Our Town is a 1940 film adaptation of a play of the same name by Thornton Wilder starring Martha Scott as Emily Webb, and William Holden as George Gibbs. The cast also included Fay Bainter, Beulah Bondi, Thomas Mitchell, Guy Kibbee and Frank Craven. It was adapted by Harry Chandlee, Craven and Wilder, and directed by Sam Wood.
The film was a faithful reproduction of the play except for two significant changes: the film used scenery, where the play had not, and the events of the third act, which in the play revolve around the death of one of the main characters, were turned into a dream that she awakens from, able to resume a normal life. Producer Sol Lesser worked with Wilder in creating these changes.
A radio adaptation of the film on Lux Radio Theater on May 6, 1940 with Davis and Scott, used the altered film ending.
The U.S. copyright of the film was not renewed after its first term expired in 1968, although because it is a derivative work from a play that is still under U.S. copyright, it cannot be said to be in the public domain.[citation needed]
I hear something in the sounds that surround me
That only seems to remind me
That I'm lost and longing for a different place and time
I wanna be walking down the avenue
Tall buildings staring down on me and you
But all I have is pictures running through my mind
Sunlight dying
People rushing madly all around
Sirens crying
Gotta grab the next thing back to our town
Before the whole thing crumbles to the ground
Do you remember the promise I gave you?
The one I swore I would hold to
You're there, I'm here and everything I said was wrong
So we're not out with the crowd nights
Not walking under the bright lights
All I can do is dream about it all night long
Sunlight dying
People rushing madly all around
Sirens crying
I gotta grab the next thing back to our town
Before the whole thing crumbles to the ground
It's the place where we keep our hopes and dreams
The place where I've lost my heart, it seems
All people looking for danger and romance
Drop by there while you still have a chance
'Cause it's all gonna tumble down
It's gonna shake apart and crumble to the ground
Do you remember the promise I gave you?
The one I swore I would hold to
You're there, I'm here and everything I said was wrong
So we're not out with the crowd nights
Not walking under the bright lights
All I can do is dream about it all night long
Sunlight dying
And people rushing madly all around
Sirens crying
Yeah, I gotta grab the next thing back to our town
Before the whole thing crumbles to the ground
Sunlight dying
Yeah, people rushing madly all around
Sirens crying
I gotta grab the next thing back to our town
Before the whole thing crumbles to the ground
Sunlight dying
People rushing madly all around
Sirens crying
Well, I gotta grab the next thing back to our town
Before the whole thing crumbles to the ground
Sunlight dying
Yeah, people rushing madly all around
Sirens crying
I gotta grab the next thing back to our town
Is that a guitar or a machine gun?
Don't make me take it away.
You know I think you are a bad one.
I can tell by your face.
G-G-G-Get down on the ground now.
Don't make me do this the hard way.
You're just a shadow in the back seat now,
As they drive you away.
And couldn't you see
This is no place to be
At the wrong time.
You know you're not the only one here
Looking for some at the wrong time.
And just that look in your eyes
You're just not quite uptight
Enough for our town.
And now don't try to fight
Because we know that we're right.
In our town.
Our town.
And it's just you behind the bars now
Staring into space.
There's time to think about each sound
And it's effect on your face.
Time to move you to the big cell.
You're all in this together now.
This is where the really big deals go down
Just like in the street behind the White House.
It's easy to see
This is no place to be
At the wrong time.
And there's a feeling in here
That spreads like a disease
That it's the wrong time.
Just got to look in our eyes
And it'll make you uptight
In our town.
And now the more that you fight
The more we know that we're right
In our town.
Our town.
Now don't you worry about your dinner, son.
That's about the last thing on my mind.
You know it ain't gonna be a pretty one.
What did you expect to find?
I've got some white bread,
Cheese spread,
And some mayonnaise.
I've got some white bread,
Cheese spread,
And some mayonnaise.
The judge can't see you quite yet.
This has been a busy week for us.
Friday was a big bust.
We're just trying to clean these streets up.
Couldn't you see
That's just no place to be
At the wrong time.
I think you mother
Should have never let you out at the wrong time.
We caught you looking at us
And we're gonna bust you up
In our town.
And you know everybody's gonna watch you
Go straight down
In our town.
Et quand nous aurons fait le tour de nos ultimes projets
Quand nous apprendrons à aimer nos
In our town, murders, happen everyday
When the temperature, rises they open the hydrants, and let the children play
In our town, friday, is payroll day
The taverns open, the sun goes down, the neon signs make a grand display
In our town, murders, happen everyday
There are whores walking the streets
They ain't pretty and they ain't cheap
We've got cops walking the beat
Stopping all the strangers they meet
Tn our town, martyrs, hang from the gallows pole
Newsboys cry on every corner, some high and mighty, has been brought low
In our town, friends, gather on the boulevard
The merchants are fat and happy, the beggar's life is hard
In our town, martyrs, hang in the gallows yard
There are guns, guns - banging on the door of flesh
There are guns, guns - the fire and smoke scratch my breath
There are guns, guns - and empty eyes staring up in death
There are guns, guns - banging on the door of flesh in our town
Muezzins, call form the minarets
Monks bow before their beggar bowls
While christians smoke their cigarettes
In our town, prophets, warn of a judgement day
Young girls hang out of window sills, a flowery frame for their charms' display
In our town, the river, smells of oil and shit
A hundred cranes stand in the harbour, loading a hundred ships
In our town a thousand tongues speak from a thousand lips
We've got whores walking the streets
Stopping all the strangers they meet
We've got cops walking the beat
They ain't pretty and they ain't cheap
In our town, the skyline, is like a mountain range
The streets are wind swept canyons, the central park is a grassy plain
In our town, the saints, smile down on festival days
In tropical plumage, the black girls dance for the king of the big parade
In our town, the bosses, curse the working man
Husbands curse their wives, and then they raise their hands
(Refrains)
In our town the sirens answer to 911
Another soul is flying free from another mother's son
In our town, the bodies, are cremated by the riverside
Up to the morning sun they rise
The flames, the smoke, the widow's cries
A stain of ashes, soot and sparks upon the dawning, rosy light
we were all that we had
and we were thicker than blood
we would spend all our time
in my room dreaming of
all the things we would do
when it came time to leave
I still hear your voice singing Stand By Me
promises made over records we played
they were ingrained in my soul
till the heart till the grave
now you're changing your mind
just like we didn't exist
it's 11: 11 and I'm making this wish, OUR TOWN
I can't understand what you're trying to say
I reach out my hand and you turn me away
that's why I have to
I can't understand what you're trying to say
I reach out my hand and you turn me away
that's why I have to
go far away where I am destined to be
and you are destined to be by my side can't you see
you can just run away from the things that you hate
and you're not giving up, you're just going away
on trip that's forever, try the rest of your life
forget next year, go tonight, go tonight
there is nothing but hurt here and let me downs
I'm not gonna watch you drown, OUR TOWN
I can't understand what you're trying to say
I reach out my hand and you turn me away
that's why I have to
I can't understand what you're trying to say
I reach out my hand and you turn me away
that's why I have to
I will remember you for what you were not are
I will remember you like a ceiling star
will you remember me when you pass my house
remember the night that we once snuck out
to the tracks that night when I promised you
I WOULD MARRY YOU, I WOULD MARRY YOU
I said you're all that I have, you are in my blood
I thought it was love but I guess it was just
OUR TOWN
I can't understand what you're trying to say
I reach out my hand and you turn me away
that's why I have to
I can't understand what you're trying to say
I reach out my hand and you turn me away
You will like the folks you meet - in our town
The folks you meet on any street - in our town
Pick out any cottage - white or brown
They're all so appealing - with that lived in feeling
You will like the shady lanes - in our town
The music of the passing trains - in our town
You will lose your heart - I promise you
In this - our two-by-four town
Welcome - on the door town
Stop drinkin' coffee
Start drinkin' tea
This life I'm living
Is gonna be the death of me
I believe in miracles and
I believe in love
Freedom first for all concerned
'Cause you gotta be careful
Living in a pop out world
I don't have much money but what I've got
Is all mine
It's not a lot
You can have your mansion
And your gold
I'll take my freedom
And my soul
'Cause you gotta be careful
Living in a pop out world
Big tv game show
Breakin' the bank
Paranoia struck
I couldn't think
Good thing I was dreaming
I might've been upset
Now I know the answer
It's the question I forget
'Cause you've got to be careful
Living in a pop out world
Start watching people
Stop watching tv
Can't read your mind
But I know what I see
I like 'em fat while
You like 'em thin
You ask where I'm coming from when
I don't know where I've been
'Cause you gotta be careful
Living in a pop out world
Stop drinkin' coffee
Start drinkin' tea
This life I'm living
Is gonna be the death of me
I believe in miracles and
I believe in love
Freedom first for all concerned
'Cause you gotta be careful
Long ago, but not so very long ago
The world was different, oh yes it was
You settled down and you built a town and made it live
And you watched it grow
It was your town
Time goes by, time brings changes, you change, too
Nothing comes that you can't handle, so on you go
Never see it coming, the world caves in on you
On your town
Nothing you can do.
Main street isn't main street anymore
Lights don't shine as brightly as they shone before
Tell the truth, lights don't shine at all
In our town
Sun comes up each morning
Just like it's always done
Get up, go to work, start the day,
Open up for business that's never gonna come
As the world rolls by a million miles away
Main street isn't main street anymore
No one seems to need us like they did before
It's hard to find a reason left to stay
But it's our town
Love it anyway
OK hey I'm going outside
You can put the plate back on the shelf
And it's cold though the snow isn't falling
The neighbor can speak for itself
And the cold hard look in your eyes
Is more than a line in the sand
When the truth gets hard to imagine
The hours get harder to stand
He's a seasick terminal passenger
Singing this song to himself
'Till the store bought soul on his skeleton
Sinks into somebody else
He's a see saw
Calm in the storm
A hurricane after the war
When he drinks all blood you can offer
He still wants more
Landing planes
And rumbling trains
Are shaking the ground in our town again
Thought it twice
And kicking the ice
I got turned back around and singing
Everything's gonna be fine
I'm sure that we'll both be
OK hey I'm backing outside
Just put the plate back on the shelf
And it's cold though the snow isn't falling
The temperature speaks for itself
It's a moonlit reason to quit
And nobody answers the phone
But if there's still blood left in your body
And you know the sun's settin' fast,
And just like they say, nothing good ever lasts.
Well, go on now and kiss it goodbye,
But hold on to your lover,
'Cause your heart's bound to die.
Go on now and say goodbye to our town, to our town.
Can't you see the sun's settin' down on our town, on
our town,
Goodnight.
Up the street beside that red neon light,
That's where I met my baby on one hot summer night.
He was the tender and I ordered a beer,
It's been forty years and I'm still sitting here.
But you know the sun's settin' fast,
And just like they say, nothing good ever lasts.
Well, go on now and kiss it goodbye,
But hold on to your lover,
'Cause your heart's bound to die.
Go on now and say goodbye to our town, to our town.
Can't you see the sun's settin' down on our town, on
our town,
Goodnight.
It's here I had my babies and I had my first kiss.
I've walked down Main Street in the cold morning mist.
Over there is where I bought my first car.
It turned over once but then it never went far.
And I can see the sun's settin' fast,
And just like they say, nothing good ever lasts.
Well, go on now and kiss it goodbye,
But hold on to your lover,
'Cause your heart's bound to die.
Go on now and say goodbye to our town, to our town.
Can't you see the sun's settin' down on our town, on
our town,
Goodnight.
I buried my Mama and I buried my Pa.
They sleep up the street beside that pretty brick wall.
I bring them flowers about every day,
but I just gotta cry when I think what they'd say.
If they could see how the sun's settin' fast,
And just like they say, nothing good ever lasts.
Well, go on now and kiss it goodbye,
But hold on to your lover,
'Cause your heart's bound to die.
Go on now and say goodbye to our town, to our town.
Can't you see the sun's settin' down on our town, on
our town,
Goodnight.
Now I sit on the porch and watch the lightning-bugs
fly.
But I can't see too good, I got tears in my eyes.
I'm leaving tomorrow but I don't wanna go.
I love you, my town, you'll always live in my soul.
But I can see the sun's settin' fast,
And just like they say, nothing good ever lasts.
Well, go on, I gotta kiss you goodbye,
But I'll hold to my lover,
'Cause my heart's 'bout to die.
Go on now and say goodbye to my town, to my town.
I can see the sun has gone down on my town, on my town,
Goodnight.
Written by Ricky & Marty Wilde
This is your town, this is my place
This is where my whole world is lived in
Nothing much, and just out of reach of all the city lights
It's a high town, it's a low town
It's get here, come on you grow town
No-one does, but everyone thinks they're gonna make it soon
This is one place I respected
Now I feel it's really dejected
No-one cares and the people just stare
And a man on the box says
";Hey you, don't walk away, vote for me
You'll get more pay, keep working hard";
But they work slow
Here it comes now, Sunday morning
Just another sleepy town yawning
Down below everything looks just like another day
But, in the warm glow of the sunrise
There's a child who's searching with young eyes
Looking 'round and feeling inside he's gonna fly away
There was one time I was leaving
But the folks around me kept grieving
Friends said go, but my dad said no
And my mum kept saying
";Don't go, don't go away
Don't leave us, you've got to stay
Just raise them kids, oh mother no";
No prospects, just projects
Don't try to tell me we're living
There's no real need to try
Can't you see this town gonna die
Hail the new age, it's a rat cage
Join the place for breeding dumb spieces
All stacked up and doing whatever someone tells you to
Burn the place down, make it dead ground
Show the people just what they're missing
Wake up, wake up, can't you believe in what I'm telling you
There's a house where I was born in
Now it's changed without any warning
Cranes just crash and bricks just smash
While a billboard's saying
";Let's go, let's get away
Come fly me, you've weeks to pay
When sunshine calls, but I won't go
This is our town
Up the street beside the red neon light
That's where I met my baby on a hot summers night
He was the tender and I ordered a beer
It's been forty years and I'm still sat here.
Can't you see the sun's sinking fast
And just like they say, nothing good ever lasts
Well, go on then and kiss it goodbye
But hold on to your lover 'cause your heart's gonna
die.
Go on now and say goodbye to our town, to our town
Can't you see the sun's going down on our town, on our
town
Goodnight.
It's where I met my baby and I had my first kiss
I've walked up Main street in the cold morning mist
Over there is where I bought my first car
I turned it over once now it won't go far.
Can't you see the sun's sinking fast
And just like they say, nothing good ever lasts
Well, go on then and kiss it goodbye
But hold on to your lover 'cause your heart's gonna
die.
Go on now and say goodbye to our town, to our town
Can't you see the sun's going down on our town, on our
town
Goodnight.
Sat here on the poarch I see the lightning bugs fly
I can't see too well for the tears in my eyes
I leave tomorrow and I don't want to go
Oh I love you my town you'll always live in my soul.
I can see the sun's sinking fast
And just like you've said, nothing good ever lasts
Well, go on I've got to kiss you goodbye
But I'll hold to my lover 'cause my heart's gonna die.
Go on then and say goodbye to my town, to my town
Can't you see the sun's going down on my town, on my
town
I can see the sun's sinking fast
And just like you've said, nothing good ever lasts
Well, go on I've got to kiss you goodbye
But I'll hold to my lover 'cause my heart's just died.
Go on then and say goodbye to my town, to my town
I can see the sun's gone down on my town, on my town
Goodnight.
Goodnight
And you know the sun's settin' fast,
And just like they say, nothing good ever lasts.
Well, go on now and kiss it goodbye,
But hold on to your lover,
'Cause your heart's bound to die.
Go on now and say goodbye to our town, to our town.
Can't you see the sun's settin' down on our town, on our town,
Goodnight.
Up the street beside that red neon light,
That's where I met my baby on one hot summer night.
He was the tender and I ordered a beer,
It's been forty years and I'm still sitting here.
But you know the sun's settin' fast,
And just like they say, nothing good ever lasts.
Well, go on now and kiss it goodbye,
But hold on to your lover,
'Cause your heart's bound to die.
Go on now and say goodbye to our town, to our town.
Can't you see the sun's settin' down on our town, on our town,
Goodnight.
It's here I had my babies and I had my first kiss.
I've walked down Main Street in the cold morning mist.
Over there is where I bought my first car.
It turned over once but then it never went far.
And I can see the sun's settin' fast,
And just like they say, nothing good ever lasts.
Well, go on now and kiss it goodbye,
But hold on to your lover,
'Cause your heart's bound to die.
Go on now and say goodbye to our town, to our town.
Can't you see the sun's settin' down on our town, on our town,
Goodnight.
I buried my Mama and I buried my Pa.
They sleep up the street beside that pretty brick wall.
I bring them flowers about every day,
but I just gotta cry when I think what they'd say.
If they could see how the sun's settin' fast,
And just like they say, nothing good ever lasts.
Well, go on now and kiss it goodbye,
But hold on to your lover,
'Cause your heart's bound to die.
Go on now and say goodbye to our town, to our town.
Can't you see the sun's settin' down on our town, on our town,
Goodnight.
Now I sit on the porch and watch the lightning-bugs fly.
But I can't see too good, I got tears in my eyes.
I'm leaving tomorrow but I don't wanna go.
I love you, my town, you'll always live in my soul.
But I can see the sun's settin' fast,
And just like they say, nothing good ever lasts.
Well, go on, I gotta kiss you goodbye,
But I'll hold to my lover,
'Cause my heart's 'bout to die.
Go on now and say goodbye to my town, to my town.
I can see the sun has gone down on my town, on my town,
Goodnight.