4 Barbra Streisand Songs That Will Always Be Timeless (Even Though They Weren’t All Big Hits)

Few artists are as memorable as Barbra Streisand. A successful singer and actress, Streisand’s music career spans more than 60 years. Among her many great tunes are these four songs, which are all timeless, even though they weren’t all big hits.

“People”

Barbra Streisand’s first No. 1 single, “People” came out in 1964. The song is both the title track of Streisand’s fourth studio album and part of the soundtrack of Funny Girl, a Broadway musical starring Streisand, which later became a film. Jule Styne and Bob Merrill are the writers of “People”.

One of Streisand’s most remembered songs, “People” begins with, “People / People who need people / Are the luckiest people in the world / We’re children / Needing other children / And yet letting a grown-up pride / Hide all the need inside / Acting more like children than children.”

“All I Ask Of You”

Out in 1988, “All I Ask Of You” was written by Andrew Lloyd Webber, Charles Hart, and Richard Stilgoe. “All I Ask Of You” was the first part of the musical, The Phantom Of The Opera. Streisand’s take on the song is on her Til I Loved You album.

“All I Ask Of You” says, “Say you love me every winter morning / Turn my head with talk of summertime / Say you need me with you now and always / Promise me that all you say is true / That’s all I ask of you.”

“The Way We Were”

A No. 1 single for Streisand, “The Way We Were”  is the title track of a Streisand album that came out in 1974. Out as a single in 1973, Alan Bergman, Marilyn Bergman, and Marvin Hamlisch are the writers of the song.

“The Way We Were” says, “Memories may be beautiful and yet / What’s too painful to remember / We simply choose to forget / So it’s the laughter we will remember / Whenever we remember the way we were / The way we were.“

“Evergreen”

“Evergreen” is from the film A Star Is Born, starring Streisand and Kris Kristofferson. Streisand wrote the sweet song with Paul Williams. 

The romantic ballad says, “Love, soft as an easy chair / Love, fresh as the morning air / One love that is shared by two / I have found with you / Like a rose under the April snow / I was always certain love would grow / Love ageless and evergreen / Seldom seen by two.”

Also known as “Love Them From A Star Is Born”, Streisand and Williams won an Oscar for this song.

Photo by Marc Broussely/Redfern