Tags
being different, children, Don McLean, It's Not That Easy Being Green, Kermit the Frog, madness, Sesame Street, Starry Starry Night, Vincent, Vincent Van Gogh
In the early 1970’s, Don McLean wrote and recorded Vincent, a loving tribute to Vincent Van Gogh, consoling him posthumously for being misunderstood and scolding society for its indifference to his suffering.
As McLean’s song came out, Sesame Street was in its infancy, and Kermit the Frog was singing It’s Not That Easy Being Green to console children who felt different and confused.
A friend of mine, a Sesame Street producer, who loved McLean’s song, and saw the parallel with Kermit’s, thought the show might use Vincent’s quietly reassuring tone and McLean’s sweet, gentle voice to reach children with problems more serious than mere differentness and confusion.
Her colleagues agreed, but considered some of Vincent’s lyrics — darkness in my soul; how you suffered; they could not love you; you took your life as lovers often do — much too upsetting. They thought some rewording that retained all of the song’s other qualities might work.
My friend called me, explained the situation, and asked if I’d like to give it a try. I was (as I still am) an aspiring, but unpublished, poet, and I jumped at the chance.
Here’s what I came up with:
Starry starry night
Get some sleep and wait for day
Wake up and go out to play
And have a picnic
At the water hole.
Sunlight on the hills
Beaming on the window sills
Don’t forget to take your pills
I have them for you
Right here in my hand.
Now I understand
What you tried to say to me
How you love to climb the tallest tree
And how it makes you feel so free.
I listened closely
When you told me how
Let’s go out and climb one now.
Starry starry night
Pale pink flowers on summer days
Soft white clouds and fields of maize
And, up above, the sky serenely blue.
Isn’t it so true
When you’re walking down a lane
And it starts to gently rain
That life is just so absolutely grand!
Now I understand
What you tried to say to me
Happiness is just like poetry
What a joy to simply be.
I listened closely
When you told me, “Wow,
I feel so well-adjusted now!”
For everybody really loves you
As your love, too, is true
And now that everything’s all right
On this starry, starry night
You look at life as happy people do
And, as I’ve told you, dear friend,
This world was always meant for
One as beautiful as you.
I shortened it, as appropriate for kids’ attention span, and I kept the original’s meter and quirky rhyme scheme, but the tone and the meaning were the same — we understand; you are not alone. (Check YouTube: vincent don mclean). I sent it to my friend. She responded that things looked good and she’d get back to me. But, a week later, I got drafted, and, by the time I got back from Vietnam, Sesame Street had moved on.
I, too, had to move on. I took a job on Madison Ave and did quite well. You may remember my Plop Plop, Fizz Fizz, Oh What a Relief It Is for Alka-Seltzer. It wasn’t Vincent, but it paid the bills.