Bali Hai Song

With all this talk of South Pacific, I had to watch it on youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0IzdRT6JLo&feature=related

Bloody Mary:

Most people live on a lonely island,

Lost in the middle of a foggy sea.

Most people long for another island,

One where they know they will like to be.

Bali Ha'i may call you,

Any night, any day,

In your heart, you'll hear it call you:

'Come away...Come away.'

Bali Ha'i will whisper

In the wind of the sea:

'Here am I, your special island!

Come to me, come to me!'

Your own special hopes,

Your own special dreams,

Bloom on the hillside

And shine in the streams.

If you try, you'll find me

Where the sky meets the sea.

'Here am I your special island

Come to me, Come to me.'

Bali Ha'i,

Bali Ha'i,

Bali Ha'i!

Someday you'll see me floatin' in the sunshine,

My head stickin' out from a loaf nighin' cloud,

You'll hear me call you,

Singin' through the sunshine,

Sweet and clear as can be:

'Come to me, here am I, come to me.'

If you try, you'll find me

Where the sky meets the sea.

'Here am I your special island

Come to me, Come to me.'

Bali Ha'i,

Bali Ha'i,

Here are the Bali Hai mountains:

Classic movie!

Really, THIS is the island of Bali Hai :) :

....a matte painting seen thru rosy-colored glasses. This was the only image I could find of it for my SOUND OF TIKI booklet. That U-tube clip has much better quality!

Here's the booklet text:

"No other place represents this Polynesian fantasyland better than the mysterious island of Bali Ha’i. A figment of the imagination of author James Michener and described in his Pulitzer Price winning book, “Tales of the South Pacific” as the dream isle, Bali Hai became the mythical earthly paradise for the post-WWII generation. Previous utopias had been called “Arcadia” and “Shangri-La”, but with the success of the musical and movie version of “South Pacific”, the song—and thus the term Bali Hai-- lodged itself into the public consciousness.
This version of Bali Ha’i was chosen for Gloria Lynne’s perfect diction with which she really drives home the key lines of the song:

“Bali Ha’i will whisper, on the wind, on the sea,
Here am I, your special island, come to me, come to me.
Your own special hopes, your own special dreams,
Loom on the hillside and shine in the streams.”

Here was the promise that everybody could find their own personal slice of the tropical paradise. And Americans got busy creating faux urban islands in their cities, backyards and basements. Bali Hai was the siren call that beckoned a generation to escape the grey workday to an exotic hideaway where for a few hours, décor, drink and song would make them natives of that mystic isle in the sky."

Some further reading that gives us an idea of the impact of the song at the time:

And here is the piece about the reality of the source of the name which I quoted in the Book of Tiki:

"...a filthy, unpleasant village." :lol:

[ Edited by: bigbrotiki 2010-05-23 10:41 ]

watching that clip gave me goosebumps. That has always been a favorite show tune of mine.