The enduring magic of Nature Boy

Nature Boy is one of the cuts in Celine Dion’s comeback album, A New Day Has Come and it is one song that the pop diva should have left alone. While it is commendable that she decided to record one of the most lyrically compelling songs ever written, Dion simply doesn’t have the depth or sensitivity for the quiet intensity required by the Eden Ahbez composition.

Ahbez was a hippie, or maybe a beatnik long before those words and the people they describe came into being. He lived in California and his available photos show a tall, gaunt man with long hair bleached by the sun and beard to match. He probably spent most of his time outdoors and would have been at home on some deserted island. Had it been the ‘60s he would have been a beach bum. Ahbez did some recordings of his own and is considered a major influence in the field of rock music. He is said to have been the inspiration for Pet Sounds, the best album recorded by Beach Boys. His greatest claim to fame though, is Nature Boy, which changed the course of Nat "King" Cole’s career.

Nat Cole was a pianist and leader of a jazz trio who dabbled in singing when he allowed himself to be convinced by the persistent Ahbez to record Nature Boy in 1947. The song was an unlikely choice. Cole’s previous vocal outings were Embraceable You and Sweet Lorraine, whose structure and message were like most of the songs of the period. Nature Boy simply talked about a boy who was sad and wise and believed in the power of love. It has a single verse and one short refrain. But it packs a lot of emotions and says more than several love songs combined. Take note too that it was composed long before nature tripping became popular and the hippie principle of "make love, not war" made its appearance. It can be rightly said that Nature Boy bucked prevailing rules but still turned out to be a number one seller.

There was a boy
A very strange enchanted boy
They say he wandered very far, very far
Over land and sea
A little shy and sad of eye
But very wise was he
And then one day
A magic day he passed my way
And while we spoke of many things
Fools and kings
This he said to me
The greatest thing you’ll ever learn
Is just to love and be loved in return

Nat Cole’s success with Nature Boy led to other versions. Jazz legend John Coltrane, made one. So did Frank Sinatra Sarah Vaughn and Grace Slick. The most recent covers before Celine’s came about were used in the movie musical Moulin Rouge. Set in turn-of-the-century Paris, the Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor starrer has a soundtrack made up of popular tunes from various eras. Nature Boy is one of them. The album finds rocker David Bowie crooning the famous lyrics like it was written only for him in the opening track and there is another version mixed by Massive Attack in the end of the CD.

Not only that. Nature Boy also figures prominently in the entire film. In fact, the song’s theme of "loving and being loved in return" sums up the Moulin Rouge. As performed by actor John Leguizamo also in the beginning and the end of the picture, it is used to introduce and end the story. In a way, the lyrics also describe the character of Christian, the penniless poet played by Ewan McGregor, who would give everything for love.

Ahbez died in a car crash in 1995 at 86. Nat "King" Cole died of cancer in 1965 at 47. He made many more hits after Nature Boy but the song remained always special. It was Cole’s first number one record and we all have to agree that although a lot of songs about nature lovers were later written, not one of them matches the sweet, langorous beauty of Nature Boy.

As for Celine Dion, she should stick to Meat Loaf and leave Nat "King" Cole alone. Of course her When I Fall in Love was a hit but that was a long way before she got into power ballads and lost all the feelings.