Not in Nottingham

Perhaps it says something about me that one my favorite songs from any Disney movie is the rather downbeat, almost depressing, Not in Nottingham from Robin Hood. When I was growing up we watched Robin Hood a lot. It was one of my favorite movies and Robin Hood, that fox, was one of my first crushes. And Roger Miller's sad, hauntingly beautiful version of Not in Nottingham was the one song I would sing from the movie. 

There are certain songs that just hit you the right way and stick with you through life. Almost thirty years after hearing that song for the first time, I'm still looking for a copy I can call my own. Disney has only once, to my knowledge, released the song in a physical form. It was part of the record soundtrack. Sadly, that record is one of the few that I can't find in my parent's house. We have the cover, but not the record. It's not on iTunes or Spotify or Pandora or LastFM. I'm not surprised that Disney would prefer to focus on the more upbeat songs from its movies but there is just something wonderful about that song. 

I'm clearly not the only one who loves the song. When I go looking for it, I find all sorts of covers of the song. Los Lobos did a version. Benjamin Baker did a version. I just found a version by Mumford and Sons. If you google Not in Nottingham, you'll find hundreds of covers with a couple versions of the original mixed in. But nothing that I can put on my iPod to hum along to later. So I'll keep looking. And hopefully find that old record. I'll wear out the needle listening to that song but it will be worth it. "Every town, has its ups and downs..." 

For those of you who've never seen Robin Hood or heard the song, check out the original here. And the Mumford and Sons version isn't too bad.