Isabelle: anti-war song with a human face
Singer Greg Johnson explains his 1991 hit and compilationalbum regular, Isabelle.
For years people have asked who Isabelle was. ‘‘It was the height of the Bosnian war and I remember seeing a TV interview with some kids who were stuck in Sarajevo at the height of the bombing and thinking how utterly removed from that situation we were in New Zealand, thankfully.
‘‘And I wondered what it would be like to sit down and chat to those kids: people who looked like us, and should have been having fun and playing music but were running the gauntlet of snipers. So essentially, it’s an anti-war song, but I wanted to give it a personal face. That’s kind of my schtick when it comes to songwriting: to take bigger pictures and bring them in close. That’s the only way you can really understand these things.
‘‘It was 1991, I would have been about 24, and I was staying at my mum’s place in Parnell, sitting at a piano pushed up against the apartment wall so I would get the bangs on the wall at midnight to stop playing. I remember it being one of those tunes that just came out in half an hour or so.
‘‘It was the same with the recording itself. We went into Bill Latimer’s old Lab studios and we were planning on recording something else entirely. I can’t remember what the other song was, but it wasn’t happening at all. I was mucking around on the piano playing a bit of Isabelle and band member Nigel Russell said ‘what’s that song? Why aren’t we doing that one?’ So we recorded it in a couple of hours. Sometimes you’re not the best judge of your own work.
‘‘The actor Rachel House sings the female part on the original. I can’t quite remember how we connected but she did a lovely job – she’s got a great voice. Over the years, different people have sung it – Lisa Crawley was in the band for a while – sometimes we would miss it out and the crowd would sing it back. It has endured. It seems to cross times and fashion, which is always good as a songwriter, it means you’ve done something right. I don’t get sick of playing it – I think I always try and give it a slightly different edge – I’m doing a different duet with Mel Parsons on our current tour.
‘‘I think it would be missing the point to become sick of stuff people want to hear. I’m always flattered when people want to hear that song. But actually my absolute favourite version is by an Irish band called Grada. An Irish New Zealand friend called Gerry Paul took it to them. I was utterly moved by it and thrilled they had done it. There’s a penny whistle at the end that is absolutely beautiful. You’re thrilled when people cover your songs. I wish it happened more. The bank would like more too.’’ ● Greg Johnson is on tour with Mel Parsons. Details: eventfinda.co.nz