Harold and Maude - If You Want to Sing Out

If you know me, you'll know that when I find something to passionately obsess about, I tend to go all out. One of my more recent obsessions has been the singer-songwriter Cat Stevens. This new-found infatuation can be linked directly to my unending love of vinyl records. You haven't experienced music until you've heard "Teaser and the Firecat" on vinyl. It will blow your mind. (I think I just used up my allotted "Hippie-points" for the month).

A second obsession of mine has become the 1971 Hal Ashby film "Harold and Maude". This movie is dark, and dramatic, and funny, and if you haven't seen it, make a point to do so.

So what do these two things have in common? Funny you should ask. Get this - Cat Stevens wrote and performs the amazing soundtrack to, you guessed it, "Harold and Maude"!

The anchor song of the film is Cat Steven's anthem for personal independence, "If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out." Give it a listen here. (I promise, you'll be glad you did)

See? Wasn't that awesome? Anyway, this song is featured a few times throughout the film, but perhaps the most iconic moment is... SPOILER ALERT... right after Harold drives his car off the cliff and stands on the edge with his banjo in hand. He slowly walks away strumming the tune as the soundtrack fades in and the credits roll. Absolutely perfect.

You can view a clip of the scene in question here. (Starts at around the 2:45 mark)

Inspired by all of these wonderful things, I made this print.

(Click image for full size - it will look much better)

I hope you like it!

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