Moon River, the oft covered, frequently adapted, over-used, and Academy Award winning song was written specifically by Johnny Mercer and Henry Mancini for Audrey Hepburn in the film adaptation of Breakfast at Tiffany's. Instantly recognizable, the tune is wistful and beautiful. Mancini even arranged the song to work within the limits of Hepburn's vocal range. Sadly, her famous rendition on the fire escape never made it onto the official sound track–in fact, it almost never made it into the movie at all; when an executive tried to nix it, Hepburn rightfully demanded it stay.
The lyrics, by the down-on-his-luck Mercer, are among pop music's most endearing:
Moon River, wider than a mile,
I'm crossing you in style some day.
Oh, dream maker, you heart breaker,
wherever you're going I'm going your way.
Two drifters off to see the world.
There's such a lot of world to see.
We're after the same rainbow's end–
waiting 'round the bend,
my huckleberry friend,
Moon River and me.
I still love the original Hepburn version, wether it was deemed good enough by execs or not; but I wouldn't say no to Morrissey's epic live version either; or Andy Williams's version, which nearly became his life's theme song.
But what do you think?