Tune from 'The man who would be king'

Subject: RE: The man who would be king
From: Mark Cohen
Date: 18 May 01 - 02:28 AM

Liz, I think he was older than 11 when he played Bond...the chest hair gives it away, don't you know.

Aloha,
Mark, who should be doing something productive instead of this, but it's late...

Subject: RE: The man who would be king
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 18 May 01 - 01:40 AM

OK so Sean ain't no Humphrey Bogart - I never wanted to run barefoot through Bogey's chest hair......

LTS - a besotted Sean Connery fan since I first saw him in Thunderball, in his skivvies, at the tender and impressionable age of 11..... warped my perception and influenced my choice of men ever since...... aaaaahhhhh,,,, now I need a cold bath.........

Subject: RE: The man who would be king
From: LR Mole
Date: 17 May 01 - 11:23 AM

Oh, god, the first Alfonso Bedoya reference of the day. Three quickies from "The Man Who Would be King: Huston had some sort of major medical thing right afterward and Connery and Caine competed to see who could tell him the funniest dirty joke, as measured on his heart monitor, until the nurse threw them out; J.H. addressed them as Peachy and Danny until he died years later. The grisly ending is not in the book, I think. After the filming was done, Huston had projection equipment flown up into the mountains so the old men, whom he had used as extras, could see themselves on screen. One said afterward, "Now we will never die."

Subject: RE: The man who would be king
From: GUEST
Date: 17 May 01 - 08:24 AM

Toad,

Yes I have, By me. Its the only way I have ever heard the song. I sometimes sing the first verse to The Son of God before I sing The Minstral Boy, it may be looked upon poorly by some but it kinda fits and besides, TMB is such a short song otherwise.

Murray, I agree that The Treasure is a better film. But I don't recall Walter Brennan as being in the film. I think you intended to say Walter Houston who was John Houstons father. I agree that Sean ain't Humphrey but I'd say they are equals. IMHO, and thats how we have a horse race.

Manitas, I don't he meant that TMB sounded catholic. I thought he was refering to The Son of God. Which to me sounds very Presbyterian.

Don

Subject: RE: The man who would be king
From: manitas_at_work
Date: 17 May 01 - 07:26 AM

Toadfrog,

What makes you think the minstrel boy was Catholic?

There's no indication of his religion in the song, but on the other hand he is singing about the "Land of Song" which, as everyone knows, is Wales. So of course, being Welsh, he was chapel.

Tongue in cheek,

Manitas

Subject: RE: The man who would be king
From: Lyndi-loo
Date: 17 May 01 - 04:25 AM

Richardw Her name is Shakira

Subject: RE: The man who would be king
From: toadfrog
Date: 16 May 01 - 09:32 PM

Don Meixner:
Very interesting to here from someone who also was familiar both with the film and the novella. I had read the book many times before the film came out, but now I think of it, my interpretation was influenced by George Orwell's Kipling essay. But have you ever heard "The son of God goes forth to war" sung to that tune? I haven't.

Subject: RE: The man who would be king
From: Art Thieme
Date: 16 May 01 - 08:52 PM

Thinking in puns has ruined more than this one film for me. But here it was the name of the head man of the tribe they were bamboozeling. It was "U-ta" or "OO-tah". I kept thinkin', "Damn, 'OO-tah Phillips' is the head guy here." After that it became a comedy for me.

Art Thieme

Subject: RE: The man who would be king
From: Mark Cohen
Date: 16 May 01 - 08:11 PM

I've always liked this movie, though I admit the most recent time I saw it I wasn't quite as impressed....getting crotchety, I suppose. And speaking of going crazy trying to remember the name of a tune, I once saw The Man Who Would be King as a double feature (remember double features?) with Little Big Man, and.....oh, I just remembered! The tune that was played as the theme for Little Big Man was, as I recall, "Garryowen". Whew, some memory cells still left.

Aloha,
Mark

Subject: Lyr Add: THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING (John Stewart)
From: Stewie
Date: 16 May 01 - 07:53 PM

John Stewart wrote a beaut song that fits neatly with this thread title:

THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING
(John Stewart)

Oh it's time to tell children
That it's not about the war
It's not about the winning
It's not about the score
It's time to tell the children
That it's not about the rings
That we put upon the fingers
Of the man who would be king

Oh it's time to tell the children
That it's not about the gold
It's not about the money
Things that are bought and sold
It's time to tell the children
That they don't mean a thing
Like the rings upon the fingers
Of the man who would be king

Oh it's time to tell the children
That it's not about the plan
To see who is the richest
Or the baddest in the land
It's time to tell the children
That the birds upon the wing
Would never give their power
To the man who would be king

Bridge:
Don't you realise
When you see the clues
Right before your eyes
On the evening news
Don't you realise
That the children know
What the children see
Is where the children go

Oh it's time to tell the children
That it is about the heart
It is about the people
Of this world we are a part
It is about forgiving
Those who stole the rings
To put upon the fingers
Of the man who would be king

Words and music John Stewart. Copyright Bugle/Bug Music.
Source: John Stewart 'Bullets in the Glass' Shanachie CD 2005.

--Stewie.

Subject: RE: The man who would be king
From: richardw
Date: 16 May 01 - 07:42 PM

And for trivia, the woman that Dravot (Connery) was to marry, who bites his neck, is the real-life wife of Michael Caine. Sorry I can't rmember her name.

Richard Wright

Subject: RE: The man who would be king
From: Murray MacLeod
Date: 16 May 01 - 07:29 PM

Don, considered on its merits as a film, there is no way, IMHO, that "The Man Who Would Be King" compares remotely with "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre", which (again, IMHO ) represents the pinnacle of the film-maker's art. Maybe TMWWBK could have been great, as you say with different treatment. But let's face it, Sean Connery isn't Humphrey Bogart, and Michael Caine isn't Walter Brennan.

Anyway, we don't need no steenking badges .........

Murray

Subject: RE: The man who would be king
From: SINSULL
Date: 16 May 01 - 07:26 PM

On my Top Ten list too. It deserved an Oscar or two.

Subject: RE: The man who would be king
From: DonMeixner
Date: 16 May 01 - 07:17 PM

Toad,

The melody is clearly The Minstral Boy. The Man Who Would Be King can be read as a lot of separate themes and I supose that hubris could be one of them. But when I reread it recently I read a story of undying friendship and dedication. John Houston made the film and it is in some ways similar to his film The Treasure of the Sierra Madres. Sean Connery and Michael Caine talk of this film in bitter sweet ways. They put a lot into the movie and felt it was poorly handled. Its a top 10 of mine.

Don

Subject: RE: The man who would be king
From: toadfrog
Date: 16 May 01 - 04:51 PM

Guest:

We seem to have entered messages at the same time. Is that a British usage, to sing the hymn to that tune? Cyber-hymnal gives "All Saints," for which, click
That is the tune I remembered an alternative tune given is "The Warrior." Neither sounds anything like "The Minstrel Boy." Am I missing something?

--- Link fixed. ---

Subject: RE: The man who would be king
From: toadfrog
Date: 16 May 01 - 04:32 PM

It was "Minstrel Boy," which is annoying. At the end of the story, after the MWWBK is killed Kipling had his friend Pinky Carnavon sing, "The son of man goes forth to war," which is clearly to the toon the old missionary hymn in which it is the "son of God. This fits the theme of the story, which is hybris. But the people who made the movie apparently thought that the use of a hymn tune would offend someone, so they had him sing to the tune of the "Minstrel Boy." That has nothing whatsoever to do with the theme or subject of the film.

Especially since it is a sentimental tune about an Irish Catholic, and the story was about a Welsh Freemanson!

--- Link fixed. ---

Subject: RE: The man who would be king
From: GUEST
Date: 16 May 01 - 04:17 PM

The song is known as "The Son of God Goes Forth To War" or "Bishop Heber's Hymn" The melody is "The Moreen" which is commonly known as "The Minstral Boy". The words are sung as Danny Dravot (Connery) walks out on the bridge before he falls to his death.

The son of God goes forth to war a kingly crown to gain,

His blood red banner streams afar, who follows in his train,

The words can be found in The Heart Songs book.

Don

Subject: RE: The man who would be king
From: Sorcha
Date: 16 May 01 - 04:04 PM

All I came up with was Minstrel Boy and Overture....no clue what the overture is. Could it have been Minstrel Boy? (I haven't seen the film for years.....)"The minstrel boy to the war has gone.."

Subject: The man who would be king
From: Megan L
Date: 16 May 01 - 03:59 PM

This film was on telly a few nights ago, the theme played at over the credits is nagging me. I know it, the tune was easy to remember but can I remember what it was called. I'm going away for a few days so that should give someone time to come up with the answer and put me out my misery.