Everybody’s Talkin’ (from the film, Midnight Cowboy)

Content warning:
This post contains a cuss word.

Today’s selection is an example of several threads in life coming together serendipitously.

Last week when our musician friend was visiting, our musician son spent an afternoon with him at a used record sale. One of our lad’s prized finds was an album by the American singer-songwriter Harry Nilsson (1941-1994; often credited simply as Nilsson). I have a vivid memory of Nilsson from my teenage years: at a house party, the host was playing his album Son of Schmilsson (1972) and kept repeating the song “You’re Breaking My Heart” as we goofy, immature teenage boys were fixated on the chorus, “You’re breakin’ my heart / You’re tearin’ it apart / So fuck you.” (I just found out today when looking up the song that former Beatle George Harrison [1943-2001] and Peter Frampton [b. 1950] played guitar on the recording. Huh.) And, by coincidence, this was the album my son bought last week…

Then, this morning, before a ride on the indoor bike trainer, I continued catching up on episodes of Guy Garvey’s Finest Hour on BBC 6 Music. On the March 19, 2023 instalment (“Laura Veirs Is Artist of the Week”), one track that I particularly enjoyed during an interlude of three or so instrumental pieces was the theme from director John Schlesinger’s (1926-2003) film Midnight Cowboy (1969) which starred Dustin Hoffman (b. 1937) and Jon Voight (b. 1938). The movie is still famous for the “Hey, I’m walkin’ here!” exclamation by Hoffman’s character, “Ratso” Rizzo when a cab drives dangerously close to him and Voight’s character crossing the street. As I searched for a YouTube version of the theme music, I came across “Everybody’s Talkin.'” The film featured Nilsson’s version of the 1966 song by folk-rocker Fred Neil (1936-2001), and it was a massive hit, becoming one of Nilsson’s better-known releases.

“Everybody’s talking at me
I don’t hear a word they’re saying
Only the echoes of my mind

People stopping, staring
I can’t see their faces
Only the shadows of their eyes

I’m going where the sun keeps shining
Through the pouring rain
Going where the weather suits my clothes

Banking off of the northeast winds
Sailing on a summer breeze
And skipping over the ocean like a stone

Wah, wah wah-wah wah
Wah-wah wah-wah, wah wah-wah
Wahhh

I’m going where the sun keeps shining
Through the pouring rain
Going where the weather suits my clothes

Banking off of the northeast winds
Sailing on a summer breeze
And skipping over the ocean like a stone

Everybody’s talking at me
Can’t hear a word they’re saying
Only the echoes of my mind

I won’t let you leave my love behind
No, I won’t let you leave
Wah, wah
I won’t let you leave my love behind”

“Everybody’s Talkin’,” by Fred Neil.
Lyrics retrieved from AZLyrics.com.

I remember the song so well from its radio play during my childhood, in the year that the Americans first landed on the Moon. The year, the music, and the Apollo mission brought a positive vibe and a hopeful sense about the world and possibilities (something we need now, more than ever with the climate emergency, Russia’s war in Ukraine, racism and exclusion, poverty, disasters, and so much injustice everywhere). In particular, I have always been drawn to the lovely flow of the verse, “Banking off of the northeast winds / Sailing on a summer breeze / And skipping over the ocean like a stone.” The sensation from that lyric reminds me of what it feels like to be cycling on my road bike with a tailwind along a quiet, sunny highway shoulder in the summertime.

Speaking of the bike… I’m really looking forward to outdoor cycling after logging over 2,700 virtual kilometres (1,680 miles) and more than 22,100 virtual metres (72,500 ft) of climbing on the trainer since winter conditions started November 1. (The climbing part is a bit extraneous as I live in a pan-flat area, but the resistance from it is an excellent workout if done moderately.) The forecast snowstorm here in Winnipeg probably won’t aid my intention, but no worry, it’ll happen…

“Everybody’s Talkin'” comes from Nilsson’s third studio album, Aerial Ballet (1968).

Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here. Please enjoy the official audio from the Harry Nilsson YouTube channel:

With hope,

Steve