Beyond the Sea (song)

Song infobox
Name = Beyond the Sea


Caption =
Type =
Artist = Bobby Darin
alt Artist =
Album = That's All
Published =
Released = 1959
track_no = 2
Recorded =
Genre = Big Band
Length = 2:58
Writer =
Composer = Jack Lawrence/Charles Trenet
Label = Atco
Producer =
Chart position = Black Singles 15
Pop Singles 6
Tracks =
prev = Mack the Knife
prev_no = 1
next = Through a Long and Sleepless Night
next_no = 3
Misc =

"Beyond the Sea" is the English language version of the song "La Mer" by Charles Trenet. The English lyrics were written by Jack Lawrence. They are unrelated to the poetic words of the original French lyrics. It has been recorded by many singers, but Bobby Darin's version is the best known, reaching number 6 on the U.S. pop singles chart.

Appearances in popular culture

"Beyond the Sea" is a popular tune for inclusion in soundtracks and has been heard in numerous movies, television productions, and even video games. Some have simply used Bobby Darin's recording, while others have made new recordings of the song.

Appearances in films

Matchstick men

Appearances in games

Bioshock

Bobby Darin

Performances by Darin

Films and TV shows to use Darin's recording include: "Apollo 13", "Austin Powers in Goldmember", "Goodfellas", "Black Rain" and "The X-Files", as well as the video game, "BioShock". The song was also played in a 2005 commercial for Carnival Cruise Lines. A portion of Bobby Darin's recording was played during the splashdown and post-recovery of Alan Shepard's Freedom 7 in the first episode of the 1998 HBO miniseries, "From the Earth to the Moon".

Performances as Darin

Kevin Spacey sang the song in the movie "Beyond the Sea", a biopic about Bobby Darin, in a "fantasy" sequence leading up to his marriage to Sandra Dee. Similarly, on the television series "American Dreams", Duncan Sheik performed the song while playing the role of Bobby Darin.

Other versions

The West Coast folk-rock group We Five recorded the song for their first album in 1965 and it was the B-side of their hit "You Were On My Mind".

The end credits of "Finding Nemo" included a version by Robbie Williams.

In the 1997 film "A Life Less Ordinary," Ewan McGregor's character sings the song, with Cameron Diaz's character joining in. They then perform an elaborate dream-sequence musical number to the song's music.

Also in 1997 Thomas Anders (of Modern Talking fame) recorded a version on his album " Live Concert".

George Benson recorded it on his 1984 album 20/20. He also performed it live at the 1986 Montreux Jazz Festival. That live performance was also recorded and later released as an album (Live at Montreux) and a DVD in 2007.

Wet Wet Wet included this song in their album "10".

Will Young has also recorded a version, which is the B-side of his single "Light My Fire", and also appeared on "".

Celtic Woman also did a version of "Beyond the Sea".

An instrumental version is featured in the opening credits of "L.A. Story".

Los Indios Tabajaras, a South American guitar duo, recorded a version of the song under the title "El Mar" on their "20 Greatest Hits" album.

An instrumental version of the song is at the end of Disneyland's Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage.

The original French song "La Mer" is performed by Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli in the lighthouse at the beginning of the game "BioShock", while the English version of the song appears later, played from a jukebox, and is used in the trailer for the game. Both versions can be found and played from within Bioshock's install files. [http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/?p=158] An EP included with the Collector's Edition of the game includes a remix of the song by Moby. "La Mer" was also featured in the movie Mr. Bean's Holiday. One new version is made by neo-swing band Royal Crown Revue in late 1990s.

A version was made by Matt Corby in Australian Idol in 2007.

Harry James [singer Marion Morgan] recorded a popular version in 1948 as "Beyond the Sea."

A version appeared in the 1948 Cary Grant film "Every Girl Should Be Married" played by stroling strings during a restaurant scene.

External links

* [http://www.jacklawrencesongwriter.com/songs/beyond_the_sea.html Jack Lawrence's page]
* [http://www.bobbydarin.net Official Bobby Darin fansite]