Wild is the Wind (1956)

Tiomkin/Washington

For we're like creatures of the wind

And wild is the wind. . .
Wild is my heart for you

Three very different singers - Johnny Mathis, Nina Simone and David Bowie - all had a hit with this song; were they drawn to the words, the melody, or the idea? Johnny Mathis sang it first as the opening song for the movie of the same name. Dimitri Tiomkin, born in Russia, was well-known for composing the music for some of the biggest Western films in the 1940s and 1950s; he was nominated for Best Score over twenty times.  Classically trained in Moscow, his melodies are known for their emotional moodiness, alluding to both the vast emptiness of the West and the inner soul. Ned Washington, best known for composing the lyrics to When You Wish Upon a Star, was a frequent collaborator.  Of the three great singers who did this, I think Nina Simone owns it. What do you think?

Love me, love me, say you do

Let me fly away with you

For my love is like the wind

And wild is the wind

Wild is the wind

Give me more than one caress

Satisfy this hungriness

Let the wind blow through your heart

For wild is the wind 

Wild is the wind

You . . . touch me
I hear the sound of mandolins

You . . . kiss me    
With your kiss my life begins

You're spring to me    
All things to me

Don't you know - you're life itself!

Like the leaf clings to the tree,

Oh, my darling, cling to me

For we're like creatures of the wind

And wild is the wind    
Wild is the wind
Wild is my heart for you