The Sinatra song featuring the lyrics “And now, the end is near; and so I face the final curtain” is “My Way.” The song became one of Frank Sinatra’s signature recordings and is closely associated with its theme of looking back on a life lived according to personal choices.
“My Way” was not originally written as an English-language Sinatra song. It adapts the French song “Comme d'habitude,” written by Jacques Revaux, Gilles Thibaut, and Claude François. Paul Anka wrote the English lyrics after hearing the French recording and tailored the words for Sinatra’s public persona.
Sinatra recorded the song in December 1968, reportedly completing his vocal in one take. Reprise Records released it in 1969, and although its initial United States chart performance was modest, it became an enduring standard through later recordings by performers including Elvis Presley and Sid Vicious.