Ah, nostalgia! One of the most heartwarming takeaways from the 98th Academy Awards on March 15 was Barbra Streisand’s tribute to her friend and co-star Robert Redford, who she called “an intellectual cowboy”.
Redford, possibly Hollywood’s most handsome gift to the world, died last September at age 89. But there was much more to him than looks that made women — maybe men too? — swoon. A gifted actor, an environmentalist, a liberal and a voice for the indigenous communities, a filmmaker, a backer of independent artistes as the founder of The Sundance Film Festival, Redford truly was what his costar and friend Jane Fonda said at his passing: “He stood for an America we have to keep fighting for.”
After the Oscars, Jane wondered why Barbra got to pay the tribute, as she’d done four films with Redford and Barbra only one. “I have more to say,” Jane said. But that’s just it. Jane could have had more to say, but Barbra had that one song to sing.
The Way We Were, the title track from the 1973 bittersweet romance of the same name directed by Sydney Pollack, is an Oscar-winning chartbuster sung by Barbra. The film, which starred her and Redford as polar opposites who fall in love but separate, was a major blockbuster. But it’s the song, composed by Marvin Hamlisch with lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bergman, that’s timeless.
The lyrics speak to all of us who’ve loved and lost, and left behind years, places and people: Memories/ Light the corners of my mind/ Misty water-coloured memories/ Of the way we were....
But the song isn’t about looking back through rosy filters. It asks: Can it be that it was all so simple then?/ Or has time rewritten every line?/ If we had the chance to do it all again/ Tell me, would we?/ Could we?/ Memories/ May be beautiful and yet/ What’s too painful to remember/ We simply choose to forget...
Barbra owns this song with her rich, soaring vocals, giving it an operatic feel without losing intimacy. Notice how seamlessly she transitions from powerful notes to near-whispers. For instance, her voice changes when she asks “Tell me, would we?” Like most great singers, she can act the feels.
A word on the composer, Marvin Hamlisch (1944-2012). The Manhattan boy grew up to become an EGOT — the winner of all four major US entertainment awards, the Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony. Few artistes have earned this distinction, including Audrey Hepburn, Steven Spielberg, Elton John, Whoopi Goldberg, and Andrew Lloyd Webber.
The Way We Were has seen covers by Andy Williams, Bing Crosby, Doris Day, Beyonce, Gladys Knight and others, while Barbra, who’ll be 84 next month, has made it her
signature song for over five decades.
As she sang for Redford at the Oscars, her voice trembled. Only nostalgia, our bittersweet friend, stays back when the party’s over.