PETULA CLARK

Born in England, Petula Clark began singing professionally when she was 9 years old. As she grew up she sang and recorded songs multilingually; her popularity spread to France, the United States, and other countries. One song she had recorded in French, "I Will Follow Him," was sung in English and made a hit in the U.S. by a one-hit artist, Little Peggy March, in the early 1960s. Petula has also been successful as an actress in movies, TV, and Broadway plays.

Greatest Hits

Total time - 48:40

The cover photo shows Petula sitting in a field with her knees bent upward. The instruments commonly heard throughout this album are horns, classical string instruments, and drums.

1. Downtown (3:08) - The tempo is bright and moderate. The song starts with the soft playing of a piano; bells are also featured here. In the middle of the song the key rises from E to F. According to the narrator, the remedy for misery is to go downtown, especially to places downtown that are open 24 hours a day.

2. A Sign Of The Times (2:56) - A tambourine is featured here. The moderately fast tempo and the brightly playing horns are fitting for the joy the narrator feels. Her boyfriend used to treat her badly but now acts like he really loves her.

3. Don't Sleep In The Subway (2:57) - This song features a guitar, a piano, and, during the second verse, a tambourine. During the chorus, a bell rings on the first beat of each measure. The tempo is slightly faster than moderate during the verses; during the chorus it slows down slightly and turns swing. Grammatically speaking, one line in the song should be "when we disagree" instead of "when we both disagree" because the narrator and her boyfriend are disagreeing with each other about something. In any case, she urges him not to leave her whenever a disagreement arises. She tells him that love is "all compromise." How right she is, for occasional disagreement is inherent in any relationship. To "sleep in the subway" and to "stand in the pouring rain" are probably metaphors for evading the issue rather than resolving it.

4. Let It Be Me (2:25) - The tempo is soft and slow. At the opening I hear a harpsichord or some other piano-like instrument. A clarinet is also featured in this song. This song was previously a hit for the Everly Brothers.

5. Colo(u)r My World (2:53) - The British spelling for some words is different from the American spelling. Anyway, the tempo is fast and the opening guitar licks are impressive. A tambourine and a marimba (or some instrument like that) play in this song also. The narrator will feel happy as long as her boyfriend continues to paint her world with "sunshine yellow," "the green from the grass and the blue from the sky up above."

6. This Girl's In Love With You (3:28) - This song has a moderately slow swing tempo. A soft piano solo fills the first 10 seconds. The volume is louder in the chorus than in the verses. After the chorus the horns play softly and somewhat somberly. The narrator urges the man to tell her whether he's in love with her. This song was previously sung by Herb Alpert under the title "This Guy's In Love With You."

7. Kiss Me Goodbye (3:56) - This song is also moderately slow, but not swing like in the previous song. A few times in the first verse I hear a string of chimes. The narrator begs her boyfriend to kiss her goodbye just before leaving her for the new woman he has found.

8. I Couldn't Live Without Your Love (2:58) - This song has a moderately fast swing tempo. The first 15 seconds are filled by a piano solo. Fingers snap on every even-numbered beat in the verses; during the chorus and the instrumental a tambourine plays on all beats. The narrator and her boyfriend didn't like each other much when they first met, but now she always has to have him by her side.

9. I Know A Place (2:45) - This moderately fast song tops my chart of Petula Clark songs. As in a few previous songs, a piano is audible at the opening. This song has a similar theme to "Downtown."

10. The Other Man's Grass Is Always Greener (2:56) - The tempo here is moderate and swing. To each of us, it seems like life is rosier for everyone else. But the narrator is thankful for what she has, as each of us should be.

11. Who Am I (2:22) - This fast song features a harpsichord and a tambourine. The narrator is not wondering what her name is; rather she is asking herself what the purpose of her existence is. All people ask themselves that very same question at some point in their lives. The narrator's dreams of a rosy world are a big contrast to the reality she sees of city strife.

12. My Love (2:45) - This song has a similar tempo to the previous one, with the tambourine playing on every second and fourth beat. Prior to meeting her boyfriend, the narrator felt that love was meant for anyone except her. But now that she has him, her love for him is "warmer than the warmest sunshine," "deeper than the deepest ocean," etc.

13. Happy Heart (3:29) - The tempo is slow. In the verses the volume is soft and I hear a piano, a chime, and a flute. In the chorus the loud volume and the tambourine playing on every even-numbered beat represent the beating of the narrator's "happy heart."

14. You'd Better Come Home (2:55) - The tempo is similar to that in the previous song, but the mood is the opposite. The narrator is begging her philandering boyfriend to come back to her, look at the damage he did to her, and resume giving his love only to her.

15. This Is My Song (3:18) - Until 1:12, the tempo is difficult to follow due to the rolling of a mandolin. But it's always slow, and from 1:12 on it rolls in 12/8 time. The stars in the night sky are bright, the day sky is blue, and the world is smiling now that the man has entered the narrator's life. This is her song, the song she is dedicating to him.

16. Round Every Corner (2:39) - The prevalent tempo in this song is swing and moderately fast. During the second four singings of the title and during the first verse, fingers snap on every second and fourth beat. At the start of the first verse a piano enters. For most of the rest of the song a tambourine plays on every beat. The prevalent key is E, but the section from 1:20 to 1:42 plays in the key of G. I don't care much for the constant repetition of the title, but I do like how the narrator tells the second person to stop feeling miserable and start looking at the positives that are all around.

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