Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you throwback songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the lyrics or title. In 1966’s “Colour My World,” Petula Clark sings about how much her life has changed since she’s finally found her true love.
She sings, “You’ll never see a dark cloud hanging round me / Now there is only blue sky to surround me / There’s never been a gray day since you found me / Everything I touch is turning to gold.”
The last phrase is actually a nod to King Midas, who is remembered from Greek mythology for his ability to turn everything he touched into gold.
In Clark’s world, the positivity generated by her new relationship is having a golden effect on every aspect of her life.
Written by Tony Hatch and Jackie Trent, “Colour My World” borrows from the formula established by Hatch for Clark’s 1964 #1 hit, “Downtown.” While not as successful as the 1964 chart topper, “Colour My World” reached Top 20 status in the US, Australia and New Zealand. Curiously, it failed to reach the Top 50 in Clark’s home country — England.
While the UK failed to embrace the song upon its release in December 1966, BBC Television gave the song a boost when it chose “Colour My World” as the theme song to announce BBC2’s upgraded TV service from black-and-white to color in July 1967.
Born in Surrey, England, in 1939, Clark got her start in the music business as a child performer on BBC Radio. Starting in late 1964, Clark released a series of hits that earned her worldwide fame. Among the songs were “Downtown,” “I Know a Place,” “My Love,” “A Sign of the Times,” “I Couldn’t Live Without Your Love,” “Who Am I,” “This Is My Song,” “Don’t Sleep in the Subway,” “The Other Man’s Grass Is Always Greener” and “Kiss Me Goodbye.”
Over the course of her career, Clark has sold more than 68 million records and has starred on both stage and screen. Clark is still performing at the age of 81.
Please check out the video of Clark performing “Colour My World” on The Ed Sullivan Show on January 15, 1967. The lyrics are below if you’d like to sing along…
“Color My World”
Written by Tony Hatch and Jackie Trent. Performed by Petula Clark.
You’ll never see a dark cloud hanging round me.
Now there is only blue sky to surround me.
There’s never been a gray day since you found me.
Everything I touch is turning to gold.
So you can colour my world with sunshine yellow each day!
Oh, you can colour my world with happiness all the way!
Just take the green from the grass and the blue from the sky up above!
And if you colour my world just paint it with your love!
Just colour my world.
Just as long as I know you’re thinking of me,
there’ll be a rainbow always up above me.
Since I found the one who really loves me,
everything I touch is turning to gold.
So you can colour my world with sunshine yellow each day!
Oh, you can colour my world with happiness all the way!
Just take the green from the grass and the blue from the sky up above!
And if you colour my world just paint it with your love!
Just colour my world.
Um.
Sunshine yellow.
Orange blossums.
Laughing faces
everywhere!
Yeah!
So you can colour my world with sunshine yellow each day!
Oh, you can colour my world with happiness all the way!
Just take the green from the grass and the blue from the sky up above!
And if you colour my world just paint it with your love.
Just colour my world.
Colour my world.
Oh, colour my world.
Colour my world.
Credit: Screen capture via Youtube.com.