Sparrow (Marvin Gaye Song)
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''Another song with the same name, written by
Graham Lyle Graham Hamilton Lyle (born 11 March 1944, in Bellshill, Lanarkshire, Scotland) is a Scottish singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer. Between 1970 and 1997, he co-wrote 18 British Top 40 hits, 9 ''Billboard'' Hot 100 entries, 4 US Country No ...
and
Benny Gallagher Bernard Joseph "Benny" Gallagher (born 10 June 1945, in Largs, Ayrshire) is a Scottish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, most famous as half of the popular duo Gallagher and Lyle. Career The son of Irish parents, Gallagher atten ...
, was recorded by
McGuinness Flint McGuinness Flint was a rock band formed in 1970 by Tom McGuinness (musician), Tom McGuinness, a bassist and guitarist with Manfred Mann, and Hughie Flint, former drummer with John Mayall; plus vocalist and keyboard player Dennis Coulson, and mul ...
and
Mary Hopkin Mary Hopkin (born 3 May 1950), credited on some recordings as Mary Visconti from her marriage to Tony Visconti, is a Welsh singer-songwriter best known for her 1968 UK number 1 single "Those Were the Days". She was one of the first artists ...
in the early 1970s.'' "Sparrow" is a 1978
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
song recorded by singer
Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gay Jr., who also spelled his surname as Gaye (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984), was an American singer and songwriter. He helped to shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player and later as a solo ar ...
issued on the singer's 1978 album, ''
Here, My Dear ''Here, My Dear'' is the fifteenth studio album by music artist Marvin Gaye, released as a double album on December 15, 1978, on Motown-subsidiary label Tamla Records. allmusic - Here, My Dear overview/ref> Recording sessions for the album took ...
'' album. The lyrics basically have a poetic and religious tone to them as Gaye calls a sparrow "to sing (his) beautiful song" to let him make sure that things are all right even when they aren't. In the song's climactic bridge, Gaye coos to the bird to sing to him personally before the bird flies away in hopes he can find inspiration.


Personnel

*All vocals, keyboards and synthesizers by Marvin Gaye *Drums by Bugsy Wilcox *Percussion by Elmira Collins *Bass by Frank Blair *Guitar by Wali Ali *Trumpet by
Nolan Smith Nolan Derek Smith (born July 25, 1988) is an American former professional basketball player who is currently an assistant men's basketball coach for the Louisville Cardinals. He played college basketball for Duke before being drafted 21st overa ...
*Tenor saxophone by Charles Owens and Fernando Harkness *Alto saxophone (solo) by Ernie Fields Marvin Gaye songs Songs written by Marvin Gaye Songs about birds Song recordings produced by Marvin Gaye Songs written by Ed Townsend {{1970s-song-stub