Saturday 9

 

Farewell, Amanda

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?

Shalom,  L’hitraot.  That’s Hebrew for “Goodbye, until we meet again”.

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

It’s been so cold lately that I just can’t …

 

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. Have you ever served on a jury?

I am an attorney.  My mother was an attorney.  My sister is an attorney.  One of my daughters works for a law firm, the other is a court clerk.  No one is ever going to put me on a jury. 

That doesn’t mean I haven’t been called for jury duty.  I’ve been called twice,  once was in criminal court, and when the defendant saw potential jurors in the hallway he accepted a plea bargain, so no one actually served.

Then there was the time I actually made it into a jury room and was interviewed by the attorneys (the term of art is voire dire). It was an auto accident case, and one of the attorneys kept asking “Do you know anyone who works in property and casualty insurance?”  Well, at the time I was employed by an insurance company.  I was dismissed.

 

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 a good person who tried her best.

 

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?

I have no artistic talent.  I haven’t picked up that kind of paintbrush in decades.   I did touch up the living room walls, however. 

 

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

Backgammon.

 

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

A John Corey novel.  Corey was a NYC detective who later worked for a federal anti terrorism task force.  The stories are all about Corey investigating horrific crimes. This novel (DeMille’s last) is based, in part, on the real life Gilgo Beach murders.   Corey is cynical and sarcastic, and the novels are all very entertaining.

 

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

Yes, my sister and I shared a room when we were little.  My family moved to a larger house when I was 8, and then I had my own room.

Thanks so much for joining us again at Saturday: 9. As always, feel free to come back, see who has participated and comment on their posts. In fact sometimes, if you want to read & comment on everyone's responses, you might want to check back again tomorrow. But it is not a rule. We haven’t any rules here. Join us on next Saturday for another version of Saturday: 9, "Just A Silly Meme on a Saturday!" Enjoy your weekend!