River Song (Sherman)
Encyclopedia
"River Song" is a song composed by Robert B. Sherman
and Richard M. Sherman
in 1973. It was sung by Charley Pride
in the musical motion picture Tom Sawyer
. The song score received a Christopher Award
and a nomination for an Academy Award. The song's placement as a "bookend" piece to the motion picture was largely due to the Sherman Brothers
' deep involvement with the film, including screenwriters as well as songwriters. The song is featured on the popular music LP
, "The Brady Bunch Phonographic Album" which features a total of three Sherman Brothers
songs including "River Song."
, the "River Song" was inspired by the last page of Mark Twain
's book in which Twain writes: "So endeth this chronicle. It being strictly a history of a boy, it must stop here; the story could not go much further without becoming the history of a man. When one writes a novel about grown people, he knows exactly where to stop -- that is, with a marriage; but when he writes of juveniles, he must stop where he best can." The song reflects this with the lyrics "The boy is gonna grow to a man, to a man/Only once in his life is he free/Only one golden time in his life is he free." The song is used to begin and end the movie, and is set against footage of the Mississippi River, showing Tom running toward the river, alongside it, swimming in it, etc. Thus both the song and the footage reinforce the metaphor of the boy as a force of nature (i.e., like the river), and also takes inspiration from the opening paragraphs of Twain's semi-autobiographical novel Life on the Mississippi
.
Robert B. Sherman
Robert Bernard Sherman is an American songwriter who specializes in musical films with his brother Richard Morton Sherman...
and Richard M. Sherman
Richard M. Sherman
Richard Morton Sherman is an American songwriter who specializes in musical film with his brother Robert Bernard Sherman....
in 1973. It was sung by Charley Pride
Charley Pride
Charley Frank Pride is an American country music singer. His smooth baritone voice was featured on thirty-nine number-one hits on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts. His greatest success came in the early- to mid-1970s, when he became the best-selling performer for RCA Records since Elvis...
in the musical motion picture Tom Sawyer
Tom Sawyer (1973 film/I)
Tom Sawyer is a 1973 American musical film adaptation of the Mark Twain boyhood adventure story, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, starring Johnny Whitaker as the Tom, Jodie Foster as Becky Thatcher, and Jeff East as Huckleberry Finn. Kunu Hank portrayed Injun Joe.The movie was produced by Reader's...
. The song score received a Christopher Award
Christopher Award
The Christopher Award is presented to the producers, directors, and writers of books, motion pictures and television specials that "affirm the highest values of the human spirit"...
and a nomination for an Academy Award. The song's placement as a "bookend" piece to the motion picture was largely due to the Sherman Brothers
Sherman Brothers
The Sherman Brothers are an American songwriting duo that specialize in musical films, made up of Robert B. Sherman and Richard M. Sherman ....
' deep involvement with the film, including screenwriters as well as songwriters. The song is featured on the popular music LP
LP album
The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
, "The Brady Bunch Phonographic Album" which features a total of three Sherman Brothers
Sherman Brothers
The Sherman Brothers are an American songwriting duo that specialize in musical films, made up of Robert B. Sherman and Richard M. Sherman ....
songs including "River Song."
Inspired by Twain
The Shermans did not know how they would end their screenplay until reading Twain's own conclusion to the book. According to Robert B. ShermanRobert B. Sherman
Robert Bernard Sherman is an American songwriter who specializes in musical films with his brother Richard Morton Sherman...
, the "River Song" was inspired by the last page of Mark Twain
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...
's book in which Twain writes: "So endeth this chronicle. It being strictly a history of a boy, it must stop here; the story could not go much further without becoming the history of a man. When one writes a novel about grown people, he knows exactly where to stop -- that is, with a marriage; but when he writes of juveniles, he must stop where he best can." The song reflects this with the lyrics "The boy is gonna grow to a man, to a man/Only once in his life is he free/Only one golden time in his life is he free." The song is used to begin and end the movie, and is set against footage of the Mississippi River, showing Tom running toward the river, alongside it, swimming in it, etc. Thus both the song and the footage reinforce the metaphor of the boy as a force of nature (i.e., like the river), and also takes inspiration from the opening paragraphs of Twain's semi-autobiographical novel Life on the Mississippi
Life on the Mississippi
Life on the Mississippi is a memoir by Mark Twain, of his days as a steamboat pilot on the Mississippi River before the American Civil War, and also a travel book, recounting his trip along the Mississippi many years after the War....
.