Papa, Can You Hear Me?
1984 song performed by Barbra Streisand
"Papa, Can You Hear Me?" is a 1983 song composed by Michel Legrand with lyrics by Alan Bergman and Marilyn Bergman, for Barbra Streisand in the title role of Yentl. The song was nominated for Best Original Song at the 56th Academy Awards; Streisand's longtime friend Donna Summer performed it during the ceremonies. The song peaked at No.26 at Billboard'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 Yentl upon hearing the song. 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 recorded the song in 1993 on her final album A Single Woman.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Papa, Can You Hear Me?” is 1984 song performed by Barbra Streisand. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Papa, Hear and song, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “1984 song performed by Barbra Streisand” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Object files, edition statements, performance records and contemporary criticism preserve different stages of the work’s history. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 2, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7132313. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1983 and 1993.
Later fame can flatten the distinction between original context, subsequent adaptation and institutional collecting history. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
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The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.
Three-step research path
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Questions for further research
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This entry incorporates text from “Papa, Can You Hear Me?” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.