Beautiful song from "I Do and Adieu"...anyone know it? - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

bostonmacguy · 09-17-2007, 01:30 PM

Does anyone know the name of the beautiful song played on the piano at the very end of "I Do and Adieu," in which Shelly Long - and Diane - leave the show?

During the season finale of Season Five ("I Do and Adieu"), Diane gets an offer to polish up and publish a novel. She and Sam debate whether they should marry before she takes advantage of this opportunity. When Diane leaves the room for a moment, Sam imagines what his future might be like. He envisions sitting in the living room of his future home and chatting with elderly (and comically aged) versions of Diane, Cliff, and Norm. "I've had a great life," he says in the vision.

Once back in the present, of course, Sam and Diane do not marry, and Diane walks out of the bar and off to her writing career. As Sam watches her leave, he says "Have a good life." The last thirty seconds of the episode return to his vision of the future, which he now knows will not come to pass. He enters his house as an old man, sees Diane knitting on the couch, sets down his newspaper and extends his hand in invitation to dance. He and Diane dance slowly to the strains of a beautiful and simple waltz played on a piano for a few seconds before the episode fades to black and the credits roll. It's a heartbreaking vignette, not least because of the fact that it's entirely without dialog or sound except for the waltz.

Here's where you come in: What is the name of that piece of music? It doesn't sound like something written specifically for the show, but I don't recognize the melody, and of course there are no lyrics to research. Anyone have any ideas? Does anyone recognize the tune? It's season five - I KNOW some of you own this one on DVD! ;-)

samanddiane4eva · 09-17-2007, 03:42 PM

I definitely know this one for you.

The song is: What'll I Do

There are lots of versions out there, but my favorite version is sung by Linda Ronstadt.

bostonmacguy · 09-18-2007, 12:44 AM

Thanks, S&D4 for a fast and accurate answer to my riddle!

At the risk of seeming grandiose or naive, I'd like to stop to wonder at the glory that is the Internet. I had a small dilemma when watching an episode of my favorite TV show (which originally aired during Reagan's second term when the total number of people communicating by computers was smaller than the population of my home town). Five minutes with Google and I've found a community of people who all love my favorite show and have spent hours (nay, years!) commenting on every conceivable aspect of it and a few more to boot. I pose my question to this newly-discovered community, and within hours, someone I don't know and likely will never meet has the right answer for me (as well as a fantastic screen name!). Within minutes, I've used iTunes to locate and review some of the 148 recordings (yes, really) of this song that I haven't been able to stop thinking about. And within a few minutes after that I have purchased one of them and downloaded it to my iPod. All effectively without getting up from my desk.

How (I mean it - how?) did we live full lives before the Web and the Internet? ;-) Thanks again, S&D4, and the whole Cheers community here for helping me to share my enjoyment of a truly terrific show.

09-17-2007, 01:30 PM	#1
bostonmacguy Member Forum Cub Join Date: Sep 17, 2007 Location: Washington, DC Posts: 2	Beautiful song from "I Do and Adieu"...anyone know it? Does anyone know the name of the beautiful song played on the piano at the very end of "I Do and Adieu," in which Shelly Long - and Diane - leave the show? During the season finale of Season Five ("I Do and Adieu"), Diane gets an offer to polish up and publish a novel. She and Sam debate whether they should marry before she takes advantage of this opportunity. When Diane leaves the room for a moment, Sam imagines what his future might be like. He envisions sitting in the living room of his future home and chatting with elderly (and comically aged) versions of Diane, Cliff, and Norm. "I've had a great life," he says in the vision. Once back in the present, of course, Sam and Diane do not marry, and Diane walks out of the bar and off to her writing career. As Sam watches her leave, he says "Have a good life." The last thirty seconds of the episode return to his vision of the future, which he now knows will not come to pass. He enters his house as an old man, sees Diane knitting on the couch, sets down his newspaper and extends his hand in invitation to dance. He and Diane dance slowly to the strains of a beautiful and simple waltz played on a piano for a few seconds before the episode fades to black and the credits roll. It's a heartbreaking vignette, not least because of the fact that it's entirely without dialog or sound except for the waltz. Here's where you come in: What is the name of that piece of music? It doesn't sound like something written specifically for the show, but I don't recognize the melody, and of course there are no lyrics to research. Anyone have any ideas? Does anyone recognize the tune? It's season five - I KNOW some of you own this one on DVD! ;-)

09-18-2007, 12:44 AM	#3
bostonmacguy Member Forum Cub Join Date: Sep 17, 2007 Location: Washington, DC Posts: 2	Right you are - thanks! Thanks, S&D4 for a fast and accurate answer to my riddle! At the risk of seeming grandiose or naive, I'd like to stop to wonder at the glory that is the Internet. I had a small dilemma when watching an episode of my favorite TV show (which originally aired during Reagan's second term when the total number of people communicating by computers was smaller than the population of my home town). Five minutes with Google and I've found a community of people who all love my favorite show and have spent hours (nay, years!) commenting on every conceivable aspect of it and a few more to boot. I pose my question to this newly-discovered community, and within hours, someone I don't know and likely will never meet has the right answer for me (as well as a fantastic screen name!). Within minutes, I've used iTunes to locate and review some of the 148 recordings (yes, really) of this song that I haven't been able to stop thinking about. And within a few minutes after that I have purchased one of them and downloaded it to my iPod. All effectively without getting up from my desk. How (I mean it - how?) did we live full lives before the Web and the Internet? ;-) Thanks again, S&D4, and the whole Cheers community here for helping me to share my enjoyment of a truly terrific show.

09-17-2007, 03:42 PM	#2
samanddiane4eva Icon credit: Me Frequent Poster Join Date: Dec 13, 2001 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 476	I definitely know this one for you. The song is: What'll I Do There are lots of versions out there, but my favorite version is sung by Linda Ronstadt.