"It's Oh So Quiet" is a song by American singer Betty Hutton, released in 1951 as the B-side to the single "Murder, He Says". It is a cover of the German song "Und jetzt ist es still", performed by Horst Winter in 1948, with music written by Austrian composer Hans Lang and German lyrics by Erich Meder. The English lyrics were written by Bert Reisfeld. A French title, "Tout est tranquille", was performed in 1949 by Ginette Garcin and the Jacques Hélian Orchestra. The song was covered by Icelandic musician Björk in 1995. It was released as the third single from her second albumPost and remains her biggest hit, reaching number 4 in the UK and spending 15 weeks on the UK Singles Chart. Fuelled by the Spike Jonze-directed music video clip, the single also shot Björk into the spotlight in Australia, where it reached number 6. In the United Kingdom the single has been certified as Gold, having sold upwards of 400,000 copies. Despite being her biggest hit among the general public, the song did not appear on Björk's 2002 compilation Greatest Hits, which includes singles chosen by fans via online survey. In an interview on BBC Radio 1 with Chris Evans in 1995, Björk said the song had been played on the bus she had used on a recent tour and she recorded it as a thank you to the team that worked with her on that tour. In 2002, Brittany Murphy made a performance of this song, joined by The Pussycat Dolls. In 2005, Lucy Woodward covered the song for the soundtrack for the film Ice Princess. This version was also used in the second trailer for the 2020 film Birds of Prey. A version of "It's Oh So Quiet" was used in a Maybelline advertisement, and a version by Amanda Fondell was used in an advertisement for Candy Crush Saga.
Björk version
Music video
Background
The music video, directed by Spike Jonze, was shot in San Fernando Valley, California. Based on Jacques Demy's 1964 film Les Parapluies de Cherbourg, it features everything in slow motion and set in a Broadway musical style as Björk sings the verses; during the riotous chorus, everything returns to regular speed and everyone near her dances along. Normal life resumes during the next verse with the return of slow motion. This theme continues throughout the video.
Synopsis
The video begins as Björk emerges from an extremely dirty washroom in an auto shop. She dances along with the auto workers for the first chorus, then emerges from the shop. During the second chorus, she dances tap with a few people outside of the auto shop. Björk continues to walk along the street, dancing with several elderly women and their umbrellas before settling to rest her arms on top of a mailbox for the final verse. The mailbox comes alive and dances along with Björk during this chorus. Björk then runs down the street and into the road, where the rest of the town has decided to join her for one large dance number. The video ends with Björk floating up above the townsfolk and hushing the viewer.
