Dear Amanda, A dear friend of mine sent me "Errol Flynn' on a CD. To settle an argument (she had you listed as simply Amanda Broom and I knew better) I found this video. I've always had a special place in my heart for "Captain Philippa Louvois". Your portrayal of her helped open up the philosophy of the show to me. I cannot explain why finding this song now is important, but that special place widened a bit today.Thank you ever so much.
I heard this song once, many years ago, when you were on "A Prairie Home Companion" and have never forgotten it. I just posted it on FB as my Christmas wish for my friends and anyone who is important to them-to "remember, life's over before it begins . . ." and that all would stay as close to those people as your Dad did to Errol Flynn. I send great thanks to you, and all involved, for a wonderful reminder of life's brevity and what should be most important, while we're in it.
Amanda's voice reminds me of Anne Murray's, one of my favourite singers...Amanda is a good singer...I like her soft and comforting voice...When she first started talking to the audience about her father, I thought she was going to say her father was Errol Flynn...Her face is not dissimilar to Errol's...This song is a sad but beautiful one...I'm now a fan of Ms. McBroom, and I happened across this video just by happenstance...Lucky me! :)
Love this song and the backstory makes it all the more poignant. Like everyone else, I cry every time I hear this sung. Barbara Cook's version was this first time I heard it, but while her singing is perfect, the emotional impact is not the same as when Amanda sings it. Superb performance. Hope I get to see you perform live some day.
My Brother phoned me last night and said go on You Tube and listen to this singer and this song, he knew I would love it, he was right, beautiful Song, Singer and Lyrics.
I first heard this song years ago on Radio 2 and bought several Amanda CDs on the back of it. A chance mention of Errol Flynn in the newspaper made me remember this sond and I looked and found this priceless clip. Once again I sobbed as I watched and listened to this perfect song - so poignant and moving. And for those of us estranged from children it is four minutes of painful beauty. Thank you Amanda, and thanks to your daddy.
Beautiful song, Amanda. I remember your dad...I first saw David Bruce as "The Mad Ghoul" (the young man turned into a monster by bad old George Zucco) as a small boy watching Shock Theater on KTLA. Nearly 50 years later, a dad myself, I know just how proud he'd be to have his daughter honor him like this.
This song has haunted me for years, and a conversation with a good friend last night made me think of it again. His father died when he was three, and he remarked how it's strange for him that he's now his father's age. Every line of this song is pure poetry, and even more amazing is that it's so personal to the songwriter and yet accessible to so many others. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Oh, Amanda! Jonathan Schwartz just played ERROL FLYNN on his Sunday afternoon radio program. I had to pull my car over, stop, and listen. I cried, of course, and then called my dear Dad to tell him how much I love him. Thank you for this perfect song.
I just heard this on Radio 2 too.....Disappoimtment and Bourbon are hard on the heart...............what a line, what an observation - and, what a song!!!!!
The strongest sentiment portrayed in the most gentle honest way. Love and loss, hope and understanding result in tears for what what has been and what yet can be. Thankyou for sharing this inspirational and beautiful song.
Beautiful song, beautifully sung. Always makes me cry. Says more about life in four minutes than any 500 page book could. Love one another. Would that everyone would; still here's hoping.
I love this song - it's the first AMcB song I heard on British radio, and was my introduction to this wonderful singer. I bought the album Portraits which is probably the CD I play the most. It is both musically and lyrically superb. Amanda, your voice is that of an angel!
Since Ms. McBroom reads these comments, I have to say that this is my favorite song - out of all the songs ever written, and that's a lot of songs. Every year, since my father died five years ago, I have sung this song in our church at each memorial service. It's a beautiful piece, Its message is timeless. Amanda's performance is perfection.
@TonyDale Thanks very much Tony for your kind words. As you can imagine, performing this song is a very emotional process for me as well. We find catharsis where we can, and I'm thrilled to hear that you are moved to perform this one yourself. Perhaps you'd care to post a video of your version?
@TonyDale Thanks very much Tony for your kind words. As you can imagine, performing this song is a very emotional process for me as well. We find catharsis where we can, and I'm thrilled to hear that you are moved to perform this one yourself. Perhaps you'd care to post a video of your version?
This is the most wonderful tribute to a father from his daughter and to Errol Flynn, I wish that the the Flynn Family could do something like this to a tribute to their father Errol Flynn! Do they have it like all together like Amanda McBroom, she sure has it all together to honor her father, can the Flynn family can come up with something to honor their patriarch ?
Thank you so much for writing this song. I think it is beautiful--universal--consoling--heartbreaking--and just simply lovely. I first heard it on a Barbara Cook CD and now I just saw you sing it, and was awed. Art RULES.
Working irregular hours lately has introduced me to some radio shows here in the UK that I wouldn't normally listen to. A few months ago after the end of a late shift, I heard you singing 'Carousel'. By coincidence, coming off the end of a similar long and late shift last week, I heard you singing this song. I hope you won't be offended when I say that simple songs affect me the most...and this one has done just that. My mother passed three years ago. This has touched me so much. Thank you. Andy
This is a divine wonderful heart warming tribute to your father David Bruce and indirectly to Errol Flynn. One of the best tributes in a long long time!
You are a wonderful composer and singer!
I hope Rory and Deirdre Flynn would listen to it too.
One of the best love songs to a father ever written. Amanda sings with such heart-touching emotion. Her Dad and Errol must be smiling down from Hollywood Heaven!!
I first heard this song on NPR and started crying about half way through as she could have been singing about my father even down to the locations. Since I hadn't heard the intro I didn't know the singer. It took me a long time to find the song, but I've now been a fan for 20 years. It is still My love song for My father.
Just by luck i had tuned in to a local radio station in Melbourne,Australia and heard
Amanda being interviewed,it was around the date of the 100th birthday of Errol Flynn.There were celebrations in Hobart ,Tasmania,happening at the same time.They played this song and it evokes just so much emotion,it makes me want to be a dad but its too late.There must be so many who do get to see their dads on the silver screen after theyre gone,what a happening.
What a wonderful evocative song, the saddest part of this song is when Amanda sings about sitting alone in a house in Receda, please tell me this beautiful person, in soul and body, is sharing that wonderful heart with someone? Amanda please come to Dublin Ireland for a concert soon. Meanwhile, I am off down to the video store to rent some old Flynn/Bruce movies. Teddy O'Neill
To take nothing away from Ms. McBroom's wonderful performance of a magnificent work of art- credit should also be given to the song's co-author, Gordon Hunt who wrote the lyrics.
I used to work in a cabaret room in New York City, and someone sang this song in a show once. I thought about it for years afterward- especially the line "disappointment and bourbon are hard on the heart." At the time I had no idea who wrote it, but when I found out later I thought, "Of course! Amanda McBroom is a brilliant songwriter!"
Now I see she is also an amazing vocalist, as well..... absolutely wonderful....
This is the first song of Amanda's I ever heard - on the radio. The last time I saw my father was at a railway station, a month before he died, so it's very personal to me. From this, I discovered her other work. What a treat to see her 'in person' at last! I'll probably never get to see her live, so this kind of makes up for it -almost! Thanks so much, Amanda - your voice is very special indeed. Kate xx
one of chicago's most gifted musical hearts told me about a song called "errol flynn" back in the 90's.....i thought she was kidding..................
I'm afraid we don't have any video "The Portait." We'll figure something out, Amanda says maybe we should set up a camera in the garage and we'll record her singing it.
Though we might be able to work out something a bit higher quality for you.
Dear Amanda, A dear friend of mine sent me "Errol Flynn' on a CD. To settle an argument (she had you listed as simply Amanda Broom and I knew better) I found this video. I've always had a special place in my heart for "Captain Philippa Louvois". Your portrayal of her helped open up the philosophy of the show to me. I cannot explain why finding this song now is important, but that special place widened a bit today.Thank you ever so much.
HSPD0235 2 months ago
Dear Amanda,
I heard this song once, many years ago, when you were on "A Prairie Home Companion" and have never forgotten it. I just posted it on FB as my Christmas wish for my friends and anyone who is important to them-to "remember, life's over before it begins . . ." and that all would stay as close to those people as your Dad did to Errol Flynn. I send great thanks to you, and all involved, for a wonderful reminder of life's brevity and what should be most important, while we're in it.
waltzingwally 2 months ago
Just heard Jonathan Schwartz play this on Ch. 4 XM radio. Wonderful. I will be returning to hear this again & again.
artfd 2 months ago
Amanda's voice reminds me of Anne Murray's, one of my favourite singers...Amanda is a good singer...I like her soft and comforting voice...When she first started talking to the audience about her father, I thought she was going to say her father was Errol Flynn...Her face is not dissimilar to Errol's...This song is a sad but beautiful one...I'm now a fan of Ms. McBroom, and I happened across this video just by happenstance...Lucky me! :)
pagalley1 5 months ago
Love this song and the backstory makes it all the more poignant. Like everyone else, I cry every time I hear this sung. Barbara Cook's version was this first time I heard it, but while her singing is perfect, the emotional impact is not the same as when Amanda sings it. Superb performance. Hope I get to see you perform live some day.
HollyGee67 5 months ago
My Brother phoned me last night and said go on You Tube and listen to this singer and this song, he knew I would love it, he was right, beautiful Song, Singer and Lyrics.
cargin59 6 months ago
It does not get better than this, and I'm a rock singer!!
wtw88 6 months ago
Beautiful and poignant.
martinatal 6 months ago
One of my favorite songs, The terrific lyrics say SO much. I love this number. It's a great arrangement, too.
Jussibfan 6 months ago
so moving, so beautifully made and performed, made me find myself in it about parents love, fame, and so much else...
analogic10 6 months ago
I first heard this song years ago on Radio 2 and bought several Amanda CDs on the back of it. A chance mention of Errol Flynn in the newspaper made me remember this sond and I looked and found this priceless clip. Once again I sobbed as I watched and listened to this perfect song - so poignant and moving. And for those of us estranged from children it is four minutes of painful beauty. Thank you Amanda, and thanks to your daddy.
Galanl 6 months ago
TY, Amanda !
"Happiness Is A Sad Song."
TOF
TheOtherForever 8 months ago
Beautiful song, Amanda. I remember your dad...I first saw David Bruce as "The Mad Ghoul" (the young man turned into a monster by bad old George Zucco) as a small boy watching Shock Theater on KTLA. Nearly 50 years later, a dad myself, I know just how proud he'd be to have his daughter honor him like this.
MolitorAsst 8 months ago
This song has haunted me for years, and a conversation with a good friend last night made me think of it again. His father died when he was three, and he remarked how it's strange for him that he's now his father's age. Every line of this song is pure poetry, and even more amazing is that it's so personal to the songwriter and yet accessible to so many others. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
cuchelo1 8 months ago
Oh, Amanda! Jonathan Schwartz just played ERROL FLYNN on his Sunday afternoon radio program. I had to pull my car over, stop, and listen. I cried, of course, and then called my dear Dad to tell him how much I love him. Thank you for this perfect song.
TheGirlzParody 9 months ago
I just heard this on Radio 2 too.....Disappoimtment and Bourbon are hard on the heart...............what a line, what an observation - and, what a song!!!!!
spenser330 9 months ago
Just heard the song on radio 2, BBC. I think it is great and had to google it ;-)
(Also sent the link to a friend in Canada whose Uncle was an actor)
Rubydooby1000 9 months ago
Just heard the song on radio 2, BBC. I think it is great and had to google it ;-)
(Also sent the link to a friend in Canada whose Uncle was an actor)
Rubydooby1000 9 months ago
The strongest sentiment portrayed in the most gentle honest way. Love and loss, hope and understanding result in tears for what what has been and what yet can be. Thankyou for sharing this inspirational and beautiful song.
mtgsmusic 9 months ago
A wonderful, very touching song, thanks so much for the beautiful words and performance!
Aresia99 10 months ago
Is a very very pretty video. My father also work with Errol on your yachting "Zaca" in Balearic Islands, Majorca Ventura Sala
trapasarraco@yahoo.es
zaca5456 11 months ago
Is a very very pretty video. My father also work with Errol on your yachting "Zaca" in Balearic Islands, Majorca Ventura Sala
trapasarraco@yahoo.es
zaca5456 11 months ago
Comment removed
ERROLCUSTERFLYNN4EVR 1 year ago
@ERROLCUSTERFLYNN4EVR
Hi, I had to go into the file cabinet to answer that one! 1995 was the copyright, so I must have been working on it 1994/95.
Thanks
xoxo
~ Amanda
amandamcbroom 11 months ago
Beautiful song, beautifully sung. Always makes me cry. Says more about life in four minutes than any 500 page book could. Love one another. Would that everyone would; still here's hoping.
bairns1234 1 year ago
@bairns1234
Thank you so much!
~ Amanda
amandamcbroom 11 months ago
I love this song - it's the first AMcB song I heard on British radio, and was my introduction to this wonderful singer. I bought the album Portraits which is probably the CD I play the most. It is both musically and lyrically superb. Amanda, your voice is that of an angel!
mythagoman 1 year ago
Since Ms. McBroom reads these comments, I have to say that this is my favorite song - out of all the songs ever written, and that's a lot of songs. Every year, since my father died five years ago, I have sung this song in our church at each memorial service. It's a beautiful piece, Its message is timeless. Amanda's performance is perfection.
TonyDale 1 year ago
@TonyDale Thanks very much Tony for your kind words. As you can imagine, performing this song is a very emotional process for me as well. We find catharsis where we can, and I'm thrilled to hear that you are moved to perform this one yourself. Perhaps you'd care to post a video of your version?
amandamcbroom 1 year ago
@TonyDale Thanks very much Tony for your kind words. As you can imagine, performing this song is a very emotional process for me as well. We find catharsis where we can, and I'm thrilled to hear that you are moved to perform this one yourself. Perhaps you'd care to post a video of your version?
amandamcbroom 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
This is so lovely. A new favorite and a new singer to me. What a beautiful song, voice, and woman!
jmk61fhs79xu84 1 year ago
This is so lovely. A new favorite and a new singer to me. What a beautiful song, voice, and woman!
jmk61fhs79xu84 1 year ago
That is as beautiful and touching a song as was ever written. Just wonderful. And a lovely performance too. Brava.
WildWestGuy1 1 year ago
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ERROLCUSTERFLYNN4EVR 1 year ago
Comment removed
ERROLCUSTERFLYNN4EVR 1 year ago
This is the most wonderful tribute to a father from his daughter and to Errol Flynn, I wish that the the Flynn Family could do something like this to a tribute to their father Errol Flynn! Do they have it like all together like Amanda McBroom, she sure has it all together to honor her father, can the Flynn family can come up with something to honor their patriarch ?
Bariebel 1 year ago
Thank you so much for writing this song. I think it is beautiful--universal--consoling--heartbreaking--and just simply lovely. I first heard it on a Barbara Cook CD and now I just saw you sing it, and was awed. Art RULES.
caroldenker 1 year ago
Rory Flynn is on facebook. You can send this to her on FB.
Beautiful song, beautiful singer. I too had a wonderful father and miss him every day.
judy18k 1 year ago
Working irregular hours lately has introduced me to some radio shows here in the UK that I wouldn't normally listen to. A few months ago after the end of a late shift, I heard you singing 'Carousel'. By coincidence, coming off the end of a similar long and late shift last week, I heard you singing this song. I hope you won't be offended when I say that simple songs affect me the most...and this one has done just that. My mother passed three years ago. This has touched me so much. Thank you. Andy
intercity73 1 year ago
such a clear voice
dgt0099 1 year ago
Amanda;
This is a divine wonderful heart warming tribute to your father David Bruce and indirectly to Errol Flynn. One of the best tributes in a long long time!
You are a wonderful composer and singer!
I hope Rory and Deirdre Flynn would listen to it too.
Bariebel 1 year ago
if anyone has the song baby by amanda mcbroom please post it then tag it to me or send me a comment! thnx!
kayyemess 1 year ago
Hi.
As far as I know, there are no videos floating around of "Baby." hmmm. It would be easy enough to create one, as the song is acapella.
We'll look into this. Thanks for the request!
~ Amanda
amandamcbroom 1 year ago
i have had the wonderful experience of meeting Amanda and her husband several times. They are both awesome people.
CaptADDerALL 2 years ago
One of the best love songs to a father ever written. Amanda sings with such heart-touching emotion. Her Dad and Errol must be smiling down from Hollywood Heaven!!
ericbecker710 2 years ago
Amanda has a website you can visit and hear
The Portrait et. al.
A beautiful song. Very moving even to those of
us who had rotten fathers.
Tx 4 posting
rockgor 2 years ago
Shall we make that 15 years. Looking at Katbark I have to wonder what it is about departing fathers, Union Station, and daughters waving goodbye?
jessied44 2 years ago
I first heard this song on NPR and started crying about half way through as she could have been singing about my father even down to the locations. Since I hadn't heard the intro I didn't know the singer. It took me a long time to find the song, but I've now been a fan for 20 years. It is still My love song for My father.
jessied44 2 years ago
Just by luck i had tuned in to a local radio station in Melbourne,Australia and heard
Amanda being interviewed,it was around the date of the 100th birthday of Errol Flynn.There were celebrations in Hobart ,Tasmania,happening at the same time.They played this song and it evokes just so much emotion,it makes me want to be a dad but its too late.There must be so many who do get to see their dads on the silver screen after theyre gone,what a happening.
elvisbartoli 2 years ago
I hope you do get a video of her performing THE PORTRAIT. I love these two songs. Very sweet and heartbreaking.
msymsed 2 years ago
Wow! What a beautiful voice!
jeannybates 2 years ago
What a wonderful evocative song, the saddest part of this song is when Amanda sings about sitting alone in a house in Receda, please tell me this beautiful person, in soul and body, is sharing that wonderful heart with someone? Amanda please come to Dublin Ireland for a concert soon. Meanwhile, I am off down to the video store to rent some old Flynn/Bruce movies. Teddy O'Neill
teddyoneills 2 years ago
To take nothing away from Ms. McBroom's wonderful performance of a magnificent work of art- credit should also be given to the song's co-author, Gordon Hunt who wrote the lyrics.
IKC2003 2 years ago
I used to work in a cabaret room in New York City, and someone sang this song in a show once. I thought about it for years afterward- especially the line "disappointment and bourbon are hard on the heart." At the time I had no idea who wrote it, but when I found out later I thought, "Of course! Amanda McBroom is a brilliant songwriter!"
Now I see she is also an amazing vocalist, as well..... absolutely wonderful....
cuchelo1 2 years ago 2
This is the first song of Amanda's I ever heard - on the radio. The last time I saw my father was at a railway station, a month before he died, so it's very personal to me. From this, I discovered her other work. What a treat to see her 'in person' at last! I'll probably never get to see her live, so this kind of makes up for it -almost! Thanks so much, Amanda - your voice is very special indeed. Kate xx
katbark 2 years ago
one of chicago's most gifted musical hearts told me about a song called "errol flynn" back in the 90's.....i thought she was kidding..................
garyowen4ever 2 years ago
Hi all,
I'm afraid we don't have any video "The Portait." We'll figure something out, Amanda says maybe we should set up a camera in the garage and we'll record her singing it.
Though we might be able to work out something a bit higher quality for you.
~ Chris
amandamcbroom 2 years ago
Hi samichon,
I'll ask Amanda if we have "the Portrait" in video form that we can digitize and upload.
Thanks for the request.
And yes, Amanda reads all of these comments and replies when she can.
:)
- Chris
amandamcbroom 2 years ago
Amanda wrote it. Try and find her singing "the Portrait" (about her Mother) I havent been able to and i am hoping she will upload it...hint hint :)
samichon 2 years ago
OMG! Barbara Cook introduced me to this. But Amanda gives the definitive performance, heartfelt, and spot on. Thank you Amanda.
jrankin01 2 years ago