Iāve bought Don Blackās The Sanest Guy in the Room, which is a great readāyou know that itās piqued your interest if you can do 110 pages in a single sitting. Thereās more to go, and itās entertaining learning a bit about the backgrounds to his songs, āBorn Freeā arguably his best known. (I do know there are insurance commercials with the song, so I hope he, and the families of John Barry and Matt Monro are getting decent royalties from themāthough itās pretty bad I have no idea which company itās for. I assume itās a successor firm to AA Mutual.)
Don has been very humble in this book and in one part, excerpts his favourite lyrics that others have written. In my mind, however, Don is the top man in his business, and it seems right that I highlight a few of my favourites out of his extensive repertoire and honour him. These come to mind, in no particular order. Many show a good use of rhyme, and all evoke imagery. The repetition of a root word is also clever. And theyāre āsingableā. As someone who works with the English language professionally they appeal to me for their ingenuity and, in some cases, brevity. Surprisingly, by the time I chose 10, I realized I had not included any of his James Bond lyrics.
Any errors are mine as I recall the songs in my head.
But how do you thank someone
Who has taken you from crayons to perfume?
(āTo Sir with Loveā, from To Sir with Love)
Youāve been dancing round my mind
Like a bright carousel.
(āIf There Ever Is a Next Timeā, from Hoffman)
While your eyes played games with mine
(āOn Days Like Theseā, from The Italian Job)
This way Mary, come Mary,
While the sun is high,
Make this summer the summer that refused to die
(āThis Way Maryā, from Mary, Queen of Scots)
Walkabout,
And as you wander on
Reflect and ponder on
The dreams today forgot to bring.
(āWalkaboutā, from Walkabout)
The me I never knew
Began to stir some time this morning.
The me I never knew
Arrived without a word of warning.
You smiled and you uncovered
What I had not discovered.
(āThe Me I Never Knewā, from Aliceās Adventures in Wonderland)
Most people stay and battle on with their boredom
But whatās the sense in dreaming dreams if you hoard āem?
(āI Belong to the Starsā, from Billy)
Love has no season,
There are no rules.
Those who stop dreaming are fools.
(āOur Time Is Nowā, from the Shirley Bassey album The Performance)
Main attraction, couldnāt buy a seat
The celebrity celebrities would die to meet
(āIf I Never Sing Another Songā, as originally performed by Matt Monro)
Thereās so much more for me to find,
Iām glad Iāve left behind behind.
(āIāve Never Been This Far Beforeā, from Aliceās Adventures in Wonderland)
Posts tagged ‘Shirley Bassey’
My 10 favourite Don Black lyrics
21.05.2021Tags: 2020, 2021, book, Don Black, England, film, history, James Bond, John Barry, language, London, Matt Monro, music, publishing, Shirley Bassey, UK
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