The movie Shutter Island snuck up on me, made me a little anxious, and then I just enjoyed the ride. When I realized that the main character was just delusional, I wasn't so disturbed. But the haunting song from the end credits got me as soon as I heard the first cello notes, and when Dinah Washington started singing her masterpiece, "This Bitter Earth," -- well, I was just mesmerized. The person who mixed these two songs, Robbie Robertson, has quite an ear and an exquisite taste in music.
Listen to this luscious blending of Dinah's juicy voice and the rich music of Max Richter, a classical composer:
Here's a very insightful blog post on Shine a Light that explores this pairing of the songs, "On the Nature of Daylight" and "This Bitter Earth."
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This Bitter Earth
lyrics by: Clyde Otis
This bitter Earth
What fruit it bears
What good is love
That no one shares
And if my life is like the dust
That hides the glow of a rose
What good am I
Heaven only knows
This bitter Earth
Can it be so cold
Today you're young
Too soon you're old
But while a voice
Within me cries
I'm sure someone
May answer my call
And this bitter earth
May not be so bitter after all
2 comments:
I read the book ….Shutter Island ….did it make a good movie? You know Dinah Washington is the bomb….and they used her song…Awesome!
TA
TA,
The movie did sneak up on me. I wasn't impressed initially, but as it went along and as I realized he was imagining a lot of it, and that the folks at the mental institution were role playing -- I got into it. I even watched it a second time.
Dinah's voice is so piercing and lush. I hope you can hear this mix -- it reallly is beautiful.
Alicia
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