Sammy Davis Jr. was right.
In the 50’s and 60’s, popular singers had signature songs. Tony Bennet had “I Left My Heart in San Francisco.” Frank Sinatra’s was “Strangers in the Night.” And Dean Martin told us that “Everybody Loves Somebody Sometime.” All those songs are deeply embedded in the American Songbook and are instantly recognizable.
But Sammy Davis Jr. took a song from a relatively unsuccessful Broadway show and turned it into a deep, personal, and meaningful message: “I’ve Gotta Be Me.” A colored man, a Jew, during a period of social upheaval (the Vietnam War, the Civil Rights movement), Sammy sang this song with quiet defiance, standing firm in the face of opposition and oppression.
For me, as time marches forward, I can relate to the lyrics in a different sense. No, I am not oppressed nor find myself at great odds against the world. However, in today’s culture, it is easy to see where extremism can lean on the innocent as they merely try to live their lives. Stating your opinion in the faces of those who are red-faced and fuming is today considered a declaration of war. Where is civility?
It has taken me nearly sixty years to figure out who I am, and the process continues. Sure, I’ve made mistakes and regret them. But I will not alter my opinions or beliefs because it is either popular or necessary to do so. Marcus Aurelius wrote: “Someone despises me. That’s their problem.” Two-time Academy Award winner Sir Anthony Hopkins stated: “It’s none of my business what people say of me or think of me. I am what I am and I do what I do.”
It’s enough to try to live a fruitful and peaceful life without the entanglements of expectations other than your own. I wear Hawaiian shirts. I have a big white beard and long hair. I write traditional fiction as well as experimental fiction. I have published and would like to publish again. But my instincts run toward creating and craft. As Cyril Connolly said: “Better to write for yourself and have no public, than to write for the public and have no self.”
But let’s get back to Sammy Davis Jr. That simple pop tune from an unsuccessful musical clearly delineates a power in self-confidence, self-reliance, and self-awareness. And after sixty years, I’m all about that.
Whether I’m right or whether I’m wrong
Whether I find a place in this world or never belong
I gotta be me, I’ve gotta be me
What else can I be but what I am
