Bette Midler

Released: November 7, 1972

Songwriter: Harry Akst Grant Clarke

Producer: Joel Dorn

I'm just a woman, a lonely woman
Waiting on the weary shore
I'm just a woman, who's only human
One you should feel sorry for
Well I woke up this morning along about dawn
Without a warning I found that he was gone
Why did he do it?
How could he do it?
He never done it before
Am I blue?
Am I blue?
Ain't these tears in these eyes telling you?
Oh, am I blue?
Well I bet you would be too
If each plan with your man done fell through
There was a time I was his only one
But now I'm the second lonely one
Was I gay?
Till today?
But now that man is gone
He's gone, and we are through
Am I blue?
There was a time I was his only one
But now, right now now now I'm the second lonely one
Oh god I'm lonely
But I remember
Oh I remember when I was gay
That was up until today
But now that man is gone
He's gone
And we are through
Oh am I, am I....
Well, would you believe it if I told you...
I'm blue

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

The Divine Miss M

From the album

The Divine Miss M (1972)

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