They Are Not Long

I do love this poem.

They Are Not Long

by Ernest Dowson

They are not long, the weeping and the laughter,
Love and desire and hate:
I think they have no portion in us after
We pass the gate.

They are not long, the days of wine and roses:
Out of a misty dream
Our path emerges for a while, then closes
Within a dream.

Vic Damone

One time when my dad was inebriated (which could have been one of virtually any night – or day – during a decades-long period) he told me that he thought there were “five great voices” out there. He began listing them: Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Bobby Darin, Tony Bennett and…he was stumbling around trying to remember the fifth and finally he added “Vic Damone!”

Totally agree. And I think this version of this song is magnificent. I seem to recall it was used in one of the early episodes (maybe the first) of “Mad Men,” when we saw what a cad Don Draper was.

RIP, Vic Damone.