Song of the Day 6/14: Frank and Nancy Sinatra, “Somethin’ Stupid”

Republicans are always saying something stupid, but it’s rarely “I love you.”

When this song surged up the charts in 1967 the lyrics puzzled me — how could the singer spoil it all by saying “I love you”? Hey, I was 11, there were lots of things I didn’t know yet. At the time, nobody knew that it would be Frank Sinatra’s last Top 20 hit, either. Some warned him that singing a love duet with his daughter would strike some people as creepy, but the tune went to No. 1 anyway.

“Something Stupid,” with the “g” intact, was written by folksinger Carson Parks (older brother of songwriter Van Dyke Parks). He and his wife Gaile Foote released it as Carson & Gaile in February 1967 on their album “San Antonio Rose.” The Sinatras’ version topped the charts in April.