As I Sit Down And Play The Organ At The Notre Dame Cathedral

Album: Hello Young Lovers (2006)
  • The title is rather descriptive: Sparks keyboard player Ron Mael really did play the organ on this track at the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. As his brother, Russell, sings, he is humbled by the experience: "You know you're gonna be upstaged, upstaged by Him."
  • Russell Mael cites this as a seminal Sparks song. He said in a Songfacts interview: "If there's one song to play to somebody to put them on one side of the fence or the other regarding Sparks, I would take that song. It's just really super complex and has tons of vocals and tons of really dissonant organs. I think it's a pretty amazing song."
  • Russell Mael sings about a "deep, abiding faith" on this song, evoking words often heard in church. Regarding his religious views, Ron told Songfacts, "I think just by doing what we do musically, there's a spiritual aspect to it. It's hard to describe because it isn't based upon a particular religion, but there's a spirit that we feel is a part of what we do and imbues what we do and makes everything rise up to a certain level."


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