'Your Song'
Performed by Ewan
McGregor and Alessandro Safina
Written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin, Arranged by Craig Armstrong
Produced by BLAM, Josh G Abraham, Craig Armstrong, Marius De Vries and Patrick
Leonard
This adorable tune is sung by Christian to Satine in her elephant boudoir at the Moulin Rouge. A case of mistaken identity has delivered him straight to Satine's bedroom after the show and, as he tries to recite his poetry, Satine has more raunchy activities in mind. In order to get his message through to her, Christian starts to speak the opening verse of the original Your Song. When his words fail to stop Satine's advances, Christian suddenly breaks out into song!
Your Song was originally sung by Elton John, and many people will remember this version. This may lead many people to smile and make comparisons when watching this sequence in the movie. Baz Luhrmann actually points out in one of the DVD commentaries that many people do recognise the tune, but by the time Christian has sung the first few lines and Satine is staring at him in awe, people tend to sit back, enjoy the performance and relate the song to the characters.
In the film, Christian sings a couple of verses of Your Song in an unforgettable sequence which includes a dance across the sky, a concept which I enjoyed immensely. As Christian and Satine dance playfully across the clouds, the man in the moon joins in and 'sings' operatic harmonies that serve to intensify the joyful feeling of the tune. I must admit I loved the idea of the animated moon in this film, but I was pleased to see the singing stars disappear. In The Cutting Room section of the DVD, you will find an early version of the Your Song film sequence that depicts a different concept that begins when Christian and Satine jump across the sky. A fluffy white border appears around much of the screen and it's full of animated singing stars! These stars also float around the background in the sky, and even chase the man in the moon! For me, this concept too novelty and offsets the focus of the scene, which should be the characters we see before us. I think the filmmakers were trying to create a more obvious dreamlike effect in this early concept to distinguish that this dance across the sky sequence is imaginary, but we learn this for ourselves at the end of the song when we see that Christian and Satine have been standing in the room the whole time. Therefore, I am glad that, in the end, they felt there was no need for such an obvious reminder. Instead, the sequence successfully relies on the surreal atmosphere that has already been established in the film.
Your Song is a joyful, playful piece that initiates the beginning of the special bond between the two lead characters. Plus, as this is Ewan's first solo, it also shows off his impressive vocal talents! :-)
Lyrics:
Christian - My gift is my song and this one's for you
And you can tell everybody that this
is your song
It may be quite simple but now that it's done
I hope you don't mind, I hope you don't mind that I put down in words
How wonderful life is now you're in the world
Sat on the roof and I kicked off the
moss
Well some of these verses well they got me quite cross
But the sun's been kind while I wrote this song
Its for people like you that I keep it turned on
So excuse me forgetting about these
things I do
You see I've forgotten if they're green or they're blue
And well the thing is, what I really mean
You've got the sweetest eyes I've ever seen
Choir - And you can tell
everybody this is your song
It may be quite simple but now that it's done
Christian - And you can tell
everybody this is your song
It may be quite simple but now that it's done
I hope you don't mind, I hope you
don't mind that I put down in words
How wonderful life is now you're in the world
Hope you don't mind, I hope you don't
mind that I put down in words
How wonderful life is now you're in the world