  Another big snow storm coming in this weekend too.   

Welcome to Saturday: 9. What we've committed to our readers is that we will post 9 questions every Saturday. Sometimes the post will have a theme, and at other times the questions will be totally unrelated. Those weeks we do "random questions," so-to-speak. We encourage you to visit other participants posts and leave a comment. Because we don't have any rules, it is your choice. We hate rules. We love memes, however, and here is today's meme! 

Saturday 9: Farewell, Amanda (1949)

Unfamiliar with this week's tune?   .Hear it here

1) The record begins with a long instrumental interlude, and when the lyrics kick in at about the 1:00 mark, they bid Amanda "farewell, adios, addio, adieu." Of course you recognize "farewell" as English. Without looking it up, can you identify the other languages?

 Spanish, Italian and French.

2) Can you say "goodbye" in a language not represented in question #1?

Yes.  I can say it in Hawaiian, Hebrew, Cree, Mohawk, German, Welsh, ... a lot of languages.  i think most people can say hi or bye in a variety of languages.

3) The lyrics reference a night full of stars. When did you last take a moment to check out the night sky?

 Last night.

4) This song was written for Adam's Rib, a comedy starring Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn. The movie is about husband-and-wife lawyers who square off against one another in court.  

Adam's Rib is a faovirte for me and you can rent it for about $2,00 on YouTube.  Well worth it too.

Have you ever served on a jury?    I have been called up for Jury duty tons of times.  I think they like me a bit too much.

5) "Farewell, Amanda" was composed by Noel Coward. Though best known as a playwright, he also wrote more than a thousand songs and was a director and an actor. His epitaph reads, "A talent to amuse." How would you like to be remembered?

  As  "Overall, she was  not too terribly awful".

6) There's even a book of Noel Coward paintings. It was published after his death, in part because Coward considered himself only an amateur painter. When did you last pick up a paintbrush?

 Yesterday.

7) In 1949, when audiences first heard "Farewell, Amanda," Americans began playing Clue. What's the last board game you played?

I can't recall really.  Might have been Candy Land with the Little, could have been Clue.  We play games at get togethers but not always board games. 

8) The best-selling novel of 1949 was Point of No Return by John P. Marquand. Tell us about the last book you finished.

One Fifth Avenue by Candace Bushnell.

"One Fifth Avenue is a 2008 novel by Candace Bushnell that satirizes the lives of the wealthy and ambitious residents of a prestigious Manhattan apartment building, exploring themes of love, money, and social status through characters like a middle-aged screenwriter, a novelist, and a hedge fund manager's wife. The book is known for its witty, "Gilded Age" style, focusing on the interconnected lives and desires for success and social prominence in contemporary New York City."

The ending is a big surprise!

By the way, 1 Fifth Avenue is a real place featruing million dollar and up very posh luxury apartments for sale. I say apartments but they are huge.

9) Random question: Growing up, did you share a bedroom?

 Yes.  I shared a bedroom with my grandmother until I was about 15 years old.

Being with her I never was afraid at night, we got to stay up late some nights to watch TV and she would sneak us in snacks.   She kept me safe.