This Is My Song (1967 song)
“This Is My Song” is a song written by Charlie Chaplin in 1966 and performed by Petula Clark.
“This is My Song” was intended for the film, A Countess from Hong Kong, which Charlie Chaplin wrote and directed. Chaplin saw his film as a throwback to the shipboard romances which were popular in the 1930s and wrote “This Is My Song” with the intent of evoking that era: to reinforce the evocation Chaplin was determined to have Al Jolson sing the song – so determined that he only accepted the information that Jolson had died 23 October 1950 when shown a photograph of Jolson’s tombstone. Ultimately, the song would be featured in the film only as an instrumental.
After being disillusioned with regard to Jolson, Chaplin considered having “This Is My Song” recorded by Petula Clark who had a home in Switzerland near his residence. Clark’s husband/manager Claud Wolf – at the time with Clark in Reno NV – received a copy of “This Is My Song” in September 1966, and liked the song which he felt had special potential for success in Germany.
However, Clark’s regular collaborator Tony Hatch was not impressed with the song, and refused Wolf’s invitation to arrange it for Clark to record; ultimately Ernie Freeman arranged the song and Sonny Burke produced the session – at Western Studios in Los Angeles.
Clark did not wish to record the song in English as she disliked the deliberately old-fashioned lyrics, which Chaplin refused to modify; however after the translated versions of the song had been recorded, there happened to be some time remaining on the session which Burke coaxed Clark to use to record Chaplin’s lyrics. The recording session featured the backing of the Wrecking Crew.
Petula Clark’s “This Is My Song” was No. 1 for three weeks in Ireland and six weeks in Australia, with chart topping rankings also achieved in Rhodesia, South Africa and on the Dutch charts for both the Netherlands and Belgium. “This Is My Song” also earned hit status in India (#5), New Zealand (#15) and Norway (#6).