Petula Clark doesn’t consider “Downtown” to be “jolly” music. In addition, she said the track is partly about loneliness. Notably, the track helped her become one of the most successful female singers of the 1960s.
How Petula Clark feels about ‘Downtown’ after performing the song countless times
During a 2013 interview with Songfacts, Clark was asked to discuss which of her songs were interesting to her. “Well, this is going to sound really corny, something like ‘Downtown,’” she said. “I don’t know how many times I’ve sung the song, let’s face it. And over the years the images have changed in my head. When I re-recorded it for Lost in You, it was interesting.
“I had never thought of ‘Downtown’ as a jolly song about going out and having a good time,” she continued. “I’ve always thought there was this loneliness and there’s even a slight feeling of desperation in it. I suppose it keeps songs fresh for me if I see them or feel them in a different way.”
Petula Clark discussed whether the song is about a specific city
Clark was asked if she interpreted “Downtown” as being about a specific city. “No,” she replied. “It’s usually a general image of the sense of getting out and seeing something else. This idea of being alone … I’ve been there.
“I have my down days when I’m feeling alone and a bit sorry for myself,” Clark added. “And the best thing to do if you can is just to get out there and think about something else.” Clark said it’s not good to get too hooked on “solitude and sadness.”
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Clark was asked if the writer of “Downtown,” Tony Hatch, had a certain city in mind when he penned the track. She said Hatch was thinking about New York City. In addition, she said the term “Downtown” didn’t have the same meaning in her native England than it had in the United States.
What makes ‘Downtown’ such a great song that made its singer an international star
If there is a desperate element in “Downtown,” it’s partly because of Clark’s vocal performance. She sings the track like a musical theater star, giving it a whopping emotionality. A song about going downtown is an unusual idea, but Clark sells it.
The American public rewarded Clark for her great singing. “Downtown” became her first No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100. She went on to have eight more top 20 hits during the 1960s. One of them was a second No. 1 single: the energetic love song “My Love.” Of all the British female artists to cross over to the American pop charts during the British Invasion, Clark seems to have become the most popular.
“Downtown” inspired covers by notable singers such a Dolly Parton, Irene Cara, and Anya Taylor-Joy. Taylor-Joy’s cover was far more ominous than the original track. Notably, the lyrics of “Downtown” became a plot point in the Seinfeld episode “The Bottle Deposit.”
“Downtown” isn’t the happiest song ever written — and that’s part of what makes it great.
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