On Bud Cort, Cat Stevens and “Jim at the Corner”
Harold and Maude is the kind of cinema that draws you in for the storyline and keeps you there for the beating heart. It’s a film unapologetically of its time – the wardrobe, cinematography and Cat Stevens soundtrack place it firmly in the 70s – but its themes of joy and redemption resonate now more than ever. – The Guardian
By Mike Stevenson | WRIU.org
I bought Cat Stevens’ record album ‘”Teaser and the Fire Cat” as a Christmas gift for my sister Paula in 1972. Many years later, I regifted it to myself after Paula had discarded her records and turntable. I played “Teaser” on my turntable last night and despite the crackle and pops, it still delights.
Every track on “Teaser” is excellent, my favorite songs being “If I Laugh,” and “How Can I Tell You.” The album also featured three major hits, “Peace Train,” “Moonshadow,” and “Morning Has Broken”
Farjeon’s tales of talking sea serpents and stew-eating chimpanzees bring the far near and turn ordinary weather into an astronomical adventure. With pen-and-ink illustrations by the maritime master artist Edward Ardizzone, Jim at the Corner is an old-fashioned adventure for the eyes and the ears. – NY Review of Books
“Morning Has Broken” has extra meaning for me. The lyrics were written in 1931 to an even-older Gaelic tune, by one Eleanor Farjeon. Farjeon was a poet and also an author of children’s books. I used to read Farjeon’s book Jim at the Corner to my daughter Caleigh at her bedside. The book’s main character “Jim” tells tall tales to children at a street corner in his village.
His best story is when “Jim” marries a penguin and becomes their king. Hilariously odd, could anything be more of a contrast to the solemn hymnlike “Morning Has Broken,” than the idea of marrying a penguin? Whenever I hear “Morning Has Broken,” I then think of Eleanor Farjeon, and then Jim marrying a penguin, and then my little Caleigh snuggled in bed.
On the track “Rubylove” (Cat’s nod to his Greek heritage) he features traditional bouzouki and sings a verse in his Cypress-born father’s native language.
And thank god for Greeks! Lamb souvlaki, dark olives, John Casevette’s movies, Platonic relationships, Nana Mouskouri, and especially Cat Stevens.
Some 30 years ago, I remember singing “If I Laugh” with my friend Mike Monti over more than one bottle of wine at an outdoor cafe in Siena. What an evening that was, concluded by kicking a soccer ball with children in Piazza del Campo!
I remember first first seeing the film Harold and Maude at Warwick Mall (1972 or ’73) with my pal Tommy Tanner. The movie’s soundtrack features Cat’s music throughout. The song “Trouble” plays during one of the most brilliantly edited film sequences ever, with no dialogue – only Cat’s music. The lyric “Trouble – please be kind…” was written for Tommy and me.
Bud Court, the actor who portrayed “Harold” in the film, passed away a few days ago. “All the wrong people are dying,” I seem to say far too often these days.
To Eleanor Farjeon, and especially to Cat Stevens; thank you for these precious memories.
Rest in Peace, Bud Cort (March 29, 1948 – February 11, 2026)
“It’s best not to be too moral. You miss out on too much life.” – Maude