About a thousand years ago (actually, 1969) I saw a movie called The Idol, which I don’t remember, but the soundtrack included a haunting torch song that I was crazy about. I wrote to the production company, asking if it was available as sheet music – I played piano, when there was one around, and wanted to be able to learn it. Some beautiful person sent back a promotional copy of the entire sound track album. My husband liked it too, and after the divorce, we used to take turns having custody of the album for a couple of years at a time. It disappeared long ago and I don’t even have a recording.
The song, whose title I don’t remember, but which may be “Won’t Somebody Believe Me?”, was sung by Cleo Laine. The composer, John Dankworth (her husband) was knighted a couple of years ago, the first British jazz musician to be honored in this way. They have a website where an incredible number of albums are for sale – but The Idol isn’t one of them, and the lyrics aren’t online anyplace. I hope I’ll be forgiven for trying to reconstruct them.
Won’t somebody believe me, in this troubled world
Won’t you believe me, when I say I’m alone
And the life that I’m leading makes me want to say
Trouble is the thing on my mind.I could be lyrical with what I’m saying
But I’m hysterical in my empty, lonely life
I could refuse you, but I’d be praying
That you’d be back to find the lonely, only one]
And that’d be sad.Won’t somebody believe me, in this troubled world
Won’t you believe me, when I say I’m alone
And the thoughts that I’m thinking make me want to say
Trouble is the thing on my mind.
That’s all I remember. Might be all there is. Great song. Great singer.
I Heart This 