If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out
Encyclopedia
"If You Want To Sing Out, Sing Out" is a popular song by Cat Stevens
. It first appeared in the 1971 film Harold and Maude
.
Stevens wrote all the songs in Harold and Maude in 1970-1971, during the time he was writing and recording his Tea for the Tillerman
album. However, "If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out" and two other songs from that period were not released as singles nor placed on any album at that time. No official soundtrack was released from the film at that time. The song was finally released later on Stevens' 1984 album, Footsteps in the Dark: Greatest Hits, Vol. 2
along with his other previously unreleased songs. In addition, it appeared on the UK edition of his 2003 album The Very Best of Cat Stevens
.
to the film was released in December 2007, by Vinyl Films Records, as a vinyl-only limited edition release of 2500 copies. It contained a 30-page oral history of the making of the film, the most extensive series of interviews yet conducted on Harold and Maude.
, and a morose, emotionally neglected youth reaching manhood named Harold, played by Bud Cort
. The film shows Maude teaching Harold to embrace the circle of life, incorporating many lessons, with one, where she insists that he learn a musical instrument, and this is where the song is learned as well. By the end of the movie, both poignant, funny, and sad, Harold appears to have learned the lesson as he plays "their song", and Cat Stevens' version follows before the closing credits.
, a teen tragic comedy film for which Stevens' lyrics and music appear to be a comfortable fit. The film is reviewed as perhaps a step up from Fast Times at Ridgemont High
, but its quirky sense of humor at the time that the song was written matched that of Stevens, who agreed to release his songs for the film.
Cat Stevens
Yusuf Islam , commonly known by his former stage name Cat Stevens, is an English singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, educator, philanthropist, and prominent convert to Islam....
. It first appeared in the 1971 film Harold and Maude
Harold and Maude
Harold and Maude is a 1971 American dark comedy film directed by Hal Ashby and released by Paramount Pictures. It incorporates elements of dark humor and existentialist drama, with a plot that revolves around the exploits of a young man intrigued with death, Harold...
.
Stevens wrote all the songs in Harold and Maude in 1970-1971, during the time he was writing and recording his Tea for the Tillerman
Tea for the Tillerman
Tea for the Tillerman is an album by singer-songwriter Cat Stevens. This album, Stevens' second during 1970, includes many of Stevens' best-known songs including "Where Do the Children Play?", "Hard Headed Woman", "Wild World", "Sad Lisa", "Into White" and "Father and Son"...
album. However, "If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out" and two other songs from that period were not released as singles nor placed on any album at that time. No official soundtrack was released from the film at that time. The song was finally released later on Stevens' 1984 album, Footsteps in the Dark: Greatest Hits, Vol. 2
Footsteps in the Dark: Greatest Hits, Vol. 2
Footsteps in the Dark: Greatest Hits Vol. 2 is a compilation album released by Cat Stevens in 1984. Its fourteen songs include hits such as "Father and Son" and "Where Do the Children Play?" as well as two previously unreleased tracks from the Hal Ashby and Colin Higgins black comedy Harold and...
along with his other previously unreleased songs. In addition, it appeared on the UK edition of his 2003 album The Very Best of Cat Stevens
The Very Best of Cat Stevens
-Track listing:All songs were written by Cat Stevens, except where noted.# "Where Do the Children Play?"# "Wild World"# "Tuesday's Dead"# "Lady D'Arbanville"# "The First Cut Is the Deepest"# "Oh Very Young"# "Rubylove"...
.
Official soundtrack (2007)
The first official soundtrack albumSoundtrack album
A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television program. In some cases, not all the tracks from the movie are included in the album; however there are rare cases of songs in the trailers that do not appear in...
to the film was released in December 2007, by Vinyl Films Records, as a vinyl-only limited edition release of 2500 copies. It contained a 30-page oral history of the making of the film, the most extensive series of interviews yet conducted on Harold and Maude.
Harold and Maude
This is the tune that could be best associated as the theme song for the film, Harold and Maude, about a septuagenarian, Maude, played by Ruth GordonRuth Gordon
Ruth Gordon Jones , better known as Ruth Gordon, was an American actress and writer. She was perhaps best known for her film roles such as Minnie Castevet, Rosemary's overly solicitous neighbor in Rosemary's Baby, as the eccentric Maude in Harold and Maude and as the mother of Orville Boggs in the...
, and a morose, emotionally neglected youth reaching manhood named Harold, played by Bud Cort
Bud Cort
Bud Cort is an American film and stage actor, writer, and director. He is best known for his portrayals of Harold in Hal Ashby's 1971 film Harold and Maude and the titular hero in Robert Altman's 1970 film Brewster McCloud...
. The film shows Maude teaching Harold to embrace the circle of life, incorporating many lessons, with one, where she insists that he learn a musical instrument, and this is where the song is learned as well. By the end of the movie, both poignant, funny, and sad, Harold appears to have learned the lesson as he plays "their song", and Cat Stevens' version follows before the closing credits.
Appearances on other soundtracks
In 2007, a rendition of "Sing out" appeared in the film, Charlie BartlettCharlie Bartlett
Charlie Bartlett is a 2008 comedy-drama film directed by Jon Poll. The screenplay by Gustin Nash focuses on a teenager who begins to dispense therapeutic advice and prescription drugs to the student body at his new high school in order to become popular....
, a teen tragic comedy film for which Stevens' lyrics and music appear to be a comfortable fit. The film is reviewed as perhaps a step up from Fast Times at Ridgemont High
Fast Times at Ridgemont High
Fast Times at Ridgemont High is a 1982 American coming-of-age teen comedy film written by Cameron Crowe and adapted from his 1981 book of the same name...
, but its quirky sense of humor at the time that the song was written matched that of Stevens, who agreed to release his songs for the film.
The song is featured in an episode of the TV show My Name Is EarlMy Name Is EarlMy Name Is Earl is an American television comedy series created by Greg Garcia that was originally broadcast on the NBC television network from September 20, 2005, to May 14, 2009, in the United States...
Season 2, Episode 3: Sticks & Stones
Cover versions
- The song has been covered by Bloomington, IndianaBloomington, IndianaBloomington is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County in the southern region of the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 80,405 at the 2010 census....
's folk punkFolk punkFolk punk , is a fusion of folk music and punk rock. It was pioneered in the late 1970s and early 1980s by The Pogues in Britain and Violent Femmes in America. Folk punk achieved some mainstream success in that decade...
pioneers Ghost MiceGhost MiceGhost Mice is a two-piece folk-punk band from Bloomington, Indiana. Both members, Chris Johnston and Hannah Jones, have been in a handful of pop-punk bands together: namely Disarm, The Devil is Electric and Operation: Cliff Clavin...
under the shortened title "Sing Out". - The song has been covered by Death By Chocolate in 2001, on their first, self-titled album
- In August 2009, Yusuf IslamCat StevensYusuf Islam , commonly known by his former stage name Cat Stevens, is an English singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, educator, philanthropist, and prominent convert to Islam....
approved his original recording of the song for use in a T Mobile television commercial. Wyclef JeanWyclef JeanWyclef Jean is a Haitian musician, record producer, and politician. At age nine, Jean moved to the United States with his family and has spent much of his life in the country...
also made an upbeat remix of the song for a later T Mobile commercial that aired in December 2009. - Folk musicFolk musicFolk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
/bluegrassBluegrass musicBluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. It has mixed roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music...
band Rani Arbo and Daisy MayhemRani Arbo and Daisy MayhemRani Arbo and the band Daisy Mayhem, consisting of Andrew Kinsey, Anand Nayak, and Scott Kessel, are an American musical group whose style combines folk, country blues, progressive bluegrass, jazz, and swing...
covered the song for their 2010 album Ranky Tanky. - The song has also been covered by Amanda Palmer.