Don't Sleep in the Subway

Last updated

"Don't Sleep in the Subway"
Clarksubway.jpg
Single by Petula Clark
from the album These Are My Songs
B-side "Here Comes the Morning"
ReleasedApril 1967
19 May 1967 (UK) [1]
Recorded1967
Genre Pop
Length2:57
Label Pye (UK)
Warner Bros. (US)
Vogue (FRA)
Songwriter(s) Tony Hatch, Jackie Trent
Producer(s) Tony Hatch
Petula Clark singles chronology
"This Is My Song"
(1967)		"Don't Sleep in the Subway"
(1967)		"The Cat in the Window (The Bird in the Sky)"
(1967)

"Don't Sleep in the Subway" is a song written by Tony Hatch and Jackie Trent and recorded by British singer Petula Clark, for whom it was an April 1967 single release. [2]

Contents

It received a 1968 Grammy award nomination for best contemporary song, losing to "Up, Up and Away" by The 5th Dimension.

Background

The song was constructed from three different sections of music previously composed by Hatch; it changes in musical style from pop to symphonic and then, for the chorus, to a Beach Boys-like melody.

In the lyrics the narrator advises her sweetheart against storming out after an argument due to his "foolish pride". If he does, he will "sleep in the subway" or "stand in the pouring rain" merely to prove his point. Although in Scotland [3] there has long existed the Glasgow Subway metro line, in England the term "subway" refers to a pedestrian underpass rather than to an underground transit system. Hatch employed the term in the North American sense. According to the song's co-writer Jackie Trent the title lyric was suggested by the 1961–62 Broadway musical Subways Are for Sleeping . [4]

'Don't Sleep in the Subway' peaked at #5 on the US charts in July 1967, becoming Clark's final US Top Ten single and was also, for three consecutive weeks, the second of her two #1 hits on the Billboard Easy Listening chart, following the 1966 release of 'I Couldn't Live Without Your Love'.

In the UK where her precedent single 'This Is My Song' had afforded Clark her best chart showing with two weeks at #1 'Don't Sleep in the Subway' had a July 1967 chart peak of #12, evincing a decline in Clark's UK chart profile which would continue until Clark made her last UK Top 40 appearance with a new recording, 'Song of My Life' which peaked at #32 in March 1971. (Clark would subsequently peak at #47 UK with 'I Don't Know How to Love Him' in 1972 and in 1988 a remix of her 1964 recording 'Downtown' would peak at #10 UK.) 'Don't Sleep in the Subway' reached #3 in Rhodesia, #5 in Canada, #7 in New Zealand, #10 in South Africa and #16 in Germany. In Australia, it was at #1 on the charts dated 16 and 23 September 1967, marking Clark's final appearance at #1 on an official national chart. [5]

Cited by Clark—with "I Couldn't Live Without Your Love" [6] —as her favourite of her hits, "Don't Sleep in the Subway" has also been recorded by Betty Chung, Rita Hovink, Marilyn Maye, Matt Monro, Patti Page, Frank Sinatra, Caterina Valente, and Mari Wilson. A Spanish rendering, "No duermas en el metro", was recorded by both Gelu (es) and Los Stop (es). Siw Malmkvist recorded the Swedish rendering "Sov inte på tunnelbanan" (Swedish lyrics by Peter Himmelstrand) in 1970.

The song's title was used as part of a candidate's name in "Election Night Special", a sketch on Monty Python's Flying Circus : another of that series' episodes featured Cardinal Richelieu (Michael Palin) lip-synching to Clark's record on the show-within-a-show Historical Impersonations. It also makes a brief appearance in the Malcolm in the Middle episode "Emancipation"—Lois blasts the song on her car stereo to avoid confronting Francis about his legal emancipation.

The song was performed by Rachel Berry (Lea Michele) and Artie Abrams (Kevin McHale) in the 2014 Glee episode "New New York". [7]

Charts

Chart (1967)Peak
position
Australian Singles Chart1
Canada Top Singles ( RPM ) [8] 5
Malaysian (Radio Malaysia) [9] 1
New Zealand ( Listener ) [10] 7
Singapore (Radio Singapore) [11] 1
South African Singles Chart10
UK Singles (OCC) [12] 12
US Billboard Hot 100 [13] 5
US Adult Contemporary ( Billboard ) [14] 1

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Downtown (Petula Clark song)</span> 1964 single by Petula Clark

"Downtown" is a song written and produced by Tony Hatch. The 1964 version recorded by Petula Clark became an international hit, reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and number two on the UK Singles Chart. Hatch received the 1981 Ivor Novello award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">This Is My Song (1967 song)</span> 1967 single by Petula Clark

"This Is My Song" is a song written by Charlie Chaplin in 1966, and performed by Petula Clark.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tony Hatch</span> English composer

Anthony Peter Hatch is an English composer for musical theatre and television. He is also a songwriter, pianist, arranger and producer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">My Love (Petula Clark song)</span> 1965 single by Petula Clark

"My Love" is a 1965 single release by Petula Clark which, in early 1966, became an international hit, reaching No. 1 in the US: the track continued Clark's collaboration with songwriter and record producer Tony Hatch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anyone Who Had a Heart (song)</span> 1963 single by Dionne Warwick

"Anyone Who Had a Heart" is a song written by Burt Bacharach (music) and Hal David (lyrics) for Dionne Warwick in 1963. In January 1964, Warwick's original recording hit the Top Ten in the United States, Canada, Spain, Netherlands, South Africa, Belgium and Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sign of the Times (Petula Clark song)</span> 1966 single by Petula Clark

"Sign of the Times", also known as "A Sign of the Times", is a song performed by Petula Clark, featured on her album My Love and released as a single in March 1966. It was the follow-up to her #1 US hit "My Love," the title track from the aforementioned album, and it continued her association with writer/producer Tony Hatch and songwriter Jackie Trent. However, "Sign of the Times" had a more percussive sound than had been evident on Clark's previous singles, or than would become evident on her later ones. Clark discussed the song with Carl Wiser for Songfacts.com in 2013. "I loved it. It had a slightly different feel. 'A Sign of the Times,' I suppose you might expect some big political statement or something, but it was just a straight-ahead love song. I think Tony rather liked finding titles that made you think, like 'Don't Sleep in the Subway.' People would think, is it about drugs? Is it about this? And these were just straightforward songs. I like 'Sign of the Times.' I think it's a good song."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Round Every Corner</span> 1965 single by Petula Clark

"Round Every Corner", with words and music by Tony Hatch, is a single release by Petula Clark released in 1965. Described by Clark herself as "an anti-protest song", "Round Every Corner" employs the musical structure of a children's singing game to present its message of optimism. It reached No. 21 on Billboard Hot 100 in the US.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Know a Place</span> 1965 single by Petula Clark

"I Know a Place" is a song with music and lyrics by Tony Hatch. It was recorded in 1965 by Petula Clark at the Pye Studios in Marble Arch in a session which featured drummer Bobby Graham and the Breakaways vocal group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Couldn't Live Without Your Love</span> 1966 single by Petula Clark

"I Couldn't Live Without Your Love" is a 1966 single written by Tony Hatch and Jackie Trent and recorded by Petula Clark. It was inspired by the affair the songwriters were having at the time. Clark has cited "I Couldn't Live Without Your Love" along with "Don't Sleep in the Subway" as her favorites of her hits. “I still love that one; I do it onstage with great joy,” Clark told the "Montreal Gazette" in 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colour My World (Petula Clark song)</span> 1966 single by Petula Clark

"Colour My World" is a song written by Tony Hatch and Jackie Trent, and recorded by Petula Clark in 1966.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Cat in the Window (The Bird in the Sky)</span> 1967 single by Petula Clark

"The Cat in the Window " is a song with words and music by Gary Bonner and Alan Gordon which was a 1967 single for Petula Clark.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Other Man's Grass Is Always Greener</span> 1967 single by Petula Clark

"The Other Man's Grass Is Always Greener" is a song written by Tony Hatch and Jackie Trent which was a 1967-68 hit for Petula Clark.

<i>I Couldnt Live Without Your Love</i> (album) 1966 studio album by Petula Clark

I Couldn't Live Without Your Love is a Petula Clark album released in the United States and the UK in September 1966. Clark's fifth US album release, I Couldn't Live Without Your Love was the first Petula Clark album to include creative personnel besides Tony Hatch, who produced the album and arranged some of the tracks, along with Johnny Harris.

<i>Colour My World</i> (album) 1967 studio album by Petula Clark

Colour My World is the sixth album released by Petula Clark in the US on Warner Bros. Records. It combines cover versions of popular songs of the era and original material, much of it written by Clark and Tony Hatch, who produced the recording and arranged it along with Johnny Harris and Frank Owens.

<i>These Are My Songs</i> 1967 studio album by Petula Clark

These Are My Songs is a 1967 album released by Petula Clark. In a break with longtime collaborator Tony Hatch, Clark joined forces with producer Sonny Burke and arranger/conductor Ernie Freeman for this release.

<i>The Other Mans Grass Is Always Greener</i> (album) 1968 studio album by Petula Clark

The Other Man's Grass Is Always Greener is the ninth album released by Petula Clark in the United States. It entered the Billboard 200 on February 17, 1968 and remained on the charts for 23 weeks, peaking at #93. It fared better in the United Kingdom, where it reached #37.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kiss Me Goodbye (Petula Clark song)</span> 1968 single by Petula Clark

"Kiss Me Goodbye" is a Les Reed/ Barry Mason composition recorded in 1968 by Petula Clark.

<i>Petula</i> (album) 1968 studio album by Petula Clark

Petula is a 1968 Pye Records album release by Petula Clark leased to Warner Bros. in the USA.

Love Is Me, Love Is You is a song written by Tony Hatch and Jackie Trent and first recorded by Connie Francis.

"Sailor" is the title of the English-language rendering of the 1959 schlager composition "Seemann " originally written in German by Werner Scharfenberger and lyricist Fini Busch : featuring lyrics in English by Norman Newell, "Sailor" would in 1961 afford Petula Clark her first UK #1 hit, simultaneously granting Top Ten success to Anne Shelton while also bringing her chart career to a close. Clark was also afforded international success with both her recording of "Sailor" and also with Marin the French-language rendering of the song.

References

  1. ↑ "Petula Clark – Don't Sleep in the Subway".
  2. ↑ Petula Clark interviewed on the Pop Chronicles (1969)
  3. ↑ "Tony Hatch Interview". Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
  4. ↑ Daeida April 2010 p.2
  5. ↑ "Record Charts". Petula Clark.net. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
  6. ↑ "Journal Métro de Montréal – Actualités". Lemagazineiledessoeurs.com. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
  7. ↑ "New New York". Amazon. Retrieved 22 March 2014.
  8. ↑ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 10081." RPM . Library and Archives Canada.
  9. ↑ "Billboard Magazine, August 1967". Billboard. 12 August 1967.
  10. ↑ Petula Clark – Flavour of New Zealand. Flavour of New Zealand
  11. ↑ "Billboard Magazine, September 1967". Billboard. 7 October 1967.
  12. ↑ "Petula Clark: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.
  13. ↑ "Petula Clark Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  14. ↑ "Petula Clark Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.