Samiksha Jaiswal (Editor)

It's Oh So Quiet

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Released
  
1951 (1951)

Genre
  
Jazz

Composer(s)
  
Hans Lang

A-side
  
"Murder, He Says"

Label
  
RCA

Lyricist(s)
  
Bert Reisfeld

"It's Oh So Quiet" is a song by American singer Betty Hutton, released in 1951 as the B-side to the single "Murder, He Says". It is a cover of the German song "Und jetzt ist es still", performed by Horst Winter in 1948, with music written by Austrian composer Hans Lang and German lyrics by Erich Meder. The English lyrics were written by Bert Reisfeld. A French title, Tout est tranquille, was performed in 1949 by Ginette Garcin and the Jacques Hélian Orchestra.

Contents

The song was covered by Icelandic musician Björk in 1995. It was released as the third single from her second album Post and remains her biggest hit, reaching number 4 in the UK and spending 15 weeks on the UK Singles Chart. Fuelled by the Spike Jonze-directed music video clip, the single also shot Björk into the spotlight in Australia, where it reached number 6. In the United Kingdom the single has been certified as Gold, having sold upwards of 400,000 copies. Despite being her biggest hit between general public, the song did not manage to get to Björk's 2002 compilation Greatest Hits, the singles for which were voted by fans via online survey.

A version of "It's Oh So Quiet" was used in a Maybelline advertisement, and a version by Amanda Fondell was used in an advertisement for Candy Crush Saga.

Background

The music video, directed by Spike Jonze, which was shot in San Fernando Valley, California, features everything in slow motion and set as a Broadway musical style as Björk sings the verses; during the riotous chorus, everything returns to regular speed and everyone near her dances along. Normal life resumes during the next verse with the return of slow motion. This theme continues throughout the video. This video is based on Jacques Demy's 1964 film Les Parapluies de Cherbourg.

Synopsis

The video begins as Björk emerges from an extremely dirty washroom in an auto shop. She dances along with the auto workers for the first chorus, then emerges from the shop. During the second chorus, she dances tap with a few people outside of the auto shop. Björk continues to walk along the street, dancing with several elderly women and their umbrellas before settling to rest her arms on top of a mailbox for the final verse. The mailbox comes alive and dances along with Björk during this chorus. Björk then runs down the street and into the road, where the rest of the town has decided to join her for one large dance number. The video ends with Björk floating up above the townsfolk and hushing the viewer.

Reception

"It's Oh So Quiet" video received six nominations for the MTV Video Music Awards for 1996 including Best Female Video, Best Art Direction, Breakthrough Video, Best Direction in a Video, International Viewer's Choice Award — MTV Europe and Best Choreography in a Video, winning Best Choreography. The video was also nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Music Video - Short Form losing to "Scream" by Michael Jackson and his sister Janet In October 2007, MuchMoreMusic placed "It's Oh So Quiet" as number 8 of the Top 40 Most Memorable Music Videos on Listed.

Track listing

UK CD1
(182TP7CD; Released: 1995)

  1. "It's Oh So Quiet" – 3:40
  2. "You've Been Flirting Again" (Flirt Is a Promise Mix) – 3:23
  3. "Hyperballad" (Over the Edge Mix) – 4:33
  4. "Sweet Sweet Intuition" – 6:07

UK CD2
(182TP7CDL; Released: November, 1995)

  1. "It's Oh So Quiet" – 3:40
  2. "Hyperballad" (Brodsky Quartet Version) – 4:21
  3. "Hyperballad" (Girls Blouse Mix) – 5:07
  4. "My Spine" – 2:33

EUR CD1
(577 509-2; Released: 1995)

  1. "It's Oh So Quiet" – 3:38
  2. "You've Been Flirting Again" (Flirt Is a Promise Mix) – 3:20
  3. "Hyperballad" (Over the Edge Mix) – 4:31
  4. "Sweet Sweet Intuition" – 6:06

EUR CD2
(577 511-2; Released: November, 1995)

  1. "It's Oh So Quiet" – 3:41
  2. "Hyperballad" (Brodsky Quartet Version) – 4:21
  3. "Hyperballad" (Girls Blouse Mix) – 5:06
  4. "My Spine" – 2:33

EUR CD promo
(MUMCD70DJ; Released: 1995)

  1. "It's Oh So Quiet"

EUR VHS + CD promo
(Released: 1995)

VHS

  1. "It's Oh So Quiet" (video)

CD promo (MUMCD79DJ)

  1. "It's Oh So Quiet"

AUS CD
(577 511-2; Released: 1995)

  1. "It's Oh So Quiet" – 3:42
  2. "Hyperballad" (Brodsky Quartet Version) – 4:21
  3. "Hyperballad" (Girls Blouse Mix) – 5:06
  4. "My Spine" – 2:33

US CD promo
(PRCD 9322-2; Released: 1995)

  1. "It's Oh So Quiet" – 3:37

US CD promo
(64353-2; Released: 1995)

  1. "It's Oh So Quiet"
  2. "You've Been Flirting Again" (Icelandic Mix)

JPN CD
(POCP-7106; Released: 1995)

  1. "It's Oh So Quiet" – 3:40
  2. "Hyperballad" (Brodsky Quartet Version) – 4:21
  3. "Hyperballad" (Girls Blouse Mix) – 5:06
  4. "My Spine" – 2:33

References

It's Oh So Quiet Wikipedia
(Text) CC BY-SA