Open Up Your Heart (And Let The Sunshine In)
"Open up Your Heart (and Let the Sunshine in)" is a popular song. It was written by Stuart Hamblen. The song was published in 1954.
The biggest hit version in the United States was a recording by the Cowboy Church Sunday School (peaking at #8 on the Billboard charts); in the United Kingdom, by Joan Regan and her son Rusty. Another US recording was made by the McGuire Sisters.
When the Cowboy Church Sunday School version is played at normal speed, 45 rpm, the vocal sounds unnaturally high. When played at 33⅓ rpm the vocal sounds more natural. In fact the song was recorded at that speed by Stuart Hamblen's wife and adult daughters, so that when played at 45rpm it sounds as if it is being sung by children.
The version sung by The Cowboy Church Sunday School was featured twice in the John Waters film A Dirty Shame. The song was first used as an angelic juxtaposition to the intolerant concept of NIMBY. It was later used satirically in a scene depicting the religious aspects of 12-step programs.
The melody of the chorus section is identical for its first two measures to the published version of Aloha Oe by Princess Lili`uokalani (1878), and There's Music In the Air by George F. Root (1854), and all three share the same chord progression IV-I-V-I.
Read more about Open Up Your Heart (And Let The Sunshine In): Covers
Famous quotes containing the words open and/or heart:
“Jesus Christ belonged to the true race of the prophets. He saw with an open eye the mystery of the soul. Drawn by its severe harmony, ravished with its beauty, he lived in it, and had his being there. Alone in all history he estimated the greatness of man.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“One enemy, of many, who knows well
Your heart is luminous
In the watched dark, quivering through locks and caves,
Will pull the thunderbolts
To shut the sun, plunge, mount your darkened keys....”
—Dylan Thomas (1914–1953)