Somewhere

"I'm very sad. And, I'm angry, too. But, I don't think it's good to be angry. I really don't know what to say, all I can say is what's inside. I'm Negro, and I respected and loved Dr. Martin Luther King very much. And I know he lived and died for one reason - and I want all of us to be togehter. Not just the black man but the white man and everybody ... whe should walk together."
Diana Ross

The Supremes were starring at the Copacabana in New York City on 4 April 1968 when Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot in Memphis. Diana Ross was "in a deep depression" and felt "a sense of hopelessness". The Supremes cancelled their performances out of respect. The next day, they received an invitation to appear at a special programme of The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, a programme dedicated to Martin Luther King, Jr.
The group performed Leonard Bernstein's "Somewhere". Instead of delivering a spoken interlude about romance, as Diana Ross usually did in the middle of this song, she talked about King's dream (starts at 1:45 in clip below) and used words from his famous speech "I Have a Dream" (Taraborrelli, 2007).


Photograph: The Supremes at Martin Luther King's funeral

"I felt the pain for Coretta, and I loved her beauty and how regally she held herself. I had marveled at how Jackie Kennedy had conducted herself, too. And I wondered about myself: would I have been able to be as strong, to stand as tall as these women had? I thought about that as I sat at the funeral and later at Dr. King's burial."
Diana Ross

“Yes, there's a place for each of us, Where love is like a passion, burning like a fire. Let our efforts be as determined as that of Dr. Martin Luther King, who had a dream that all God's children, Black men, white men, Jews, Gentiles, Protestants, and Catholics, could join hands and sing that spiritual of all: "Free at last! Free at last! Thank God almighty, we are free at last!"
Diana Ross



::: Diana Ross sings "Somewhere" live in London, 1973: LISTEN/WATCH
::: Tom Waits sings "Somewhere": LISTEN/WATCH (unofficial clip)
::: Shirley Bassey sings "Somewhere", 1973: LISTEN
::: Aretha Franklin and Hugh Jackman sing "Somewhere": LISTEN/WATCH
::: Julie Andrews sings "Somewhere": LISTEN/WATCH
::: Pet Shop Boys sing "Somewhere": LISTEN/WATCH
::: Barbra Streisand sings "Somewhere": LISTEN/WATCH

Somewhere (West Side Story)

There's a place for us,
Somewhere a place for us.
Peace and quiet and open air
Wait for us
Somewhere.

There's a time for us,
Some day a time for us,
Time together with time to spare,
Time to learn, time to care,
Some day!

Somewhere.
We'll find a new way of living,
We'll find a way of forgiving
Somewhere . . .

There's a place for us,
A time and place for us.
Hold my hand and we're halfway there.
Hold my hand and I'll take you there
Somehow,
Some day,
Somewhere!

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Related posting:
-  Quoting Diana Ross
-  "I'm so happy that you didn't sneeze."

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- Taraborrelli, J. R. (2007). Diana Ross. A Biography. Citadel
- photograph via