The Poem Behind Nick Mulvey's 'Cucurucu'

'Cucurucu' by Nick Mulvey is probably my absolute favourite song in the world and if you haven't already, the video is up above and you should definitely have a listen!

This is the beautiful poem that the song is based on, which can be found in the 'Creative Writing' section on this site:

Piano - By D.H.Lawrence

Softly, in the dusk, a woman is singing to me;

Taking me back down the vista of years, till I see

A child sitting under the piano, in the boom of the tingling strings

And pressing the small, poised feet of a mother who smiles as she sings.

In spite of myself, the insidious mastery of song

Betrays me back, till the heart of me weeps to belong

To the old Sunday evenings at home, with winter outside

And hymns in the cosy parlour, the tinkling piano our guide.

So now it is vain for the singer to burst into clamour

With the great black piano appassionato. The glamour

Of childish days is upon me, my manhood is cast

Down in the flood of remembrance, I weep like a child for the past.

Mulvey told The Cambridge News that the song's title is meaningless. "It's meant to be a noise a child would make," he explained. "It might relate to a bird sound too. It's actually quite similar to the noise they make in France for a cockerel. You know how we say 'cock-a-doodle-do'? Over there it's like that Cucurucu." "At its core it's my adaptation of DH Lawrence's poem Piano," Mulvey added. "The poem depicts a child under the piano, smiling as its mother sings, so I thought it would be lovely to have a song within the song. So I'm singing in her voice, really, and then I got the chorus about 'yearning to belong', so it's not just putting his words to my music. At first I was bothered by that, because I didn't think I should've changed it, but I've got used to it."

In this video, Mulvey talks about why he picked the tune and words that he did, and you can also learn how to play the magical song.

Now go and listen!