"Papa, Can You Hear Me?" is a 1983 song composed by Michel Legrand with lyrics by

Alan Bergman Alan Bergman (born September 11, 1925) and Marilyn Keith Bergman (November 10, 1928 – January 8, 2022) were an American songwriting duo. Married from 1958 until Marilyn's death, together they wrote music and lyrics for numerous celebrated telev ...

and

Marilyn Bergman Alan Bergman (born September 11, 1925) and Marilyn Keith Bergman (November 10, 1928 – January 8, 2022) were an American songwriting duo. Married from 1958 until Marilyn's death, together they wrote music and lyrics for numerous celebrated telev ...

, for

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand (; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success in multiple fields of entertainment, and is among the few performers awar ...

in the

title role The title character in a narrative work is one who is named or referred to in the title of the work. In a performed work such as a play or film, the performer who plays the title character is said to have the title role of the piece. The title of ...

of '' Yentl''. The song was nominated for Best Original Song at the

56th Academy Awards The 56th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 1983 and took place on April 9, 1984, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, beginning at 6:00 p. ...

; Streisand's longtime friend

Donna Summer LaDonna Adrian Gaines (December 31, 1948May 17, 2012), known professionally as Donna Summer, was an American singer and songwriter. She gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s and became known as the " Queen of Disco", while her musi ...

performed it during the ceremonies. The song peaked at No.26 at

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...

's Adult Contemporary.

Critical reception

''Herald-Journal'' deemed it "forgettably gooey". ''Ottawa Citizen'' negatively compared the song to the Star Wars theme, postulating that only the most loyal Streisand fans would make a cognitive connection to the musical upon hearing the tune. Chicago ''Sun-Times'' deemed it "emotional". ''Newsweek International'' said it was a "gay anthem". However, for many Jews, and others who have lost a father, "Papa Can You Hear Me" is comparable to the treasured "My Yiddishe Momme", the moving lament for those who have lost a mother. ''Healing Times: A Personal Workbook'' created a therapeutic exercise based around the song.

Covers

Singer and pianist

Nina Simone Eunice Kathleen Waymon (February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003), known professionally as Nina Simone (), was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and civil rights activist. Her music spanned styles including classical, folk, gospel, blu ...

recorded the song in 1993 on her final album '' A Single Woman''. Her father had died in the 1970s.

Charlotte Church Charlotte Maria Church (born Charlotte Maria Reed, 21 February 1986) is a Welsh singer-songwriter, actress, television presenter and political activist from Cardiff. Church rose to fame in childhood as a classical singer before branching ...

recorded the song as the 5th track on her 2001 album '' Enchantment''. West End performer

Meredith Braun Meredith Braun (born 1973) began her career as a child actor in her native New Zealand before relocating to the UK and starring in a number of West End musicals and touring productions. Early life As a child in Remuera, Auckland, Braun appeare ...

recorded the song on her 2012 album "Someone Else's Story" In 2010, '' Glee'' did a cover in their episode '

Grilled Cheesus "Grilled Cheesus" is the third episode of the second season of the American television series '' Glee'', and the twenty-fifth episode overall. It was written by Brad Falchuk, directed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, and premiered on the Fox network on Oct ...

', sung by

Lea Michele Lea Michele Sarfati (; born August 29, 1986) is an American actress, singer, songwriter, and author. She began her career as a child actress on Broadway, appearing in productions of ''Les Misérables'' (1995–1996), ''Ragtime'' (1997–1999) ...

. Iranian songstress Helen Matevosian covered it in her studio album "Oghyanoose Khali" ("Empty Ocean"). In 2006 at her "Un Regard 9" concert in Paris, Lara Fabian, the Belgian-Canadian singer, paid homage to Streisand's voice then sang the song live.

Popular culture

A parody of the song is briefly sung near the end of the film ''

Austin Powers in Goldmember ''Austin Powers in Goldmember'' is a 2002 American spy comedy film directed by Jay Roach. It is the third in the ''Austin Powers'' film series and stars Mike Myers in four roles: Austin Powers, Dr. Evil, Goldmember, and Fat Bastard. Myers a ...

'' when Goldmember is shocked by his tractor beam device and sings "Fahza can you hear me". The musical ''

Spamalot ''Spamalot'' (also known as ''Monty Python's Spamalot'') is a musical comedy with music by John Du Prez and Eric Idle, and lyrics and book by Idle. It is adapted from the 1975 film ''Monty Python and the Holy Grail''. Like the motion pictu ...

'' features a song called "You Won't Succeed on Broadway (If You Don't Have Any Jews)" which refers greatly to Jewish influence on musicals. At a certain point during the song, the lead singer, Sir Robin calls out, "Arthur, can you hear me?!" The song was referenced in the BBC comedy series '' Beautiful People'' in Episode 2 of the first series, "How I Got My Nose". A brief excerpt is sung by the character of Debbie Doonan, as played by Olivia Colman. In the episode of ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, ...

'' "

Sleeping with the Enemy ''Sleeping with the Enemy'' is a 1991 American psychological thriller film directed by Joseph Ruben and starring Julia Roberts, Patrick Bergin and Kevin Anderson. The film is based on Nancy Price's 1987 novel of the same name. Roberts play ...

Bart Bart is a masculine given name, usually a diminutive of Bartholomew, sometimes of Barton, Bartolomeo, etc. Bart is a Dutch and Ashkenazi Jewish surname, and derives from the name ''Bartholomäus'', a German form of the biblical name ''Bartho ...

overhears Nelson singing the song while Nelson is staying with the family, as an ode to Nelson's missing father. In an episode of the show ''

Will & Grace ''Will & Grace'' is an American television sitcom created by Max Mutchnick and David Kohan. Set in New York City, the show focuses on the friendship between best friends Will Truman ( Eric McCormack), a gay lawyer, and Grace Adler ( Debra Messi ...

'', Jack sings the song on separate occasions, as does Will in an earlier episode while visiting a therapist. In the "

" episode of '' Glee'', Rachel sings the song for

Burt Hummel Burt Hummel is a fictional character from the Fox musical comedy-drama series '' Glee''. The character is portrayed by actor Mike O'Malley, and first appeared on ''Glee'' in the fourth episode of the first season, " Preggers". Burt was develop ...

(who is in a coma) and his son Kurt. Rachel sings the song outside (a nod to Yentl in the film) and later beside Burt's hospital bed, together with Mercedes, Quinn, Finn, and Carol, while Kurt watches from outside the room, feeling emotional. The instrumental version of the song is frequently used as background music in

figure skating Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, when contested at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic disciplines are me ...

competitions. The song is featured several times in ''

Deadpool 2 ''Deadpool 2'' is a 2018 American superhero comedy film based on the Marvel Comics character Deadpool. Distributed by 20th Century Fox, it is the sequel to ''Deadpool'' (2016) and the eleventh installment overall in the ''X-Men'' film series. ...

'' where a

running joke A running gag, or running joke, is a literary device that takes the form of an amusing joke or a comical reference and appears repeatedly throughout a work of literature or other form of storytelling. Though they are similar, catchphrases are not ...

is made out of the title character Deadpool noticing (initially while watching the film Yentl with his girlfriend), the "obvious" similarities between it and the song "

Do You Want to Build a Snowman? "Do You Want to Build a Snowman?" is a song from the 2013 Walt Disney Animation Studios, Disney 3D computer-animated musical feature film ''Frozen (2013 film), Frozen'', with music and lyrics composed by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez. , ...

" from the film '' Frozen''. As he is dying towards the end of the film, Deadpool sings the song's chorus to his teammates.

References

{{Authority control 1980s ballads 1983 songs Songs written for films Barbra Streisand songs Nina Simone songs Songs with lyrics by Alan Bergman Songs with lyrics by Marilyn Bergman Songs with music by Michel Legrand Pop ballads LGBT-related songs