Pink Martini has twelve instrumentalists (and sometimes travels with string sections), and performs its multilingual repertoire on concert stages and with symphony orchestras throughout Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Northern Africa, Australia and New Zealand and North America. Pink Martini made its European debut at the Cannes Film Festival in 1997 and its orchestral debut with the Oregon Symphony in 1998 under the direction of Norman Leyden. Since then, the band has gone on to play with over 30 orchestras around the world, including multiple engagements with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl, the Boston Pops, the National Symphony at the Kennedy Center and the BBC Concert Orchestra in London. Other appearances include the grand opening of the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s new Frank Gehry-designed Walt Disney Concert Hall, with return sold-out engagements for New Year’s Eve 2003, 2004 & 2008; two sold-out concerts at Carnegie Hall; the opening party of the remodeled Museum of Modern Art in NYC; the Governor’s Ball at the 80th Annual Academy Awards in 2008; and the opening of the 2008 Sydney Festival in Australia.
Lauderdale met China Forbes, Pink Martini’s lead vocalist, at Harvard. He was studying history and literature while she was studying English literature and painting. Late at night, they would break into the lower common room in their college dormitory and sing arias by Puccini and Verdi – and the occasional campy Barbra Streisand cover –thus sealing their creative collaboration. Three years after graduating, Lauderdale called Forbes who was living in New York City, where she’d been writing songs and playing guitar in her own folk-rock project, and asked her to join Pink Martini. They began to write songs together for the band. Their first song “Sympathique”– with the chorus “Je ne veux pas travailler” (”I don’t want to work”) – became an overnight sensation in France, and was even nominated for “Song of the Year” at France’s Victoires de la Musique Awards. Forbes, though fluent only in English, sings in 15 different languages.
Pink Martini’s debut album Sympathique was released independently in 1997 on the band’s own label Heinz Records (named after Lauderdale’s dog), and quickly became an international phenomenon, garnering the group nominations for “Song of the Year” and “Best New Artist” in France’s Victoires de la Musique Awards in 2000.
In October 2004, the group released its second album, Hang on Little Tomato.
In May 2007, it released its third album, Hey Eugene!.
A fourth studio album, Splendor in the Grass, followed on October 27, 2009.
Sympathique, Hang on Little Tomato and Hey Eugene! have all gone gold in France, Canada, Greece and Turkey; collectively, Pink Martini's records have sold more than two million copies worldwide.
On New Year's Eve 2005, Pink Martini performed live at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall in Portland, Oregon. This performance was aired live on National Public Radio's Toast of the Nation, and in partnership with Oregon Public Broadcasting was recorded for a live DVD and later broadcast on US public broadcasting and French television.[citation needed] The DVD has been rereleased to retail as Discover the World: Live in Concert, featuring not only the full concert, but several vignettes and a short documentary of the band's history.
The band has collaborated and performed with Jimmy Scott, Carol Channing, Henri Salvador, Jane Powell, Chavela Vargas, Georges Moustaki, Michael Feinstein, DJ Dimitri from Paris, clarinetist and conductor Norman Leyden, Hiroshi Wada, DJ Johnny Dynell and several drag queens from New York City, among others. On June 1, 2007, the band appeared on the long-running BBC Two Later with Jools Holland TV music program. On June 14, 2007, Pink Martini performed on Late Show with David Letterman, performing "Hey Eugene".
Pink Martini played Walt Disney Concert Hall on New Year's Eve for the first two years it was open (2003/4 and 2004/5). They returned to play NYE there again in 2008/9.
In May 2009, the band recorded three concerts with the Oregon Symphony under the direction of Carlos Kalmar for the band’s fifth album … a symphonic record which is slated for a 2011 release.
Pink Martini songs appear in such films as In the Cut, Nurse Betty, Josie and the Pussycats, Tortilla Soup, Shanghai Kiss, Mary and Max, and Mr. & Mrs. Smith and have been used on television shows such as Dead Like Me, The Sopranos and The West Wing, among others.[citation needed] Their song "Una notte a Napoli" is an integral part of the Italian movie Mine Vaganti (2010), by the Italian-Turkish director Ferzan Özpetek. The song "No Hay Problema" is included as background/setup music for Microsoft's Windows Server 2003 and was also used as the background/setup music for an early build of Windows Longhorn, now known as Windows Vista.[citation needed]
In February 2011, the group's lead singer, China Forbes, recorded a video greeting to the European Space Agency's Italian astronaut, Paolo Nespoli, and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Kaleri, on board the International Space Station. The astronauts were preparing to oversee the docking of ESA's Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) cargo vessel, Johannes Kepler, which took place at 17:08 CET on 24 February. The greeting was set to the sound track of Dosvedanya Mio Bombino - one of Pink Martini's signature songs - and was mixed with footage of the actual docking.
In November 2011, they played at the Balboa Theater with the Bonita Vista High School band, Club Blue.
Splendor in the Grass
Pink Martini Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I've been thinking too
About the way we used to be
And how to star a new
Maybe I'm a hopeless dreamer
Maybe I've got it wrong
But I'm going where the grass is green
Back when I was starting out
I always wanted more
But every time I got it
I still felt just like before
Fortune is a fickle friend
I'm tired of chasing fate
And when I look into your eyes
I know you feel the same
All these years of living large
Are starting to do a sin
I wont say it wasn't fun
But now it has to end
Life is moving oh so fast
I think we should take it slow
Rest our heads upon the grass
And listen to it grow
Going where the hills are green
And the cars are few and far
Days are full of splendor
And at night you can see the stars
Life's been moving oh so fast
I think we should take it slow
Rest our heads upon the grass
And listen to it grow
The song "Splendor in the Grass" by Pink Martini is an ode to slowing down, reconnecting with nature, and finding peace amidst the chaos of modern life. The lyrics describe the singer's desire to escape the rat race and return to a simpler way of living, one where the grass is green and the days are full of splendor. The song acknowledges that chasing wealth and success can be exciting, but ultimately unfulfilling, and that there's something deeply satisfying about slowing down and taking time to appreciate the beauty around us.
The opening lines, "I can see you're thinking baby, I've been thinking too" suggest that the singer is in a relationship with someone who shares their desire to slow down and reconnect with nature. The lines "Maybe I'm a hopeless dreamer, maybe I've got it wrong" acknowledge that this desire may be seen as naive or unrealistic by others, but the singer is determined to follow their heart regardless. The chorus, "Going where the hills are green and the cars are few and far, days are full of splendor and at night you can see the stars" paints a picture of an idyllic rural setting, far away from the hustle and bustle of city life.
The verses go on to explore the singer's own journey towards this way of living. They describe how they spent their youth chasing success, but felt unfulfilled despite their accomplishments. The lines "All these years of living large are starting to do a sin, I won't say it wasn't fun but now it has to end" suggest that the singer is ready to move on from a life of excess and seek out something more meaningful. The bridge, "Life is moving oh so fast, I think we should take it slow, rest our heads upon the grass and listen to it grow" reinforces the idea that the key to happiness is not found in chasing the next big thing, but rather in taking time to appreciate the simple beauty around us.
Line by Line Meaning
I can see you're thinking baby
I observe that you are pondering, my dear
I've been thinking too
In fact, I have been considering things as well
About the way we used to be
Recalling the past version of us
And how to star a new
Contemplating how to start afresh with a different approach
Maybe I'm a hopeless dreamer
It could be that I possess no practicality
Maybe I've got it wrong
I may have made an erroneous conclusion
But I'm going where the grass is green
Even so, I am inclined to move towards greener pastures
If you like to come along
If it pleases you, you are welcome to come with me
Back when I was starting out
In the earlier stages of my career
I always wanted more
I was always chasing after more accomplishments
But every time I got it
However, every time I achieved more, I felt the same
I still felt just like before
I still experienced the same emotions from my previous position
Fortune is a fickle friend
Luck can be an unreliable companion
I'm tired of chasing fate
I have grown weary of pursuing chance
And when I look into your eyes
When I gaze into your eyes
I know you feel the same
I know that you also feel similarly
All these years of living large
These years of living extravagantly
Are starting to do a sin
Are starting to feel like a mistake
I wont say it wasn't fun
I can't deny that it wasn't enjoyable
But now it has to end
But now it's time to wrap it up
Life is moving oh so fast
Life is moving at a rapid pace
I think we should take it slow
I think it's best if we slow down a bit
Rest our heads upon the grass
We should recline and rest on the grass
And listen to it grow
And listen to the growth of nature around us
Going where the hills are green
Moving towards where the hills and fields are verdant
And the cars are few and far
Where vehicles are sparse and less noticeable
Days are full of splendor
The days are rich with beauty and grandeur
And at night you can see the stars
Also, the stars are plainly visible at night
Life's been moving oh so fast
Life has been advancing very rapidly
I think we should take it slow
I think it's best if we slow down a bit
Rest our heads upon the grass
We should recline and rest on the grass
And listen to it grow
And listen to the growth of nature around us
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Van Morrison
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@MuhammadTaftazaniMehdiTaf
Une très belle musique avec un piaste de génie et une chanteuse à voix d'or.
@chordorchard7213
Such a gorgeous, simple, moving song already, then they bring in the quote from Tchaikovsky and I am literally blown away. One of the most effortlessly moving and evocative passages in classical music and they just throw it in there, and in a different time signature too. Actual magic. ♥️
@BytomGirl
It is .such gorgeous video.. the message to find the beauty when we are sad and alone,,, and then my beloved piano concerto which I heard for the first time live when I was 6 yeas old and never left me and started my big love for classical music.
@user-mw1oi8sh2s
H♥♥~♥￦6,, ?￦♥;;;;~;,,;;;,,,,,",,,;;♥,;,,,,,,bvbb
@BytomGirl
I love Tchaikovsky's piano concerto in it in combination with the beauty of the land. Gorgeous
@natasapetrak398
Nice❤
@hb.canada
J'aime tant cette magnifique chanson 💕
@ccLeeMorgan
Beautiful. Major props for sampling Tchaikovsky's first piano concerto!
@magd2992
Ridiculously underrated band.
@dusanstiglic5169
Truth my friend. And so is Chris Isaak and many other bands...