MovieChat Forums > Paint Your Wagon (1969) Discussion > Wandrin' Star

Wandrin' Star

posted 9 years ago by singjohn
7 replies | jump to latest

I just read that Lee Marvin's deep-voiced rendition of "Wand'rin' Star" became a hit in the UK.

Did people use it in place of sleeping pills? I've never heard a lazier delivery of a song!

[–] katesgram2000 9 years ago

It fit the character and is quite a relaxing song to listen to

[–] tay-15 8 years ago

Used superbly in this ad as well:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-YvO_k03-s

If it blows up in my face ... see you on the other side

[–] drunkbear 8 years ago

Maybe I'm giving Mr. Marvin too much credit as a singer, but I thought he delivered the song in such a low-key, lazy fashion because, in the scene, he's supposed to be mumbling the song to himself as he walks along.

"You may have come on no bicycle, but that does not say that you know everything."

[–] spookyrat1 8 years ago

I just read that Lee Marvin's deep-voiced rendition of "Wand'rin' Star" became a hit in the UK.

It was a very big hit in many places around the world. Lee Marvin was at the zenith of his career and the musical itself was well known, so it just kind of came together ... even though the late Marvin would likely be the first to admit he couldn't sing to save himself. A case of popular character overcoming any mere musical challenge thrown up.🐭

[–] ecarle (14979) 5 years ago

The irony about "Wand'rin Star" and the coupla other songs that Lee Marvin sings in Paint Your Wagon is that his SPEAKING voice was a rich, sonorous baritone that helped make him a star. And yet when he tried to sing, the baritone disappeared and a strained croak kicked in.

Still Marvin acts the song well in the movie. He has massive help from an unseen Men's Choir doing the heavy lifting. And the mood of the song on screen is superb...muddy streets, gray sky, misty, raining feeling. Melancholy.

Finally, the theme of the song struck a chord in 1969 and those countercultural , hippie times: the life of a wanderin' star, a man who can never settle down with a wife and family, who felt the need to keep hitting the road and leaving loved ones behind...the mix of exhilaration and melancholy in the song made it quite the hit.

[–] Quint (935) 4 years ago

That was one of the best songs in movies ever, autotune kiddie.

[–] Jes' Sayin' (5960) 3 months ago

I believe they liked it because it was so unusual, like water gurgling down a drainpipe.