Shirley Bassey opened the renewed/renovated Royal Concertgebouw in Amsterdam in 1985, which was five years after her famous video taped concert there. In this clip she performs one of her signature songs, "This Is My Life (La Vita)". This song was a minor hit; it peaked at #55 on the UK Charts, and #84 in Australia. Nevertheless, it remains a favorite from Shirley's fans, and for decades she included it towards the end of her concert song line-up.
Unfortunately, the original video footage is very poor. There is not much one can do to clean it up in this case. But, Shirley's vocals come shining through!
ABOUT The Royal Concertgebouw in Amsterdam:
The Royal Concertgebouw (Dutch: het Koninklijk Concertgebouw, pronounced [ət ˈkoːnɪŋklə kɔnˈsɛrtxəˌbʌu]) is a concert hall in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The Dutch term "concertgebouw" translates into English as "concert building". Its superb acoustics place it among the finest concert halls in the world, along with Boston's Symphony Hall and the Musikverein in Vienna.
In 1983, the Concertgebouw was found to be sinking into the damp Amsterdam earth, with several inch-wide cracks appearing in the walls, so the hall embarked on extensive fundraising for renovations. Its difficult emergency restoration started in 1985, during which the 2,186 rotting wooden pilings were replaced with concrete pillars. Dutch architect Pi de Bruijn designed a modern annex for a new entrance and a basement to replace cramped dressing and rehearsal space.
In celebration of the building's 125th anniversary, Queen Beatrix bestowed the royal title "Koninklijk" upon the building on 11 April 2013, as she had on the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra upon its 100th in 1988
LYRICS:
Funny how a lonely day, can
Make a person say:
What good is my life
Funny how a breaking heart, can
Make me start to say:
What good is my life
Funny how I often seem, to
Think I'll find another
Dream
In my life
Till I look around and see,
This great big world is
Part of me
And my life
This is my life
Today, tomorrow, love
Will come and find me
But that's the way that I was born to be
This is me
This is me
This is my life
And I don't give a damn for lost emotions
I've such a lot of love I've got to give
Let me live
Let me live
Sometime when I feel
Afraid, I think of what a
Mess I've made
Of my life
Crying over my mistakes,
Forgetting all the breaks
I've had
In my life
I was put on earth to
Be, a part of this great
World is me
And my life
Guess I'll just add up the
Score, and count the things
I'm grateful for
In my life
This Is my life
Today, tomorrow, love
Will come and find me
But that's the way that I was born to be
This is me
This is me
This is my life
And I don't give a damn for lost emotions
I've such a lot of love I've got to give
Let me live
Let me live
This is my life
This is my life
This is my life
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