The Windows of the World (song)

"The Windows of the World" is a song written by Burt Bacharach (music) and Hal David (lyrics) which was a hit single for Dionne Warwick in 1967.

The track was recorded in a 13 April 1967 session produced by Bacharach and David with Bacharach as conductor and arranger.

Bacharach and David had scored a number 7 hit in 1965 with Jackie DeShannon's message song hit "What the World Needs Now is Love" but "The Windows of the World" was unique in the composers' canon in being a protest song. Inspired by such songs as "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?" and "Blowin' in the Wind", Hal David wrote lyrics for "The Windows of the World" which overtly but gently lament U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War (an especial concern to David, who had two young sons, one of them almost of eligible age for the draft). The arrangement for "The Windows of the World" has a subtle Asian flavor featuring strings plucked in the style of a koto and also finger cymbals the latter evoking the sound of raindrops on a window.

"The Windows of the World" represented a thematic departure for Warwick who had built her career as a romantic balladeer and had passed on the chance to introduce "What the World Needs Now is Love" (although her stated objection to the last-named was not its theme but rather that it sounded "too country"). Released in July 1967, "The Windows of the World" was not one of Warwick's biggest hits, reaching number 32 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 27 on the R&B charts. "The Windows of the World" was also a minor hit on the Easy Listening chart, where it peaked at number 32. However, Warwick stated in 2002 that "The Windows of the World" was her favorite of all of her singles.

Warwick's September 1967 album release featured "The Windows of The World" as its title cut (see The Windows of the World). The album cut "I Say a Little Prayer" was released that October as a single and proved to be the track which would re-establish Dionne Warwick as a Top Ten hitmaker.