| "Vincent" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Cover art ofUK vinyl release, also used for theUS,Italian,Japanese,Portuguese, andNew Zealand releases | ||||
| Single byDon McLean | ||||
| from the albumAmerican Pie | ||||
| B-side | "Castles in the Air" | |||
| Released | February 1972[1] | |||
| Genre | Folk rock[2] | |||
| Length | 3:55 | |||
| Label | United Artists Records,BGO Records | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Don McLean | |||
| Producer(s) | Ed Freeman | |||
| Don McLean singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music videos | ||||
| Vincent onYouTube, by Don McLean. (3:58 minutes, with lyrics) | ||||
| Vincent onYouTube, by Don McLean. Live performance (1972). (3:57 minutes) | ||||
"Vincent" is a song byDon McLean, written as a tribute toVincent van Gogh. Its commonly known opening lyric, "Starry, Starry Night", is a reference to Van Gogh's 1889 paintingThe Starry Night.
McLean wrote the lyrics in 1970 after reading a book about the life of Van Gogh.[3] It was released on McLean's 1971American Pie album; the following year, the song topped theUK Singles Chart for two weeks,[4] and peaked at No. 12 in the United States,[5] where it also hit No. 2 on theEasy Listening chart.[6]Billboard ranked it as theNo. 94 song for 1972.
The song makes use mainly of theguitar, but also includes theaccordion,marimba, andviolin.
A new, longer recording of the song was released in McLean's 1992 albumClassics.
In July 2020, the original handwritten lyrics went up for sale for $1.5 million.[7]
McLean said the following about the genesis of the song:
"In the autumn of 1970 I had a job singing in the school system, playing my guitar in classrooms. I was sitting on the veranda one morning, reading a biography of Van Gogh, and suddenly I knew I had to write a song arguing that he wasn't crazy. He had an illness and so did his brother Theo. This makes it different, in my mind, to the garden variety of 'crazy' – because he was rejected by a woman [as was commonly thought]. So I sat down with a print ofStarry Night and wrote the lyrics out on a paper bag."[3]
The Telegraph wrote, "With its bittersweet palette of major and minor chords, "Vincent"'s soothing melody is one of high emotion recollected in tranquillity".[3]Record World called the song "artful", saying that "the Vincent Van Gogh story is told with melody and poetry."[8]Cash Box called it "another of those tunes for people who like to pick apart lyrics and messages.[9]AllMusic retrospectively described the song as "McLean'spaean to Van Gogh ... sympathiz[ing] with Van Gogh's suicide as a sane comment on an insane world."[10] The site also said McLean performs "a particularly poignant rendition" of "Vincent" on the 2001 live albumStarry, Starry Night.[11]
The song was a particular favorite of the rapper and actorTupac Shakur, and it was played to him at theUniversity Medical Center of Southern Nevada, the hospital that he was admitted to just beforehe died of gunshot wounds from a drive-by shooting.[3]
English musicianJake Bugg credited hearing the song inan episode ofThe Simpsons as his formative musical moment.[12]
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
|
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Canada (Music Canada)[30] | Platinum | 80,000‡ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ)[31] | Platinum | 30,000‡ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[32] | Gold | 400,000‡ |
| United States (RIAA)[33] | Platinum | 1,000,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
Jane Olivor recorded the song for her 1976 album releaseFirst Night.
Julio Iglesias covered the song in his 1990 albumStarry Night.
In 1996, a punk rock cover byNOFX was published on the compilation albumSurvival of the Fattest by the record labelFat Wreck Cords.[34]
Josh Groban recorded a version on his 2001 self-titledalbum.
Rick Astley released a cover version on his 2005 albumPortrait.
Akiko Yano recorded a cover version for her 2010 albumMusic Hall (音楽堂).
Marina Prior recorded the song for her 2012 albumBoth Sides Now.
Lianne La Havas recorded a cover for the soundtrack album and credits of the 2017 filmLoving Vincent.
In December 2017,James Blake performed a live piano-backed cover atConway Studios, Los Angeles.[35]
Ellie Goulding released a cover of the song onValentine's Day 2018, apologizing to her fans about delays in her recording projects.[36] McLean tweeted Goulding, saying "'Vincent' is not an easy song to sing and you sing it very beautifully."[37] She included her cover in her 2020Songbook for ChristmasEP.
Sophia Kruithof covered the song in her blind audition forThe Voice of Holland season 10, which she would go on to win.[38]
