Midnight Is A Place - Denzil's Song

[thisbluespirit]

The end credits for ITV's 1978 Midnight Is A Place, which is Denzil's song from the book put to music - with an extra verse:

(I'm intrigued as to where the extra lyrics came from, and why, as they haven't used one of the verses from the book. Hmm.)

Set to music by Pat Phelan (and it sounds very much as though it's sung by David Collings, who plays Julian Oakapple in the adaptation.)

ETA: An answer! The extra verse came from Joan Aiken herself; the music was written by John Sebastian Brown (and adapted by Southern for the serial). Many thanks to lizzaaiken, Joan's daughter, for this information. (You can see the full answer, and the lyrics, below in the comments.)

Comments

Denzil's Song- the real words and music

[lizzaaiken.livejournal.com]

Hi, delighted to discover this site, and as Joan's daughter I can fill in some blanks. These are all the verses for Denzil's song, some used in the book Midnight is a Place, and further verses in the TV adaptation. The tune is by my brother, John Sebastian Brown

Hope this helps!
Lizza
http://www.joanaiken.com


Midnight is no Moment - Denzil’s song from
Joan Aiken’s Midnight is a Place

Original music composed by her son John Sebastian Brown
Adapted for Southern Television production

Anna Maria’s opening verse:

Meet me, meet me at Midnight,
Among the Queen Anne’s lace
Midnight is not a moment
Midnight is a place

Verses sung by Anna-Maria and her grandmother:

When, when shall I meet you
When shall I see your face
For I am living in time at present
But you are living in space

Time is only a corner
Age is only a fold
A year is merely a penny
Spent from a century's gold

So meet me, meet me at midnight
With sixty seconds' grace
For Midnight is no moment
Midnight is a place

Additional verses by Joan set to music by John:

O Turn, turn the pages
Read, read the words
Thoughts float like feathers
Tales fly like birds

And night's winged horses
No one can outpace
But midnight is no moment
Midnight is a place

Re: Denzil's Song- the real words and music

[thisbluespirit]

Thanks so much for this. I read the book years ago, as a teenager, and the song always stuck in my head. I hadn't realised there had been a TV adaptation until last year, and once I saw it, I was struck by their using the song for the theme - and curious about the extra verse. I could only imagine that it must be from Joan Aiken herself, but there was no information around beyond the end credits that I could find.

So thanks for confirming that, and also it's great to hear where the music actually came from as well.

And I have to say, given this chance, that not only did I love her books as a child, but, as a children's librarian, have reread many of them as an adult - and I am only all the more admiring each time I do, not only at her glorious storytelling abilities, but her skill in writing for different age groups so well, her flair for the right word, the humour, and the way she could quietly throw in food for thought without preaching at anyone, and so much more. I've read an awful lot of children's literature, and the more I do, the more she stands out to me.

But in any case, thank you for the information. I shall update the post to include the information now. It was very kind of you - and also not to object to this community's (very unofficial) existence here on LJ!