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Who really said it

I'm for whatever gets you through the night

Spoken by Frank Sinatra 1915–1998 · American singer and actor
Verified In copyright

Documented in Sinatra’s February 1963 Playboy interview ↗, where he said “I’m for anything that gets you through the night, be it prayer, tranquilizers or a bottle of Jack Daniel’s.” The version the internet remembers swaps “whatever” for “anything” and drops the surrounding remark about faith — so the sentiment is genuinely his and the wording is nearly verbatim, but the exact popular phrasing is a light paraphrase.

Last verified 8 Jul 2026 · how we verify · spot an error?

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Verified quote & credit

“I'm for whatever gets you through the night” I'm for anything that gets you through the night, be it prayer, tranquilizers or a bottle of Jack Daniel's. —Frank Sinatra, Playboy, February 1963

Can you use it?

Still under copyright (rights held by Playboy Enterprises and the Estate of Frank Sinatra). A short, credited quote is generally fine for talks, teaching, and internal decks; for commercial, published, or large-scale reuse, get permission.

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In context

Evoking the world of Frank Sinatra — American singer, actor and cultural icon. Theme: "I'm for whatever gets you through the night". Atmospheric and restrained, cinematic directional light, a muted period-appropriate palette, fine grain and texture. Compose with generous empty space for the quote and a small credit line. No lettering in the image itself.

Minimalist

Minimalist editorial slide for the quote "I'm for whatever gets you through the night". Clean background, a single muted accent color, generous negative space, subtle paper or linen texture, no literal illustration — let the words carry it. Reserve clear space for a serif quote and a small credit line. No lettering in the image itself.

Provenance

The source

Source
Playboy Interview: Frank Sinatra
Published
Playboy, February 1963
Interviewer
Joe Hyams
Documented wording
“anything that gets you through the night”

“I’m not unmindful of man’s seeming need for faith… I’m for anything that gets you through the night, be it prayer, tranquilizers or a bottle of Jack Daniel’s. But to me religion is a deeply personal thing in which man and God go it alone together, without the witch doctor in the middle.”

The line the internet repeats — “I’m for whatever gets you through the night” — is a trimmed, reworded slice of this passage on faith.

Frank Sinatra — Wikiquote (Sourced)

How we traced it

  • Wikiquote’s sourced section ↗ traces the line to Sinatra’s Playboy interview of February 1963, quoting it in full within his remarks on faith.
  • Reproductions of the interview, such as this Boing Boing transcript ↗, confirm the documented word is “anything” and preserve the religion context.
  • Popular quote sites circulate the line without its source: Goodreads ↗ carries the fuller “anything” passage uncited, while BrainyQuote ↗ runs the trimmed “whatever” one-liner — the phrasing the internet remembers — with no citation.
In copyright

The statement was first published in Playboy in February 1963, so it remains under U.S. copyright (works published in 1963 are still protected). The interview text is controlled by Playboy Enterprises, and Sinatra’s words are administered by his estate.

Fact-check

The catch: reworded and stripped of context

The quote is authentically Sinatra’s — but the version that circulates online has been lightly reworded and cut loose from what he was actually talking about.

Frank Sinatra paraphrase

The documented 1963 wording is “I’m for anything that gets you through the night”; the popular “whatever” is a later synonym swap, per Wikiquote’s sourced entry ↗.

Frank Sinatra stripped

In the interview the line is a comment on faith and organized religion — it follows “I’m not unmindful of man’s seeming need for faith” — yet quote sites present it as free-standing life advice, per this interview transcript ↗.

Sinatra really said it, in his February 1963 Playboy interview ↗ — but he said “anything,” not “whatever,” and he was talking about faith.

Context

Why it mattered

Sinatra’s February 1963 Playboy interview was a rare, unusually blunt celebrity statement on organized religion. The “gets you through the night” line came inside a passage arguing that faith is a private matter between a person and God, “without the witch doctor in the middle.”

Sinatra anticipated the backlash himself, predicting “crank letters, curses, threats” and even a boycott of his records and films. Decades later the line survives online mostly as breezy self-help — its original edge, and its subject, largely forgotten.

“I’m for anything that gets you through the night…”

Explore

Filed under

More provenance-checked quotes on the same theme, each with its reuse status.

Happiness Hope

Go further

Dig deeper

Trusted places to keep pulling the thread — primary archives, fact-checks, and scholarship. We show how we used each one before you leave.

Frank Sinatra — Wikiquote (Sourced)en.wikiquote.org

Sourced section quoting the line and citing the February 1963 Playboy interview.
Sinatra's February 1963 Playboy interviewboingboing.net

Reproduction of the interview confirming the 'anything' wording and the faith context.
From Sinatra's Amazing Playboy Interview (1963)blog.bestamericanpoetry.com

Extended excerpt of the 1963 interview, including the religion passage.
The popular quote pagegoodreads.com

Widely shared 'Basically, I'm for anything...' form, circulated without citation.
Sinatra risked a boycott over his 1963 religion commentscheatsheet.com

Background on the controversy the interview's faith remarks provoked.

About the speaker

Frank Sinatra

Frank Sinatra

1915–1998 · American singer, actor and cultural icon

Frank Sinatra (1915–1998) was one of the best-selling and most influential entertainers of the 20th century — a singer and Academy Award–winning actor whose recordings and Rat Pack persona made him an enduring American icon. His candid 1963 Playboy interview on religion and faith was among the franker celebrity statements of its era, drawing both praise and outrage.

For writers & researchers

Cite this

Primary source — Chicago

Frank Sinatra, “Playboy Interview: Frank Sinatra,” interview by Joe Hyams, Playboy, February 1963.

MLA (9th ed.)

Sinatra, Frank. "Playboy Interview: Frank Sinatra." Interview by Joe Hyams, Playboy, Feb. 1963.

APA (7th ed.)

Sinatra, F. (1963, February). Playboy interview: Frank Sinatra (J. Hyams, Interviewer). Playboy.

This verification page

Quotle.info. “Who really said ‘I'm for whatever gets you through the night’?” Last verified 8 Jul 2026. https://quotle.info/who-said/im-for-whatever-gets-you-through-the-night

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