Bachelorette (song)
Encyclopedia
"Bachelorette" is a song by Björk
, released as the second single from her 1997 album Homogenic
.
The song was originally written for a film by Bernardo Bertolucci
, but the project was withdrawn. The lyrics for Bachelorette were written by Sjón
as Björk tells in her website:
The song is emotionally charged and theatrical, following the album's theme of "beats and strings", but also includes other instruments like timbales
, timpani
, Alp horn, accordion
, etc., that make the song stronger and more dramatic. Björk herself describes the song's story as "Isobel
goes to the city."
was directed by longtime Björk video collaborator Michel Gondry
, and is an exploration of self-reference
. It features Björk as "Bachelorette", a woman who finds a book buried in her garden that begins to write itself, describing what Bachelorette does as she describes it; the book is entitled "My Story". She takes the book to a publishing house, "Clark Publishing", in an unspecified large city that may be Chicago, and she and the publisher fall in love. (It becomes obvious, seeing and hearing excerpts from the book, that the book tells the story of how Bachelorette found the book, travelled to meet the publisher, and fell in love with him.) The book becomes incredibly popular (at one point, all of Bachelorette's fellow passengers on a subway are seen reading it), and is turned into a musical, featuring Bachelorette as herself. The musical version includes the story of the musical itself, so at some point a mini-theater is shown on the stage, featuring actors dressed as a small audience. At some point later in the musical this mini-musical features an even smaller version of itself, with an even smaller stage audience. The publisher, who is in the actual audience, becomes disgusted with seeing so many versions of himself, and breaks off the relationship; later, his character in the original musical does as well. The book becomes unpopular, and the original copy begins unwriting itself. Because of this turn of events, a chain reaction occurs in the nested theatres, causing each to be nullified and revert back to nature. Ultimately, the entire city de-evolves into the garden that appeared at the outset. The unwritten book finds its resting place buried in the ground once more, and Bachelorette ends up dancing and surrounded by wildlife.
The video was based on an original idea by Björk, who saw "Bachelorette" as a continuation of the character portrayed in "Isobel
" and "Human Behaviour
". As Gondry describes it, "this character is leaving the forest and she decides to go to the city to have a normal life. She tries her best and it doesn't work out and she comes back to the forest and she is happier there."
"Bachelorette" is the third part of a song cycle that includes "Human Behaviour
" and "Isobel
". And as with the latter two its lyrics were written by Björk's longstanding co-writer Sjón
.
The song has been covered by Turkish singer Müslüm Gürses
and artist Voltaire
. Tori Amos
has also covered the song in concert, though not to be confused with another song written and performed by herself which shares the title.
The art direction of the video was heavily praised. The video won the MTV Video Music Award for Best Art Direction
.
The story can be found here.
Björk
Björk Guðmundsdóttir , known as Björk , is an Icelandic singer-songwriter. Her eclectic musical style has achieved popular acknowledgement and popularity within many musical genres, such as rock, jazz, electronic dance music, classical and folk...
, released as the second single from her 1997 album Homogenic
Homogenic
Homogenic is the fourth studio album by Icelandic musician Björk, released in September 1997. Produced by Björk, Mark Bell, Guy Sigsworth, Howie B and Markus Dravs, it was released on One Little Indian Records...
.
The song was originally written for a film by Bernardo Bertolucci
Bernardo Bertolucci
Bernardo Bertolucci is an Italian film director and screenwriter, whose films include The Conformist, Last Tango in Paris, 1900, The Last Emperor and The Dreamers...
, but the project was withdrawn. The lyrics for Bachelorette were written by Sjón
Sjón
Sigurjón Birgir Sigurðsson , known as Sjón , is an internationally known Icelandic author and poet. His pen name is formed from his given name , and means 'Sight'....
as Björk tells in her website:
The song is emotionally charged and theatrical, following the album's theme of "beats and strings", but also includes other instruments like timbales
Timbales
Timbales are shallow single-headed drums with metal casing, invented in Cuba. They are shallower in shape than single-headed tom-toms, and usually much higher tuned...
, timpani
Timpani
Timpani, or kettledrums, are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum, they consist of a skin called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally made of copper. They are played by striking the head with a specialized drum stick called a timpani stick or timpani mallet...
, Alp horn, accordion
Accordion
The accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
, etc., that make the song stronger and more dramatic. Björk herself describes the song's story as "Isobel
Isobel
"Isobel" is a song by Icelandic singer Björk. It was released as the second single from her 1995 album Post. The lyrics describe a primitive girl who seems to be a personification of Mother Nature, and who tries to warn the technological world of its potential dangers. The music is underscored by...
goes to the city."
Music video
The surreal music videoMusic video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
was directed by longtime Björk video collaborator Michel Gondry
Michel Gondry
Michel Gondry is an Academy Award winning filmmaker, whose works include being a commercial director, music video director, and a screenwriter. He is noted for his inventive visual style and manipulation of mise en scène. - Life and career :...
, and is an exploration of self-reference
Self-reference
Self-reference occurs in natural or formal languages when a sentence or formula refers to itself. The reference may be expressed either directly—through some intermediate sentence or formula—or by means of some encoding...
. It features Björk as "Bachelorette", a woman who finds a book buried in her garden that begins to write itself, describing what Bachelorette does as she describes it; the book is entitled "My Story". She takes the book to a publishing house, "Clark Publishing", in an unspecified large city that may be Chicago, and she and the publisher fall in love. (It becomes obvious, seeing and hearing excerpts from the book, that the book tells the story of how Bachelorette found the book, travelled to meet the publisher, and fell in love with him.) The book becomes incredibly popular (at one point, all of Bachelorette's fellow passengers on a subway are seen reading it), and is turned into a musical, featuring Bachelorette as herself. The musical version includes the story of the musical itself, so at some point a mini-theater is shown on the stage, featuring actors dressed as a small audience. At some point later in the musical this mini-musical features an even smaller version of itself, with an even smaller stage audience. The publisher, who is in the actual audience, becomes disgusted with seeing so many versions of himself, and breaks off the relationship; later, his character in the original musical does as well. The book becomes unpopular, and the original copy begins unwriting itself. Because of this turn of events, a chain reaction occurs in the nested theatres, causing each to be nullified and revert back to nature. Ultimately, the entire city de-evolves into the garden that appeared at the outset. The unwritten book finds its resting place buried in the ground once more, and Bachelorette ends up dancing and surrounded by wildlife.
The video was based on an original idea by Björk, who saw "Bachelorette" as a continuation of the character portrayed in "Isobel
Isobel
"Isobel" is a song by Icelandic singer Björk. It was released as the second single from her 1995 album Post. The lyrics describe a primitive girl who seems to be a personification of Mother Nature, and who tries to warn the technological world of its potential dangers. The music is underscored by...
" and "Human Behaviour
Human Behaviour
"Human Behaviour" is Icelandic singer Björk's first solo single, taken from the album Debut. It contains a sample of "Go Down Dying" by Antonio Carlos Jobim. The lyrics reflect on human nature and emotion from a non-human animal's point of view. The song is the first part of a series of songs that...
". As Gondry describes it, "this character is leaving the forest and she decides to go to the city to have a normal life. She tries her best and it doesn't work out and she comes back to the forest and she is happier there."
"Bachelorette" is the third part of a song cycle that includes "Human Behaviour
Human Behaviour
"Human Behaviour" is Icelandic singer Björk's first solo single, taken from the album Debut. It contains a sample of "Go Down Dying" by Antonio Carlos Jobim. The lyrics reflect on human nature and emotion from a non-human animal's point of view. The song is the first part of a series of songs that...
" and "Isobel
Isobel
"Isobel" is a song by Icelandic singer Björk. It was released as the second single from her 1995 album Post. The lyrics describe a primitive girl who seems to be a personification of Mother Nature, and who tries to warn the technological world of its potential dangers. The music is underscored by...
". And as with the latter two its lyrics were written by Björk's longstanding co-writer Sjón
Sjón
Sigurjón Birgir Sigurðsson , known as Sjón , is an internationally known Icelandic author and poet. His pen name is formed from his given name , and means 'Sight'....
.
The song has been covered by Turkish singer Müslüm Gürses
Müslüm Gürses
Müslüm Akbaş , better known as Müslüm Gürses is a Turkish folk singer.He was born in 1953 in Şanlıurfa, Turkey. He married Muhterem Nur in 1983....
and artist Voltaire
Voltaire (musician)
Voltaire , is a popular dark cabaret Cuban-American musician...
. Tori Amos
Tori Amos
Tori Amos is an American pianist, singer-songwriter and composer. She was at the forefront of a number of female singer-songwriters in the early 1990s and was noteworthy early in her career as one of the few alternative rock performers to use a piano as her primary instrument...
has also covered the song in concert, though not to be confused with another song written and performed by herself which shares the title.
The art direction of the video was heavily praised. The video won the MTV Video Music Award for Best Art Direction
MTV Video Music Award for Best Art Direction
The following is a list of MTV Video Music Award winners for Best Art Direction in a Video. The Red Hot Chili Peppers are the biggest winners in this category with three wins in 1992, 2000, and 2006....
.
UK CD1
- "Bachelorette" (radio edit) – 3:37)
- "My Snare" (aka "Nature is Ancient") – 3:37
- "Scary" – 2:25
- "Bachelorette" (Howie Spread Mix) – 5:49
UK CD2
- "Bachelorette" (Mark Bell Optimism Mix) – 5:49
- "Bachelorette" (Mark Bell Zip Remix) – 4:18
- "Bachelorette" (Mark Bell Blue Remix) – 2:52
- "Bachelorette" – 5:12
UK CD3
- "Bachelorette" (RZARZARobert Fitzgerald Diggs, better known by his stage name RZA , is an American Grammy-winning music producer, multi-instrumentalist, author, emcee, and occasional actor, director, and screenwriter. A prominent figure in Hip Hop, RZA is the de facto leader of the Wu-Tang Clan. He has produced almost...
Remix) – 5:49 - "Bachelorette" (Alec EmpireAlec EmpireAlec Empire is a German musician who is best known as a founding member of the band Atari Teenage Riot. Also a prolific and distinguished solo artist, producer and DJ, he has released well over a hundred albums, EPs and singles and remixed over seventy tracks for various artists including Björk...
Hypermodern Jazz Remix) – 5:49 - "Bachelorette" (Alec Empire the Ice Princess and the Killer Whale Remix) – 6:23
- "Bachelorette" (GrooveriderGrooveriderGrooverider is a British drum and bass DJ.-Biography:Grooverider began his DJing at illegal raves and warehouse parties in the UK in the late 1980s, and rose to prominence with partner Fabio through his sets at nightclub nights such as 'Rage'. Grooverider was also on the London pirate radio...
Jeep Remix) – 9:11
EU CD
- "Bachelorette" (radio edit) – 3:37
- "Bachelorette" (RZARZARobert Fitzgerald Diggs, better known by his stage name RZA , is an American Grammy-winning music producer, multi-instrumentalist, author, emcee, and occasional actor, director, and screenwriter. A prominent figure in Hip Hop, RZA is the de facto leader of the Wu-Tang Clan. He has produced almost...
Remix) – 5:49 - "Bachelorette" (Mark Bell Optimism Mix) – 5:49
- "Bachelorette" (Mark Bell Zip Remix) – 4:18
- "Bachelorette" (Mark Bell Blue Remix) – 2:52
- "My Snare" (aka "Nature is Ancient") – 3:37
JP Bachelorette / Jóga EP
- "Bachelorette" (radio edit) – 3:37
- "Bachelorette" (Howie Spread Mix) – 5:49
- "Bachelorette" [Mark Bell Zip Remix] – 4:18
- "Bachelorette" (Alec EmpireAlec EmpireAlec Empire is a German musician who is best known as a founding member of the band Atari Teenage Riot. Also a prolific and distinguished solo artist, producer and DJ, he has released well over a hundred albums, EPs and singles and remixed over seventy tracks for various artists including Björk...
Hypermodern Jazz Remix) – 5:49 - "Bachelorette" (GrooveriderGrooveriderGrooverider is a British drum and bass DJ.-Biography:Grooverider began his DJing at illegal raves and warehouse parties in the UK in the late 1980s, and rose to prominence with partner Fabio through his sets at nightclub nights such as 'Rage'. Grooverider was also on the London pirate radio...
Jeep Remix) – 9:11 - "Jóga" (Buzz Water Remix) – 4:21
- "Jóga" (Alec Empire Hardcore Mix 1) – 3:02
- "Jóga" (Alec Empire Hardcore Mix 2) – 4:15
- "Jóga" (album version) – 5:09
- "Jóga" (String and Vocal Mix) – 4:25
Remixes
- Alec EmpireAlec EmpireAlec Empire is a German musician who is best known as a founding member of the band Atari Teenage Riot. Also a prolific and distinguished solo artist, producer and DJ, he has released well over a hundred albums, EPs and singles and remixed over seventy tracks for various artists including Björk...
Hypermodern Jazz remix - Alec Empire The Ice Princess and the Killer Whale remix
- GrooveriderGrooveriderGrooverider is a British drum and bass DJ.-Biography:Grooverider began his DJing at illegal raves and warehouse parties in the UK in the late 1980s, and rose to prominence with partner Fabio through his sets at nightclub nights such as 'Rage'. Grooverider was also on the London pirate radio...
Jeep remix - HowieHoward BernsteinHoward Bernstein , professionally known as Howie B, is a musician and producer, who has worked with artists such as Björk, U2, Robbie Robertson, Elisa, Tricky and Mukul Deora.-Albums:* Music for Babies...
Spread mix - Mark Bell Blue remix
- Mark Bell Optimism remix
- Mark Bell Zip remix
- Radio edit
- RZARZARobert Fitzgerald Diggs, better known by his stage name RZA , is an American Grammy-winning music producer, multi-instrumentalist, author, emcee, and occasional actor, director, and screenwriter. A prominent figure in Hip Hop, RZA is the de facto leader of the Wu-Tang Clan. He has produced almost...
remix
"My Story" by Isobel the Bachelorette
Based on the book in the video, Björk wrote in her website the whole story appearing on it.The story can be found here.
Charts
| Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|
| French Singles Chart | 17 |
| UK Singles Chart | 21 |
| Italian Singles Chart | 23 |
| Dutch Singles Chart | 80 |