Instead of doing an obvious cover of Dylan for the release Ian recorded A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square live on the Strings Attached release as a sentimental memory about his mother. Hunter's mum always played the radio and the song was often on during the 1940s and 1950s. It is a British romantic popular song written in 1939 and published in 1940, with lyrics by Eric Maschwitz and music by Manning Sherwin. Ian told Classic Rock: “Another one of those songs that they played on the radio all the time when I was a kid that I just couldn’t get out of my head. This was way before rock ‘n’ roll arrived and changed everything. A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square was just a gorgeous song, I actually did a version of it myself for a while.”
Hunter avoided a Dylan song because that was too obvious. He considered Somewhere from the musical West Side Story that P.J. Proby recorded. In any case, he thought, hey if Elvis Costello can do standards, why not do it Hunter style? This is the result.
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Berkeley Square is a large leafy square in Mayfair, a part of London. The Ritz Hotel referred to is just outside Mayfair, adjacent to Green Park.[1]
The nightingale, a migrant songbird, is celebrated in literature and music for the beauty of its song. It favours rural habitats, and is unlikely to be heard in Central London.[2]
A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square on Strings Attached:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qrnj0xz9Chk
That certain night
The night we met
There was magic abroad in the air
There were angels dining at the Ritz
And a nightingale sang in Berkeley square
I may be right I may be wrong
But I'm perfectly willing to swear
That when you turned and smiled at me
A nightingale sang in Berkeley square
The moon that lingered over London town
Poor puzzled moon he wore a frown
How could he know we two were so in love
The whole damned world seemed upside down
The streets of town were paved with stars
It was such a romantic affair
And as we kissed and said goodnight
A nightingale sang in Berkeley square
How strange it was
How sweet and strange
There was never a dream to compare
To those hazy crazy nights we met
And a nightingale sang in Berkeley square
Ah this heart of mine
Loud and fast
Like a merry-go-round in a fair
We would dance cheek to cheek
And a nightingale sang in Berkeley square
The dawn came stealing up
All gold and blue
To interrupt our rendez-vous
I still remember how you smiled and said
Was that a dream or was it true?
Our homeward step was just as light
As the dancing feet of Astaire
And like an echo far away
And a nightingale sang in Berkeley square
And a nightingale sang in Berkeley square
That night in Berkeley square.| A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square (live 29/30th January 2002) | 3:59 | This live version (recorded Sentrum Scene, Oslo Norway) was originally issued on Strings Attached. |
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