The Right To Love – Lyrics Gene Lees – Music Lalo Schifrin
My love and I ask little of the world
The right to sigh together in the rain
And walk with heads up in the sun
And share our joy and our pain
And yet they say that we are wrong
That we haven’t the right to our love
That this love is shameful to see
And yet we treasure our love
And so we go our solitary ways
Indifferent to the cold unfriendly stares
Indifferent to the whispered talk
We don’t care at all
We have all we need
As long as we can be together
We know we’ve earned the precious right to love
And so we go our solitary ways
Indifferent to the cold unfriendly stares
Indifferent to the whispered talk
We don’t care at all
We have all we need
As long as we can be together
We find our consolation in each others eyes
The sweet look of wonder
We know we’ve earned the precious right to love
I first heard this tune in the 80s when dating a lovely man named Sammy Velazquez. The lyrics by Gene Lees (and music by Lalo Schifrin) so tenderly express the sentiments of what was then attributed to interracial love, yet can be universally interpreted. There’s also a great rendition by Freddy Cole with Grover Washington Jr on soprano sax. Here is k.d lang’s version on youtube:
Great number . . . nicely done by Freddie Cole. Not quite up to the standard of Nat’s work but the same soft, silky approach with good phrasing. It’s worth listening to many times again.