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’Let the River Run‘

A Reason To Smile

Dan Rather and Team Steady Oct 13

Credit: Getty Images

At a time when we could all use a little inspiration and joy, I got to wondering, what song could provide the needed motivation? Then I remembered an interview I did a few years back with Carly Simon. We talked about one of her most loved and recognizable hits, “Let the River Run.” It is this week’s reason to smile.

Simon composed, wrote, and performed “Let the River Run” for Mike Nichols’ 1988 movie “Working Girl.” She is the first artist to win the movie theme trifecta — Academy Award, Golden Globe, and Grammy — for a song created entirely by one person.

The song title comes from a line in the James Joyce novel Finnegans Wake. Simon says she was also inspired by the poetry of Walt Whitman. The movie opens with its main character, played by Melanie Griffith, and her best friend, actor Joan Cusack, approaching the Manhattan skyline on the Staten Island Ferry.

“I wanted to do something that described New York City as a jungle ... but there was something hymnal about it, too. Because I see New York as this great, stoic, statuesque, beautiful [place],” explained Simon. “But there was something heroic about it. So I wanted to blend the drums and the heroism of New York.”

The genre-bending song that is equal parts gospel, pop, and rock makes me smile every time I hear it.

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Stay Steady,
Dan