"It's Oh, So Quiet" is a song by American singer Betty Hutton

Betty Hutton

Betty Hutton was an American stage, film, and television actress, comedienne and singer.-Early life:Hutton was born Elizabeth June Thornburg, daughter of a railroad foreman, Percy E. Thornburg and his wife, the former Mabel Lum . While she was very young, her father abandoned the family for...

, released in 1951 as the B-side to the single "Murder, He Says". It is a cover of the German song "Und Jetzt ist es Still", performed by Horst Winter in 1948, written by Austrian composer Hans Lang

Hans Lang (Austrian composer)

----Hans Lang was an Austrian composer of light music, film music and Viennese songs.He wrote one operetta, the musikalisches Lustspiel, Lisa, benimm dich!, which premiered in Vienna on 21 March 1939....

 and Erich Meder. The English lyrics were written by Bert Reisfeld

Bert Reisfeld

Bert Reisfeld was a lyricist, noted for adapting lyrics to well-known songs either to or from English. The songs he wrote English lyrics for include:...

.

"It's Oh So Quiet" was covered by Björk

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...

 in 1995 and remains her biggest hit, reaching #4 in the UK and spending 15 weeks on the UK Singles Chart. Fuelled by the Spike Jonze

Spike Jonze

Spike Jonze is an American director, producer and actor, whose work includes music videos, commercials, film and television...

-directed music video

Music 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...

 clip, the single also shot Björk into the spotlight in Australia, where it reached #6. In the United Kingdom the single has been certified as Gold, having sold upwards of 400,000 copies. http://www.bpi.co.uk/platinum/platinumright.asp?rq=search_plat&r_id=20874

Music video

The music video

Music 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...

, directed by Spike Jonze

Spike Jonze

Spike Jonze is an American director, producer and actor, whose work includes music videos, commercials, film and television...

, which was shot in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

, features everything in slow motion as Björk sings the verses; during the riotous chorus, everything returns to regular speed and everyone near her dances along. Normal life resumes during the next verse with the return of slow motion. This thematic choice continues throughout the video.

The video begins as Björk emerges from an extremely dirty washroom in an auto shop. She dances along with the auto workers for the first chorus, then emerges from the shop. During the second chorus, she dances tap with a few people outside of the auto shop. Björk continues to walk along the street, dancing with an elderly woman and her umbrella before settling to rest on top of a mailbox for the final verse. The mailbox comes alive and dances along with Björk during this chorus. Björk then runs down the street and into the road, where the rest of the town has decided to join her for one large dance number. The video ends with Björk floating up above the townsfolk and hushing the viewer.

In October 2007, MuchMoreMusic placed "It's Oh So Quiet" as number 8 of the Top 40 Most Memorable Music Videos on Listed.

Track listing

UK CD1

(182TP7CD; Released: 1995)

1. "It's Oh So Quiet" – 3:40
2. "You've Been Flirting Again" (Flirt Is a Promise Mix) – 3:23
3. "Hyperballad" (Over the Edge Mix) – 4:33
4. "Sweet Sweet Intuition" – 6:07

UK CD2

(182TP7CDL; Released: November, 1995)

1. "It's Oh So Quiet" – 3:40
2. "Hyperballad" (Brodsky Quartet Version) – 4:21
3. "Hyperballad" (Girls Blouse Mix) – 5:07
4. "My Spine" – 2:33

EUR CD1

(577 509-2; Released: 1995)

1. "It's Oh So Quiet" – 3:38
2. "You've Been Flirting Again" (Flirt Is a Promise Mix) – 3:20
3. "Hyperballad" (Over the Edge Mix) – 4:31
4. "Sweet Sweet Intuition" – 6:06

EUR CD2

(577 511-2; Released: November, 1995)

1. "It's Oh So Quiet" – 3:41
2. "Hyperballad" (Brodsky Quartet Version) – 4:21
3. "Hyperballad" (Girls Blouse Mix) – 5:06
4. "My Spine" – 2:33

EUR CD promo

(MUMCD70DJ; Released: 1995)

1. "It's Oh So Quiet"

EUR VHS + CD promo

(Released: 1995)

VHS

1. "It's Oh So Quiet" (video)

CD promo
(MUMCD79DJ)

1. "It's Oh So Quiet"

AUS CD

(577 511-2; Released: 1995)

1. "It's Oh So Quiet" – 3:42
2. "Hyperballad" (Brodsky Quartet Version) – 4:21
3. "Hyperballad" (Girls Blouse Mix) – 5:06
4. "My Spine" – 2:33

US CD promo

(PRCD 9322-2; Released: 1995)

1. "It's Oh So Quiet" – 3:37

US CD promo

(64353-2; Released: 1995)

1. "It's Oh So Quiet"
2. "You've Been Flirting Again" (Icelandic Mix)

JPN CD

(POCP-7106; Released: 1995)

1. "It's Oh So Quiet" – 3:40
2. "Hyperballad" (Brodsky Quartet Version) – 4:21
3. "Hyperballad" (Girls Blouse Mix) – 5:06
4. "My Spine" – 2:33

Charts

Chart	Peak position
Australian Singles Chart	6
Belgian Singles Chart (Wallonia)	20
Belgian Singles Chart (Flanders Flanders Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp... )	28
Dutch Singles Chart	19
Finnish Singles Chart	5
Irish Singles Chart	7
New Zealand Singles Chart	28
Swedish Singles Chart	29
UK Singles Chart	4
US Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles The Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States. It lists the top 25 singles below number 100 that have not yet charted on the Billboard Hot 100. Sometimes, however, singles halt their progress on this chart, and never appear on the Hot 100...	9

External links

• List of "It's Oh So Quiet" releases