Wherever you’re going, I’m going your way…
The iconic, mellow crooner, Andy Williams died tonight. He was 84. Probably known best for “Moon River,” I was just thinking about how many songs of his I really do love, even though he is a little more easy-listening than I usually go for.
Because of course there is “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” and every Christmas, even if I have neglected his work all year long, still, the Andy Williams album is dusted off and enjoyed.
But my favorite of all his many-many recordings, is the theme from the Ali McGraw-Ryan O’Neal 1970 blockbuster, “Love Story.” The movie captured an era, white cable knit sweater and scarf, her long, black hair and free spirit, his tousled hair in spite of a rigid, formal upbringing. Andy captures it in song, the impossibility of the love between the two of them:
Where do I begin to tell the story of how great a love can be?
The sweet love story that is older than the sea
The simple truth about the love she brings to me
Where do I start?
And darned if he doesn’t sing the stuffing out of that song, and even though he didn’t know if he could even find the words to begin to describe it, somehow he did find them and he found them powerfully:
How long does it last
Can love be measured by the hours in a day
I have no answers now but this much I can say
I know I’ll need her till the stars all burn away
And she’ll be there
Thanks, Andy Williams for telling us the story of how great a love can be. In song.
This one’s for you, Chyrl.