Certainly one of the hallmarks of “nailing” a major acting role is that the audience is left with the impression that nobody else could have played that part. For example, there’s Lynn Rachel Redgrave as Georgina “Georgy” Parkin in the 1966 film, “Georgy Girl”
Born in Marylebone in 1943 – the daughter of actors Michael Redgrave and Rachel Kempson, and the sister of actors Vanessa Redgrave and Corin Redgrave, and the aunt of actors Joely Richardson, Jemma Redgrave, Natasha Richardson and Carlo Nero – Lynn Redgrave was the granddaughter of Roy Redgrave, a popular actor of the stage and silent silver screen and Margaret Scudamore, a woman who in the early half of the 20th Century had chosen the challenging, unpredictable career of… stage and film acting.
Although she lost out to Elizabeth Taylor (who was also pretty good at nailing the occasional role and won that year’s Oscar for her portrayal as Martha in “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”), Lynn Redgrave was nominated for an Academy Award as Best Actress. And although it inexplicably lost out to the song “Born Free” (from the film, “Born Free”), “Georgy Girl” also received an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song, for its song, “Georgy Girl”.
Written by Tom Springfield (who with his famous sister, Dusty had formed The Springfields of “Silver Threads and Golden Needles” fame ) with lyrics by Jim Dale (best known in the UK for his ongoing appearances in the “Carry On” film series) there were at least three versions of the song.
Shown here is the first – in one of the most pleasing opening sequences on film (and proof positive that all that thespian heredity was naturally dominant in Lynn Redgrave’s genes) – as well as the second, for the rather more cynical closing sequence.
The third and best known version of the song reached Number 3 on the UK Chart and hit Number 2 in the U.S., making it the Seekers (remember them?) highest charting single. Originally featured on the group’s 1966 LP “Come the Day” (which as some may recall, was the very record that included the Seeker’s version of the Paul Simon/Bruce Woodley song, “Red Rubber Ball”), as a result of single’s upbeat success the album was artlessly renamed “Georgy Girl” for the American marketplace, presumably to ensure that at least in this country we can’t be accused of “always window-shopping, but never stopping to buy.”
LISTEN TO TODAY’S SELECTION – Thursday 4 October
Georgy Girl
Hey there, Georgy girl
Swingin’ down the street so fancy-free
Nobody you meet could ever see
The loneliness there
Inside you
Hey there, Georgy girl
Why do all the boys just pass you by?
Could it be you just don’t try
Or is it the clothes you wear?
You’re always window-shopping
But never stopping to buy
So, shed those dowdy feathers and fly
A little bit
Hey there, Georgy girl
There’s another Georgy deep inside
Bring out all the love you hide
And, oh, what a change there’d be
The world would see
A new Georgy girl
Hey there, Georgy girl
Dreamin’ of the someone you could be
Life is a reality
You can’t always run away
Don’t be so scared of changing
And rearranging yourself
It’s time for jumping down from the shelf
A little bit
Hey there, Georgy girl
There’s another Georgy deep inside
Bring out all the love you hide
And, oh, what a change there’d be
The world would see
A new Georgy girl
(Hey there, Georgy girl)
Wake up, Georgy girl
(Hey there, Georgy girl)
Come on, Georgy girl
(Hey there, Georgy girl)
Wake up, Georgy girl
#######
Hey there, Georgy girl
Pretty as a picture — told you so
Can it be the Georgy we all know?
Or somebody new?
(I wonder!)
Hey there, Georgy girl
Hurrying away to celebrate
Got yourself a man but wait!
There’s somebody else for you
Who needs a perfect lover
When you’re a mother at heart?
Isn’t that all you wanted right from the start?
(Well didn’t you?)
Hey there, Georgy girl
Now that you’re no longer on the shelf
Better try to smile and tell yourself
That you got your way
(You’ve made it!)
Hey there, Georgy girl
Now you’ve got a future planned for you
Though it’s not a dream come true
At least he’s a millionaire
So don’t despair!
You’re rich, Georgy Girl!
You’re rich, Georgy Girl!
You’re rich, Georgy Girl!
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