Nature Boy
Moulin Rouge [Original Soundtrack] Lyrics
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There was a boy
A very strange, enchanted boy
They say he wandered very far, very far
Over land and sea
A little shy
And sad of eye
Was he
And then one day
The magic day he passed my way
And while we spoke of many things
Fools and kings
This he said to me
"The greatest thing
You'll ever learn
Is just to love
And be loved
In return."
The Moulin Rouge.
A nightclub.
A dancehall and a bardello.
Kingdom of night time pleasures.
Where the rich and powerful
Came to play with the young
And beautiful creatures of the underworld.
The most beautiful of all these was the woman I loved.
Satine.
A courtesan.
She sold her love to men.
They called her the sparkling diamond
And she was the star
Of the Moulin Rouge
The lyrics of "Nature Boy" in Moulin Rouge narrate a melancholic story about lost love. The singer talks about a boy who was mysterious, and his wanderings, which brought him an unusual amount of wisdom. The boy was described as very wise, though shy and sad of eye. Then, one magical day, he appeared in the singer's life, and they spoke of many things: fools and kings, love and life. The boy shared a powerful message with the singer, telling him that the greatest thing one can ever learn is just to love and be loved in return. However, the singer ends his story with a sad note, stating that the woman whom he loved is dead, highlighting the lingering pain of his loss.
The song's lyrics were written by Eden Ahbez, which pays homage to Ahbez's unusual lifestyle as a "nature boy." The term "Nature Boy" came from Ahbez's folk lifestyle beliefs and his preference for living life in nature rather than in a city. Ahbez's lyrics became popularized in 1948 by musicians Nat King Cole, who recorded the first and most famous version of the song. The Moulin Rouge movie soundtrack version gives the song a new breath of life, with its grandeur, theatrical production, an eclectic mix of different styles, and powerful singers.
Line by Line Meaning
There was a boy
In this story, there was a boy
A very strange, enchanted boy
He was a strange and enchanted boy
They say he wandered very far, very far
It is believed that he traveled far and wide
Over land and sea
Across the oceans and the land
A little shy
The boy was a little bit timid
And sad of eye
He had a sad look in his eyes
But very wise
Despite his shyness and sadness, he was very wise
Was he
That's how the boy was
And then one day
One day, something special happened
The magic day he passed my way
On that day, he came across the artist of this story
And while we spoke of many things
They talked about many different things
Fools and kings
Jesters and monarchs were some of the subjects of their conversation
This he said to me
The boy said this to the singer
"The greatest thing
The most important thing in life is
You'll ever learn
That you will ever learn
Is just to love
To simply love someone
And be loved
And to have that love returned to you
In return."
That's what it means to truly have learned the greatest thing in life
Contributed by Joshua H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
marksartor
lyrics "There was a boy
A very strange enchanted boy
They say he wandered very far, very far
Over land and sea
A little shy and sad of eye
But very wise was he
And then one day
A magic day he passed my way
And while we spoke of many things
Fools and kings
This he said to me
"The greatest thing you'll ever learn
Is just to love and be loved in return"
"The greatest thing you'll ever learn
Is just to love and be loved in return""
Meckle
There was a boy
A very strange enchanted boy
They say he wandered very far
Very far over land and sea
A little shy and sad of eye
But very wise, was he
And then one day
One magic day, he passed my way
While we spoke of many things
Fools and kings
This he said to me
The greatest thing
You'll ever learn
Is just to love
And be loved
In return
Daigohji99
The Bowie version is good, but you can hear that the words were only an abstract concept to him. Leguizamo is singing it in character, with a clear image of a specific person in mind, and that's what gives his version such heart-breaking emotion.
William of Ockham
JL was feeling it. Bowie's version is bombastic and gratuitous.
MmmYeah?
Reading this made me burst into tears.
podoyle
The typewriter typing at the end got me.
Je Suis
Exactly. I got so much chills hearing this song in the movie because it felt so real, so genuine, and consequently so heartbreaking.
Despite knowing that the movie's soundtrack is only made of already existing songs, I was even surprised to find out this one wasn't an original song created for the movie because it just felt so perfect for the story and characters, you can so well feel the song and what it is trying to tell.
I love Bowie's version but Leguizamo's is just something else.
(And that little reprise right before Christian's final scene completely broke me)
Anyway, this just confirms to me that John Leguizamo is very underrated. It's a shame he is mainly known as Sid (and now Bruno) when he is such a talented actor and singer.
Zara
@Je Suis He's got a voice for singing for sure
N K
I performed this in a voice class. It was an elective - I'm not a great singer, but I honestly loved trying to learn this. I was told my rendition of it was: "Creepy". I haven't tried to sing it since. But if I'm being honest, I'm kinda proud of that "creepy". I wasn't told I was "good" or "bad" or "you gave it a good shot". It was "creepy".
Bobo411
I've just heard this song on Resident Alien and it is creepy and I love it. Creepy can be good.
Kimberly P
Same reason I'm here! Saw it on the show! Had no idea David Bowie also sang it...
Davey
@Kimberly P Nat King Cole and Frank Sinatra too 🙂