Interview with composer David Arnold and lyricist Don Black
Category: Press Pack ArticleWas it an easy decision for you both to come back, having done The Tiger Who Came To Tea?
DB Yes, we had such a such a great time with Tiger. Both of these projects were a dream, especially for a lyricist. It's a very specific brief and we're happy with these people – they're lovely producers.
DA I'd have been really annoyed if they’d asked someone else, and we had such a lovely time doing Tiger. It's not very often you get to do things which are cross-generational. Every year I get a flurry of emails and texts from people whose kids are just getting to the age where they can watch it and they all basically say the same thing: either that they go around singing the song all day or they've had to watch it 16 times in a row. Mog is the other cornerstone of a lot of people's childhoods in terms of books. When you get a chance to work on the film, it takes you back to the days when you were reading them to your kids as well. You're in touch with something from the past and bringing it a little further into the future as well. It's a lovely thing to be asked to do.
DB They’re irresistible characters and the story has such a warm family feeling, it’s a delight.
What excited you both most about doing this one?
DB The opportunity to work together. I went out and bought the Mog books and thought a good song could be written about this, because it's about togetherness. Mog is a lovable rogue, which is the thing I like about cats. Someone once said to me: they’re untrainable. There’s something reckless about them. Trying to get all these components together and make a song out of it is fun. Stephen Sondheim said that writing lyrics is agonising fun, which says it all – I think it’s exactly right.
DA Another phrase that Don introduced me to is that inspiration is for amateurs. You can wait a long time to be inspired by something, but when this sort of thing is put in front of you, everything floods in because there's so much to work with, visually and lyrically. It's just a matter of taking a stand on it. Don's main thing is: what's it going to be about? That's true of the film as well, because you can talk about what it's going to look like or who's in the cast, but at the heart of music and the lyrics is asking what it’s actually about, then finding a poetic way of presenting that. The song is happening with a cat spending the night on a roof of the house, and the challenge is to find a way into that.
DB I think we got into the crux of it. If you had to sum this up in one word, the word would be belonging. That is the word we started off thinking about for the song, because Mog is loved. She's not always there, but she's happiest when she's with this family. That’s a universal thought.
Did you see any of the rough animation to steer you a little bit?
DA I saw some things. But if you read the book, that's all you need. You can rely on (director) Robin Shaw to create the book entirely in an animated form. It completely feels like the book, even though there are extra scenes because obviously the book is quite short. But at no point do you think: what's that doing there? Instead, the hair stands up on the back of your neck. They did the same with Tiger – they've recreated the memory of the book and what it felt like. Because we had such a nice time last time, we were given a long leash with music and the song. They like people that they work with to come in with a particular take on it, something that might be a surprise. Robin’s always got a good idea about the tone and the feel which is always helpful when I'm writing film music. And Don is no stranger to writing songs about animals. He’s done a tiger (Hey Tiger!), a rat (Ben), and now a cat …
DB Don’t forget the lion in Born Fee! You're quite right to mention tone. You feel warm and joyful when you read the book, so that has to be in the back of your head somewhere. I think we've captured it in this song, if I may say so. We got what we were hoping for.
DA And it’s Christmas in addition to having the character you love, the family you love, the situation you love. It’s a great big hug of a thing, so the song needs to embrace that so you swoon a little bit within it. As I said to Sophie (Ellis-Bextor) this needs someone who can be the cat: vulnerable, childlike, innocent, lovely, warm. She's a mother, she’s read these books and understands the character. My only direction was to do it like she’s singing it to her children at night. It's a small thing, but it becomes a big warm thing as a result.
Why did you think of Sophie to sing the song?
DA Sometimes the search for a singer is a bit like casting a song. It’s more than just the sound of the voice, it's whether or not someone can understand and empathise. Sophie is very family oriented, she's has got children from four to 19, so she understands family dynamics and what it is to have these shared experiences at Christmas. You can deliver a song in a certain way, but when you're being asked to not really sing it out but to find that in the smallest way possible, those experiences are hugely important. She's a lovely singer and a lovely person. I've known her for a while and done a couple of things with her which always helps. It's joyful having her in a room, which goes a long way because, you want to enjoy the process as well. I think Sophie and Mog together will be wonderful.
DB Speaking lyrically, I always go for the storyteller. I just want to believe it, and Sophie can do that. You want to hang on every comma with that kind of song. You want to know what happens next.
DA I think it is really annoyingly catchy. It might be worse than Hey Tiger!