"Let the River Run" | ||||
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Single by Carly Simon | ||||
from the album Working Girl (Original Soundtrack Album) | ||||
B-side |
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Released | 1989 | |||
Recorded | 1988 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 3:43 | |||
Label | Arista | |||
Songwriter(s) | Carly Simon | |||
Producer(s) | Rob Mounsey Carly Simon | |||
Carly Simon singles chronology | ||||
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"Let the River Run" is a song written, composed, and performed by American singer-songwriter Carly Simon, and the theme to the 1988 Mike Nichols film Working Girl. [3]
The song won the Academy Award for Best Original Song, the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song (tying with "Two Hearts" by Phil Collins and Lamont Dozier from Buster ), and the Grammy Award for Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or Television. [4] Simon became the first artist in history to win this trio of awards for a song composed and written, as well as performed, entirely by a single artist. [5]
The Working Girl soundtrack was released in 1989 and peaked at No. 45 on the Billboard 200, [6] and also contains a choral version of the track featuring The St. Thomas Choir of Men and Boys of New York City. [7]
Simon has stated that she found inspiration for the lyrics by first reading the original script, and then the poems of Walt Whitman. Musically, she wanted to write a hymn to New York with a contemporary jungle beat under it, so as to juxtapose those opposites in a compelling way. A statement on Simon's official website acknowledges that "the phrases 'Silver Cities Rise' and 'The New Jerusalem' seem to have taken on a new meaning for many people, but the song was not originally composed with any particular political and/or religious overtones." [8] The phrase "new Jerusalem" has been recognized by other observers as an allusion to the works of William Blake, [9] although Simon denied the song has any explicit relationship with religion. [8] The song incorporates elements of gospel, pop and rock. [1]
A music video for the song was filmed and released, featuring Simon, along with Working Girl actresses Melanie Griffith and Joan Cusack, aboard the Staten Island Ferry. [10] As a single, the song reached peak positions of No. 49 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 11 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart in 1989. The song remains one of Simon's best loved and most recognizable hits, and has been featured on multiple compilations of her work, including the three-disc box set Clouds in My Coffee (1995), the UK import The Very Best of Carly Simon: Nobody Does It Better (1998), the two-disc retrospective Anthology (2002), the single-disc Reflections: Carly Simon's Greatest Hits (2004), and Sony Music's Playlist: The Very Best of Carly Simon (2014).
Cash Box said that it "is perhaps the most powerful songwriting Simon has ever done. A broken drum feel underscores a brilliant anthem for the working class. The gospel-tinged melody soars, inspires; the lyric conjures visions of a nation only needing to let the river of hope run its course. Simon delivers a remarkable vocal, filled with passionate intensity." [2]
Simon became the first artist in history to win a Grammy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and an Academy Award for a song composed and written, as well as performed, entirely by a single artist. [5]
Year | Award | Category | Recipient | Result | Ref. |
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1989 | Academy Awards | Best Original Song | Carly Simon | Won | [11] |
Golden Globe Awards | Best Original Song | Won | [12] | ||
Boston Music Awards | Outstanding Song/Songwriter | Nominated | [13] | ||
1990 | British Academy Film Awards | Best Film Music | Nominated | [14] | |
Grammy Awards | Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or Television | Won | [15] |
"Let the River Run" is the first of only two songs to have won all three major awards (Oscar, Golden Globe, Grammy) while being composed and written, as well as performed, entirely by a single artist [5] – the other being "Streets of Philadelphia" by Bruce Springsteen from Philadelphia . Barbra Streisand shared the Oscar, Golden Globe and Grammy for "Evergreen (Love Theme from A Star is Born )" which she composed and wrote with lyricist Paul Williams (for which she also won the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance). Annie Lennox won all three awards – for "Into the West" from The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King , sharing all three with co-composer and lyricists Fran Walsh and Howard Shore. More recently, Adele received the Oscar, Golden Globe, and Grammy for her "Skyfall" theme, co-written with producer Paul Epworth for the 2012 James Bond film Skyfall .
Let the River Run gained a deeper meaning for many listeners after the September 11 attacks. The line "Silver cities rise" could now be interpreted as a reference to the Twin Towers, [8] which were featured on the song's music video, as well as the opening scene of Working Girl. [10] The song was used for a Christmastime advertisement for the United States Postal Service in the wake of 9/11 and the 2001 anthrax attacks. [8] [16] Acknowledging its association with the attacks and New York City, [8] Simon performed the song with her children, Sally and Ben Taylor, during the September 11 memorial service at Ground Zero in 2009. [17]
In 2004, the song was twice featured in the film Little Black Book , [18] Simon herself also appeared at the end of the film. That same year, the song was ranked at No. 91 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs. [19]
In 2009, Simon re-recorded the song for her album Never Been Gone . [20]
In 2014, Simon released a single of the song covered by Máiréad Carlin and Damian McGinty which had been the anthem for Derry~Londonderry's UK City of Culture celebrations. McGinty and Carlin sang the song with Simon during the Oceana Partners Awards Gala in Beverly Hills, Ca. [21] [22]
In January 2019, the song was the subject of an episode of BBC Radio 4's Soul Music, examining the song's cultural influence. [23]
In October 2019, the song was used behind the closing credits of Season 31, Episode 2 of the Fox TV show The Simpsons . [24]
In October 2019, as well as being the episode title, the song was used during several key moments during the first episode of Season 2 of Castle Rock. [25]
Chart (1989) | Peak position |
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Australia (ARIA Charts) [27] | 91 |
UK Singles Chart (Official Charts Company) [28] | 79 |
US Billboard Hot 100 [29] | 49 |
US Billboard Adult Contemporary [30] | 11 |
Canada Top Singles ( RPM ) [31] | 50 |
Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 10) [32] | 6 |
This thrilling number that mixes gospel, pop, and rock captures the New York City of the ambitious characters in Working Girl.