I’ve lost count of how many viewings I’ve had of Richard Linklater’s second film in the ‘Before’ trilogy. As I finished watching Before Sunset (2004) for the nth time late last night, I couldn’t get the ‘Waltz‘ song out of my head. Celine (Julie Delpy) sings it to Jesse (Ethan Hawke) with abandon yet a sense of hope. The song beautifully captures her feelings and, in a way, sums up her conversation with Jesse minutes ago in his car and the night spent in Vienna 9 years ago. It neatly fits in there. (I love how the scene is visualized, and particularly how Jesse responds to it. One of the most finely executed endings, Before Sunset sticks the landing, but leaves us on a cliffhanger. Thank God for Before Midnight).
I googled for the lyrics as the song played on loop in my head. That’s when it hit me! I’d heard this melody somewhere. And there it was. Remember Sushant Singh Rajput singing to Anushka Sharma in the quaint, romantic streets of Bruges (a small town in Belgium)? ‘Chaar Kadam‘ from pk (2014) composed (or well, arranged) by Shantanu Moitra.
Besides the melody and the setting (Europe), the similarities between the two songs are haunting. Both spark the beginning of a love story (even though one plays in the opening of the film, and the other is a perfect ending to the film).
The original track (Waltz) was actually penned and composed by the French-American actress Julie Delpy herself and sung live in the film.
She wrote it in 2000, long before Before Sunset was even conceptualized. It was part of an album she’d recorded, titled Julie Delpy itself.
The words are simple but I like the idea. It turns the notion of one-night stands on its head.
Here are the lyrics, for those who might like:
A Waltz for a Night
Let me sing you a waltz
Out of nowhere, out of my thoughts
Let me sing you a waltz
About this one night stand
You were for me that night
Everything I always dreamt of in life
But now you’re gone
You are far gone
All the way to your island of rain
It was for you just a one night thing
But you were much more to me
Just so you know
I hear rumors about you
About all the bad things you do
But when we were together alone
You didn’t seem like a player at all
I don’t care what they say, I know what you meant for me that day,
I just wanted another try, I just wanted another night,
Even if it doesn’t seem quite right
You meant for me much more
Than anyone I’ve met before
One single night with you little Jesse
Is worth a thousand with anybody
I have no bitterness, my sweet
I’ll never forget this one night thing
Even tomorrow, another arms
My heart will stay yours until I die
Let me sing you a waltz
Out of nowhere, out of my blues
Let me sing you a waltz
About this lovely one night stand
