IN A RESTLESS WORLD LIKE THIS

Some songs you just take for granted and for me, 'When I Fall In Love' has always been one of them. Perhaps it was tainted when Rick Astley released a cover version of it when I was nine years old and I never quite recovered from that cheap-looking winter coat he was wearing with the mock-Russian-style fur collar in the accompanying video to say nothing of his bouffant hair that looked like it should have been tested for stanozolol. I did think in an idle, caffeine-infused fantasy this morning that a Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale) parody video of the song could have been a great addition to Mary Harron's 2000 film adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis's novel, 'American Psycho' but that's just me being whimsical as usual. Psychopaths don't tend to have the capacity to fall in love. They have to imitate it. Perhaps that's why I didn't like the Astley version. It was an imitation of something pure and unimprovable. Not that I'm suggesting Rick is a psychopath. I'm sure he's a lovely guy.

Tin Pan Alley songs generally can withstand hundreds of cover versions and so are designed for imitation. Mostly they were written by men in offices and designed to work both within the stage shows they first featured in and outside of them to the wider world as standalone hits. I've always been fascinated in this dual function of a great song to exist both in its theatrical format and then in a more non-specific and universal way.

Actually 'When I Fall In Love' had a funny sort of conception, deriving from a Howard Hughes film 'One Minute To Zero' as its melodic instrumental theme for the film's soundtrack. It was only when Jeri Southern first recorded a vocal version later that same year with lyrics added by Edward Heyman that its perfect combination of words and music came to be introduced to the world at large. Then, when Doris Day recorded it soon after it became the even bigger hit we know today.

But as most of you are well aware, it's only really Nat King Cole's version which is the one that has remained firmly lodged in the hearts and minds of those who've loved the song for the past sixty-plus years. There's just something about Cole's 1956 version that has the perfect statement of tone and emotional sincerity (the opposite of 'Slick Rick') and conjures an atmosphere where the song becomes like a sort of prayer for a type of steadfast love that is often thought of as old fashioned.

When I fall in love, it will be forever
Or I'll never fall in love
In a restless world like this is
Love is ended before it's begun
And too many moonlight kisses
Seem to cool in the warmth of the sun

The crystal clear delineation of each word of the lyric is a marvel of phrasing by Nat and Gordon Jenkins's shimmering arrangement creates the perfect companion with its glacial strings that suggest those moonlight kisses that have seemed 'to cool in the warmth of the sun.'

When I give my heart, it will be completely
Or I'll never give my heart
And the moment I can feel that you feel that way too
Is when I fall in love with you

Ultimately the success of the classic King Cole version is all about the space created around the words and how it allows the listener to absorb the meaning of the song's sentiment which makes it both equally immersive and reflective and equates to a perfect romantic atmosphere, one that is tinged as much with hope as it is with trepidation by the musical narrator who confesses his deepest hope for a forever love in a restless world.

The expression 'restless world' also seems to sum up perfectly where we're all at currently in the West with our endlessly distracted minds being overtaken by the noise of the online environments we frequent that have ultimately fragmented the external places we walk around in reality, polluting our perception of how the world can occasionally be filled with love and happiness.

How comforting then to return to this musical romantic pledge for three minutes with its enchanting atmosphere that reminds us somehow that if our own personal world is not in harmony then what hope does the wider world have?

Maybe Rick did have the best of intentions back in 87 when he recorded the song for himself but really he should have known that if you aim for the King (Cole), you best not miss.