| Ultravox – Vienna Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Julian - I agree with you regarding that fact that the song is NOT about the movie The Third Man. However, you sound like someone who hasn't seen the movie but has read a synopsis of it. [No offence ment. Please hear me out with the rest of my reply]. I can see where people can get an impression that the movie influenced the song. After all, the movie is not horrific as you claim it is (the idea behind it is though). It is actually quiet atmospheric, with it's unusual score, strange camera angles and lighting that is very mood invoking (whether the bright lights in the sewer scenes or the dark streets with lights shimmering on the roads etc). The movie does have an ebb and flow of sights and sounds. You seem to be dismissing the connection based on the movies plot rather than the atmosphere the movie provides. This weakens your argument. A conclusion could easily be drawn between the atmosphere of the song and the atmosphere of the movie. However, I believe this connection to be simple co-incidence, a connection that appears to exist yet is in fact something unrelated. (I think the connection between the 'Wizard of Oz' with the sound off and the Pink Floyd Album 'Dark Side of the Moon' is an excellent example of this sort of co-incidence. The emotions on the album match that on the screen, but was not deliberate). Midge Ure himself has provided the answer as to what the song is about (as per MrLongrove's posts). We now know what the song is about, but there is a lingering question. Were some of the atmospherics in the song influenced by 'The Third Man'? After all, Midge himself admitted he'd never been to the city when they'd written the song in 1979. This might end up just being coincidental as well, but it might be a worth while question asking Midge if you ever get to interview him again. |
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