"Round Every Corner", with words and music by

Tony Hatch Anthony Peter Hatch (born 30 June 1939) is an English composer for musical theatre and television. He is also a songwriter, pianist, arranger and producer. Early life and early career Hatch was born in Pinner, Middlesex. Encouraged by his mu ...

, is a single release by

Petula Clark Sally "Petula" Clark (born 15 November 1932) is a British singer, actress, and songwriter. She started her professional career as a child actor, child performer and has had the longest career of any British entertainer, spanning more than 85 y ...

released in 1965. Described by Clark herself as "an anti-protest song", "Round Every Corner" employs the musical structure of a children's

singing game A singing game is an activity based on a particular verse or rhyme, usually associated with a set of actions and movements. As a collection, they have been studied by folklorists, ethnologists, and psychologists and are seen as important part o ...

to present its message of

optimism Optimism is the Attitude (psychology), attitude or mindset of expecting events to lead to particularly positive, favorable, desirable, and hopeful outcomes. A common idiom used to illustrate optimism versus pessimism is Is the glass half empty ...

. It reached No. 21 on ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in the US.

Background

The song was produced by Tony Hatch. It was recorded in July 1965 at the Pye Studios in

Marble Arch The Marble Arch is a 19th-century white marble-faced triumphal arch in London, England. The structure was designed by John Nash in 1827 as the state entrance to the cour d'honneur of Buckingham Palace; it stood near the site of what is today th ...

. The personnel on the recording session included guitarist

Big Jim Sullivan James George Tomkins (14 February 1941 – 2 October 2012), known professionally as Big Jim Sullivan, was an English guitarist. Best known as a session guitarist, he was one of the most in-demand studio musicians in the UK in the 1960s ...

. The previous Petula Clark single "You'd Better Come Home" had evinced a sharp decline in the chart fortunes established by her breakout hit "

Downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in American and Canadian English to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ( ...

". "Round Every Corner" would virtually duplicate the precedent single's chart placings in both the US, where "You'd Better Come Home" and "Round Every Corner" respectively peaked at No. 22 and No. 21, and in the UK. The UK fall-off was more severe - the respective peaks being No. 44 and No. 43. The 1967 album release ''Pet Project'' by the Bob Florence Big Band features an instrumental version of "Round Every Corner", the album being devoted to songs associated with Petula Clark.

Other versions

Clark recorded different versions of "Round Every Corner" in other languages. She recorded the song in French: "Va Toujours Plus Loin" ("Always go farther"), and in Italian: "Gocce di mare" ("Drops in the ocean"). Although Clark had been recording successfully in German regularly since 1962, no German version of "Round Every Corner" was recorded by herself. Instead, Israeli singer and actress Carmela Corren recorded the song in German as "Heut' oder morgen" ("Today Or Tomorrow").

Charts

References

{{Authority control Petula Clark songs 1965 singles Songs written by Tony Hatch Pye Records singles 1965 songs Song recordings produced by Tony Hatch Warner Records singles Disques Vogue singles