"If I Had Words" is a duet by

Scott Fitzgerald Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (September 24, 1896 – December 21, 1940) was an American novelist, essayist, and short story writer. He is best known for his novels depicting the flamboyance and excess of the Jazz Age—a term he popularize ...

and

Yvonne Keeley Yvonne Keeley (born Yvonne Paaij, 6 September 1952) is a Dutch pop music singer. She is the sister of Patricia Paay. She began her career as a session singer in the music industry in London. She was the girlfriend of Steve Harley of Steve ...

, released as a single in November 1977. It was a top-ten hit in several countries and sold more than one million copies worldwide. The backing was by the St Thomas More Roman Catholic School Choir in London.

Composition and release

The tune was taken from the main theme of the

maestoso ''Maestoso'' () is an Italian musical term and is used to direct performers to play a certain passage of music in a stately, dignified and majestic fashion (sometimes march-like) or, it is used to describe music as such. ''Maestoso'' also is ass ...

section of Saint-Saëns' Symphony No.3 in C minor (''Symphony with organ'') with an added

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

beat. (In the symphony, the theme used in the song is first exposed by the strings section in the second movement; it is later also played by the organ.Saint-Saëns, Camille (19--). Symphony no. 3 in C minor, opus 78, for orchestra and organ. Available at: http://www.dlib.indiana.edu/variations/scores/aef8378/index.html, New York, N.Y.: International Music Co., pp. 126–129.) The lyrics and arrangement were by

Jonathan Hodge Jonathan Philip Hodge (26 January 1941 – 7 July 2019) was a British composer who wrote more than 2,000 jingles for TV and radio, including the Shake n' Vac tune. Life and career Hodge was born in London in 1941. Jonathan wrote the scores ...

, a prolific writer of television jingles and film themes, who also produced the single. "If I Had Words" topped the charts in the Netherlands and Belgium upon its release and peaked at number three in the UK and Australia. Its popularity in the Netherlands saw it certified platinum. It was also re-recorded by Fitzgerald and Keeley in 2010 and released as a charity single in the Netherlands in support of the

Foundation KiKa The Foundation Kika (Dutch: Stichting Kinderen Kankervrij; English: Children Cancer-free Foundation) is a Dutch charity foundation that brings in fundings solely for research to childhood cancers. Renewing research to this form of cancer requires ...

In popular culture

* The song was heard in the 1995 film '' Babe'', sung both by Farmer Hoggett (

James Cromwell James Oliver Cromwell (born January 27, 1940) is an American actor and activist. Some of his best-known films include ''Babe'' (1995), '' Star Trek: First Contact'' (1996), ''L.A. Confidential'' (1997), '' The Green Mile'' (1999), ''The Queen'' ...

) and by a trio of mice for a sped-up version. It was also partially incorporated into the film's suite (instrumental). It was also featured in the film's sequel, '' Babe: Pig in the City''. * The song was covered in German by Angie Gold. Her version, titled "Der schönste Tag" (English translation: "The most beautiful day"), was released as a single in Germany on Polydor in 1978. * In 1999, boy band

Westlife Westlife is an Irish pop vocal group formed in Dublin, Ireland in 1998. The group currently consists of members Shane Filan, Mark Feehily, Kian Egan, and Nicky Byrne. Brian McFadden was a member, until he left in 2004. The group temporarily di ...

Composition and release

In popular culture

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Sales and certifications

References