Frank Sinatra – The Way You Look Tonight

By , October 7, 2003

In the comments section of my last post I promised a commenter that I would write about a Frank Sinatra song today. Choosing one Sinatra song about which to write took some time. My initial thought was to go with Summer Wind, as that was the song I’d traditionally play for my roadies and security agents before the start of a fraternity party. We all knew the rest of the night would be upbeat pop and rock music, so something a bit more mellow from Ol’ Blue Eyes made for a nice buffer before the onslaught of drunken revelers came charging into the venue. While Summer Wind is certainly a fine song, and would have made for an interesting blog, I’ve instead opted to go with:

Currently Playing: Frank Sinatra – The Way You Look Tonight

Now, after a few years together, I imagine most couples start bandying about the idea of a wedding, and this is by no means any sort of official announcement, but yeah, Sue (Fizzy) and I have whiled away some of childhood’s happy hour by imagining what our wedding may be like, were we ever to have one. The Way You Look Tonight has been mentioned more than once as a potential “first dance” song. I don’t think I’ve ever DJ’ed a wedding at which this was the first dance, which is something of a surprise to me; I think it makes for a great one. It’s fast enough to avoid having to stand doing the rotating-hug-dance in front of all one’s friends and relatives, but it isn’t so fast as to leave one breathless by the end. It’s also romantic, and evocative of many ideas associated with one’s wedding day– looking one’s best, a memorable night, being in love, and so forth.

Frank Sinatra - The Way You Look Tonight

One evening not long ago, Fizzy and I were sauntering through San Francisco’s Union Square after a romantic dinner at some cozy eatery, and this song began playing through the park’s loudspeakers; it completed the evening. We danced to it right there in the park, amidst a mixture of stares of both incredulity and admiration from what few people were out and about at that hour, but we felt anonymous enough and didn’t mind. A few people clapped when we finished, and it definitely made for a grand topper to an already wonderful evening. Moreover, it cemented this song in our minds– we finally had an “our song.”

Today’s Question: What will/ did you dance to first at your wedding?

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15 Responses to “Frank Sinatra – The Way You Look Tonight”

  1. MandyMae says:

    Yes, I love it. And I am the first to comment!! Go me! I think it’s a great wedding song, incredibly adorable. I have yet to decide on a wedding song. I have to find someone to marry first!

  2. Nikkime says:

    awwwwwwwwwwwww

  3. blacksesame says:

    hm. my current bf and i have no “song”. i’m just thankful i’m not with my last bf anymore. our “song” was “i’ll be missing you” by puff daddy and 112. that would have been a great song to kick off a wedding party. haha.

  4. pPppiglet says:

    I agree with awwwwwwww. This is too sweet for words!

  5. Your post made me cry, but in a good way…

  6. Hybrid_girl says:

    Oh my gosh! This is my most favorite Frank Sinatra song, and this is the song that I want to play at my wedding for the first dance! Talk about same wavelength here peasprout!

  7. blondbedhead says:

    Mmmmm, this has always been one of my favorite romantic songs – but I think I like the Tony Bennant version better. . . When and if I ever get married – I might dance my first dance to this!

  8. rips31 says:

    hrm…i think the first dance at the wedding will be the first song we danced to, ever. what that is, i have no clue…

  9. ThursdayNext says:

    Frank Sinatra is the best, but I think the song I’ll dance to at my wedding will be “At Last” by Etta James. It is so beautiful!! **Did you get the tape in the mail today?” I hope so.

  10. Can’t say I’ve thought abt it too much. Maybe Mambo #5 – to show ppl I can still boogie, even tho I’m married & (in all likelihood) old. ~PK

  11. mortsci3 says:

    Well, I think about that all the time. I might not ever get married since I am on such a roll of finding all the jerks but I do like Frank. He is my man. However, I am not sure what I would choose. I think it just depends on the guy. I do want to dance with my dad to the Eric Clapton song Wonferful Tonight. I have never danced with my dad but he is very good and goes all over the floor. Great ballroom dancer.

  12. mattiong says:

    dood…i love the music dat you put on…

  13. shadowluv says:

    My ex and I danced our first dance to “I Cross My Heart” by George Strait. It was very romantic. I’ll never forget how happy I was that day.

    By the way, love Sinatra. This song in particular plucks all the right notes in me…

  14. tammygirl says:

    I love that song. I’ll be playing Shania Twain From this Moment. =) But there will definitely be sinatra and ella as well as a little bit of nora. Also, I started to write Fizzy is lucky to have such a bf, but really you are both lucky to have each other. You sound like a perfect match for each other!

  15. I love that song. I was very encouraged to find this site. I wanted to thank you for this special read. I definitely savored every little bit of it and I have you bookmarked to check out new stuff you post.

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