Music of Our Parents - Que Sera, Sera

My mother liked to sing. As mentioned in an earlier post, I always assumed that the songs my parents sang were "old" songs -- not contemporary ones. My mother often sang Doris Day's song, Que Sera, Sera. There was a story that went along with this song. Doris Day, although not in my mother's class, went to the same high school as my mother and her sisters. The high school was Our Lady of the Angels, or O.L.A. located in St. Bernard. It was an all girls' school that in the present day has been combined with the boys' school, Roger Bacon.

Virginia, Evelyn and Florence at O.L.A.

My mother and her sisters all played in the O.L.A. band. Mom played the clarinet, Evelyn played trumpet, and Florence played the sax for a while.  Aunt Evelyn said they convinced Florence to switch to bells, because they needed another petite girl on the bells to match the other bell player.

I learned a lot about the song. According to Songfacts:

"This became Doris Day's biggest hit and her signature song, but she didn't want to record it because she thought of it as a children's song. Livingston explained in Zollo's interview: "She didn't want to record it but the studio pressured her. She did it in one take and said, 'That's the last you're going to hear of this song.'"

In fact, the song went on to win the 1956 Oscar for Best Song.  It also became the theme song for her sitcom The Doris Day Show, which ran from 1968-73.

Here are the lyrics to the song:

When I was just a little girl
I asked my mother, what will I be
Will I be pretty, will I be rich
Here's what she said to me.

Que Sera, Sera,
Whatever will be, will be
The future's not ours, to see
Que Sera, Sera
What will be, will be.

When I was young, I fell in love
I asked my sweetheart what lies ahead
Will we have rainbows, day after day
Here's what my sweetheart said.

Que Sera, Sera,
Whatever will be, will be
The future's not ours, to see
Que Sera, Sera
What will be, will be.

Now I have children of my own
They ask their mother, what will I be
Will I be handsome, will I be rich
I tell them tenderly.

Que Sera, Sera,
Whatever will be, will be
The future's not ours, to see
Que Sera, Sera
What will be, will be.

I like the sentiment of this song because it reminds me (a Control Freak) that you can't control everything about your life.  To some extent, what will be, will be. You can download it for $0.99 at Amazon at this link:  Que Sera, Sera 

Later I hope to add a photoshow link so you can hear the whole song and take a flight back to the 50's.

Note:  Doris Day was born Doris Kappelhoff.  She was the granddaughter of four German immigrants.  She grew up in Evanston (Cincinnati, Ohio).  There is some discrepancy about the year of her birth.  Based on the Census, she would have been born in 1923.  My mother, born in 1922, was in the O.L.A. class of 1940.  Aunt Evelyn was in the class of 1942.  According to an interview with Doris Day's son, her mother dropped out of O.L.A. at the age of 16 to pursue her career.