Nature Boy
Why I Sang It
I heard this song many years ago and ignored it. It wasn’t until the summer of 2019 that I was reintroduced to it by Ed Fast from Ed Fast and Conga Bop. He recorded an amazing remake of the song in which he featured the vocalist Linda Ransome. The music he wrote was so full bodied and strong.
I listened to the lyrics and fell in love with what it said. From there I listened to, of course, Ella, Sarah Vaughn and Shirley Bassey. These are some of the voices that I truly love. Shirley’s version was my favorite.
I found this piano version done by Rob Landeros which I found to be absolutely haunting. I had to sing it. I had to.
I hope you enjoy it.
Nature Boy
(lyrics)
There was a boy
A very strange enchanted boy
They say he wandered very far
Very far over land and sea
A little shy and sad of eye
But very wise, was he
And then one day
One magic day he passed my way
While we spoke of many things
Fools and kings
This he said to me
The greatest thing
You’ll ever learn
Is just to love
And be loved
In return
More about the Song
From Wikipedia:
“Nature Boy” is a song first recorded by American jazz singer Nat King Cole. It was released on March 29, 1948, as a single by Capitol Records, and later appeared on the album, The Nat King Cole Story. The song was written in 1947 by eden ahbez and is partly autobiographical. It is a tribute to ahbez’s mentor Bill Pester, who had originally introduced him to Naturmensch and Lebensreform philosophies, which ahbez practiced. When Cole was performing in 1947 at the Lincoln Theater, ahbez wanted to present the song to him, but was ignored. He left the copy with Cole’s valet, and from him the singer came to know of “Nature Boy”. After receiving appreciation for his performance of the song, Cole wanted to record it but needed consent from the writer. Eventually, he tracked down ahbez.
