Bette Midler

Released: November 17, 1977

Songwriter: Craig Doerge Judy Henske

Producer: Brooks Arthur

When I am a flyer, I'll fly down to Miami
Get a room in one of those big resort hotels
And nobody there will ever get to know me well
And nobody there will ever get to know me well

I'll be just another yellow beach umbrella
On the shore of the southern sea
I'll be a mystery to everyone
I won't take you along with me

When I am a driver, I'll drive to Pensacola
Sleep in the sand whether the weather
Brings sunshine or rain
And nobody there will ever get to know my name, oh no
And nobody there will ever get to know my name

I'll be just another yellow beach umbrella
On the shore of the southern sea
Mmm, I'll be a mystery to everyone
I won't take you along with me

When I am a rider, I'll ride up to Tempico
Ohh, don't telephone honey
Your money'd be wasted on a telegram
'cause nobody there will ever find out who I am
Nobody there will ever find me!

I'll be just another big bright umbrella
On the shore of the southern sea
Gonna be a mystery to everyone
I won't take you along with me

Alone. All alone. On my own
So happy to be gone, gone, gone, gone
To new news and new faces
New feuds and new places

Underneath my yellow umbrella
Won't be holdin' hands
With a mobster fella
Mmm, I'm in the mood to be
Swimmin' in the nude
Sinnin' too. Too bad you
Won't be there to see

Grand. Feels so grand
Lying in the sand
Just working on this tan of mine
Ohh, you know I think that life
Is just the greatest thing

Goodbye!!
It's goodbye, darling
Your turn to cry
And you know good and well why, darling
Why you got the gong
I was into you to long

Bette Midler is a Grammy-winning singer, songwriter, comedienne and actress. Named in honor of Bette Davis, Midler’s career began performing off-broadway until she developed the stage persona The Divine Miss M while singing at the world-famous Continental Baths gay bathhouse. A pre-fame Barry Manilow, the venue’s in-house piano player, produced her Grammy-nominated debut album which scored three US top 40 singles including the Grammy-nominated “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy”. Midler took home the Best New Artist Grammy that year, her first of three career wins.

Throughout the 1970s, Midler found further success with music, Broadway, television and film. The Rose, Midler’s 1979 acting debut, earned her both Oscar and Academy Award nominations, and its namesake song won her a Golden Globe and another Grammy – also giving Midler her first success overseas.

The early 1980s proved less successful for Midler with four under-performing singles and a box office flop with the film Jinxed. However, the second half of the decade would prove far more fruitful with a handful of very successful films including Down and Out in Beverly Hills, Ruthless People, Outrageous Fortune and Beaches, the latter featuring a chart-topping cover of “Wind Beneath My Wings” that won Midler her third Grammy and is considered one of the greatest songs in American film history.

more tracks from the album

Broken Blossom

From the album

Broken Blossom (1977)

Bette Midler popular songs

Yellow Beach UmbrellaBette Midler

Bette Midler

Broken Blossom