#to listen to A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square

[mrsmaudieholmesteapot]

Imagine Good Omens would have been filmed in the 1980s (in a universe in which 1980s were as progressive as the 2020s)

Imagine Tom Baker as Aziraphale

Imagine Jeremy Brett as Crowley

Imagine it the other way around

[ghostofchaos-past]

do you also get sad every time you hear A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square by Tori Amos or are you normal

[sundayinthcpark]

as a fan of both the west wing (1999-2006) and good omens (2019-) i just have to say that actually tori amos is my lord and saviour

[oneguardian15]

just finished rewatching good omens (s1) for the first time since i first saw it many years ago. and i am, once again, inconsolable

[oh-mother-i-cannot-weave]

feeling an indescribable love for the world at the moment...

[eriksangel666]

New podcast episode is up! This week we ride some vocal slides all the way down Route 66 as we discuss the music of the Manhattan Transfer...and boy do we have some thoughts and feelings on this one

[kingpippthe2nd]

It took me until this week to realise how much season two has changed my perspective on... well almost everything Good Omens.

I finally rewatched season 1 for the first time since Neil broke my stupid little heart. Honestly, I had convinced myself that I was over the heartbreak.

Do I torture myself on this website on a regular basis? Yes. Do I refuse to read fics without a "hurt/comfort" tag? Yes. But I was fine. I was healing. I was good. I was over it.

Did episode 3 hit differently after everything I'd been through after S2? A bit. But nothing I didn't expect.

And then there was S1E6. The Ritz. Nightingales. And I just wasn't ready. I had heard that song a thousand times throughout the last few weeks. But context does seem to matter. Because here I was, three notes in, sobbing mercilessly.

This scene used to be a safe space for me. A warm little patch of sunshine to curl up in, when I felt down. It was hot cocoa on a rainy autumn day. It projected to so much love and comfort. And now it's all twisted.

The contrast to S2E6 couldn't be sharper. Oh, what a beautiful web of similarities Neil has woven for us. Here are our two favourite idiots, smiling at each other, so in love, not a care in the world, because the world is safe and they are toasting it. Yet I know, what the future holds for them. I know, how incapable of truely communicating they are. I know, how they will break each others hearts, paving each others way to hell with all the best intentions.

You have to hand to Neil. He really knows how to tell a good story.

I haven't dared to listen to " A Nightingale sang in Berkeley Square" in the last week. It will take me a good long while to work up the courage again.

I don't even know, how to end this mess of a post. I just hope, Neil will bring the song back in season 3 and make it be all fluffy and comfortable and lovely again.

To the world, my friends.

[fouroddapples]

SO THE THING IS.

THE THING. IS.

A) A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square came out in 1940.

B) They clearly both KNOW the reference, they KNOW it’s their song, it MEANS something to them.

C) SOMETHING else happened in 1941 that we haven’t seen yet.

LISTEN.

I’ve seen everyone talk about how that final part of 1941 is going to give context to the “you go too fast for me” BUT have y’all thought about how much fucking context it’s going to give to “[perhaps we could] dine at the Ritz”????

If they heard that song and had a MomentTM that changed their relationship, and THEY BOTH KNEW what it meant, even though they wouldn’t say it out loud.

AND THEN AZIRAPHALE GOES AND SAYS THAT ?????

Hey, you know that song about angels falling in love while dining at the Ritz? DON’T LOOK SO DISAPPOINTED, PERHAPS ONE DAY WE COULD DINE AT THE RITZ.

AND CROWLEY KNOWS WHAT THAT MEANS, he was THERE when that code was unwittingly established. He knows EXACTLY what Aziraphale is really saying here, AND AZIRAPHALE KNOWS THAT HE KNOWS, CAN ANYONE HEAR ME—

[charlotteharlatan]

Hey guys. Here’s some (maybe) hope if you need some.

****SPOILERS BELOW*****

The Bentley plays almost exclusively Queen when Crowley is in the car; this happens regardless of what Crowley would actually like to be listening to. Even when he puts other cassette tapes in, they morph into Queen in a matter of hours if not minutes, like we saw with “I’m in Love with My Car” in S1.

But as we saw on Aziraphale’s little solo road trip this season, the Bentley is much more amenable to the angel’s musical requests.

So it’s very unusual that “A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square” plays on the stereo right after Crowley brought up the song during their last conversation. It’s the absolute last thing Crowley would *want* to hear at that moment, and there’s a second where he seems to sit and process the fact that it’s playing, before he turns it off without much fuss. If it just happened to be playing, I think Crowley’s reaction would have been much more dramatic.

Which is why I think Aziraphale was responsible for it. I think he was actually under duress - others have already pointed out how threatening and manipulative the Metatron actually is, how much danger his presence means to Crowley and Aziraphale. How it’s possible this was a hostage situation and Crowley didn’t even realize it because Aziraphale was protecting him.

But if Aziraphale was trying to get a message across to Crowley without tipping off the Metatron, this was actually a brilliant way do it. It’s a message only Crowley would understand.

He may have been saying, “I’m still on our side.”

[m-artsoul]

01/08/23

it was such a romantic affair and when you turned and smiled at me a nightingale sang in Berkeley Square

NOTE: last time we had some angst, time for fluff! if we don't get them dancing together in the rain to A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square while performing a miracle then what's even the point. i was actually listening to that song while painting :]

hope you enjoy the weirdly realistic nightingale birds lol (i have no clue how to stylize animals)

here's also glass-less version:

[neil-gaiman]

hi neil, not sure if this is a question that should be directed at you or david arnold but is there an instrumental version of tori amos' a nightingale sang in berkeley square that exists out there somewhere to listen to because the orchestra is so incredibly beautiful

I don’t believe so. I mean, we can unpick the “stems” so the track could be heard without vocals, but we’ve never released it into the world. We like it with Tori singing.

[thavron]

So I think I've cracked this moment.

So this moment has bothered me. I've seen several people say this is Crowley breaking up with Aziraphale, but I think it has a different meaning. I think he's saying, "I understand."

Hear me out.

It was actually listening to the song Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy that caused me to have a little epiphany. I love how it's juxtaposed over Crowley rushing back to Aziraphale, indicating that he is the Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy, but there is more to it.

That song was released in 1976, which is a time when being gay or being queer of any kind was deeply frowned upon. Though laws in the UK banning same sex relationships had been lifted by this time, for consenting adults over the age of 21. Freddie explicitly coming out at this time was something that could have ended his career. Freddie danced with the media on this one, hinted but was never forthright and kept his romantic life largely under wraps. This is something that queer people did in general and had to do well into the 90s. They flirted in code, they romanced behind closed doors. They kept their love out of sight.

Much like our Ineffable Husbands.

Editing to add- that the reason this triggered something for me, is that despite the secrecy, Freddie Mercury got up on stage and sang a song about a man taking another man out on a date at the Ritz. Everyone knew. Just no one knew knew. And it wasn't enough to end his career. Much like our Ineffable Husbands. Everyone knows, including them. Just no one says a thing about it.

Which brings me back to A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square.

This song is about one magical night. A couple meet, fall in love, feel the magic of their romance, and then as the sun comes up they go home. It is something like a dream that has to be let go with the harsh light of day. But there is hope, because sometimes they can hear the echo of the nightingale. A promise perhaps to meet again.

So I think it is widely assumed that there is more to the 1941 flashback. I tend to concur. I think we will see the origin of why this song is important to them. I suspect the song is about them. They have one magical night, where they are both brave and express their love for each other. But then the sun comes up and they realise that they have to go back to their lives. I think they will acknowledge that the incident with the zombies was a close call, and they need to cool off and stay away from each other. Slow down.

So 1967 is the first time they have seen each other since. They both know how they feel, they're just waiting for the right time. They shouldn't have met at all, except Aziraphale wants to give Crowley the holy water. I think that explains the awkwardness but also their softness toward each other. It's a meeting of lovers, but the time isn't right just yet. No nightingales are singing. That's what Aziraphale means by "You go too fast for me." Not yet, it's too soon. We're still under suspicion.

So the end of season one, the world is not over and our ineffable husbands are free. What do they do? They go for date at the Ritz. You can not tell me this is not a date. Sorry, don't believe you. "The Ritz is the most romantic hotel in the world." It's like their whole selling point. It's why it pops up in the lyrics of Berkley Square, and also in the lyrics of Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy. It's the place where magic happens. And for me, the playing of the song, and the reference from God herself, it's saying the time is right. They can finally be together again. This is their moment.

So Season Two. I've read reviews of season two where people liken it to fanfiction. Neil calls it is a bridge season. I think it's the dream. Not actually a dream, I don't think Neil is that unoriginal. But in the song they liken that one magical night to a dream. It's a fantasy that they get to live until the sun comes up. They get to live their dream for four years. They are together and they are in love but they are still living in secret. They still don't acknowledge it. They're still holding back. One of the themes in this series is timing is everything. Maggie and Nina's relationship doesn't work because timing. The magic trick worked the time it mattered. Timing is important, and the ineffable husbands are bad at it. They should have thrown themselves into this but they were too cautious and they missed their chance.

I think this conversation is when Crowley realises. Not that he is love with Aziraphale, that was established in 1941. But that everyone knows anyway. There is no reason to hide. No one cares that they're an item. Aziraphale has a similar epiphany after his chat with Shax. So they both decide to move the relationship along, but damn do they have bad timing.

Now I am as confused and heart broken as anyone about the final fifteen. And I am certain that there is something that we are not seeing, a trick that we've missed. There are six minutes unaccounted for. Neil says its a continuity error, but he's demon, he lies.

So here is what I think, and why this line "that's the point, no nightingales" is important. At some point during that conversation Crowley catches on. Whether they have a moment of stopped time, or the fact that Aziraphale is acting so utterly unhinged, there is something that happens that we don't see and it clues him in. He is hurt and angry yes, but he understands. What he is understanding is that the dawn came stealing up, and that the interlude is over. The nightingales stopped singing, and they have to go back to work. He gets it and that's how he lets Aziraphale know.

"You're an idiot, we could have been us." He doesn't like the plan, whatever it is. He thinks running would have been preferable, but he is resigned to it.

Then that kiss. One last goodbye just in case the world ends? Desperate longing and years of pent up frustration? I don't think the trick is here. I think this is misdirection. We're all looking at the kiss, we missed the coded message that came right before. I think "No nightingales" may also suggest that this isn't the kiss. The romantic kiss will come later, when the nightingales sing again. And they will, of that I'm certain now.

The song playing in the car, a message from Aziraphale or from the Bentley reminding him to have hope. Two things we know about Crowley. He is an optimist. He loves to rescue his angel. We also know that he is the trusted stooge with the steady hand. Aziraphale will perform the theatrics, he will do the rest. The fact that he waited and didn't just storm off like he did when he was rejected in series 1 tells Aziraphale that he is still here. He's still in this.

That's my interpretation anyway.

[weirdly-specific-but-ok]

post-s2. good omens mascot here, coping unhealthily.

This is the first proper post I'm writing since the audio breakdown, good thing I queued a POTC one last week, I suppose. Yes I slept through the entire day today, missed the theatre workshop I was supposed to attend and may or may not be listening to A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square on loop. Have an update on my coping because my social life and family are both Tumblr now:

Every song is about them now. A lot were before, but now every single one. Even an old Hindi song from a 1900s Indian military movie that I have not watched, by the way. But the lyrics (thank you Google translate) are: Everybody wants a handful of the sky, everybody searches for a handful of the sky, there is a world waiting to be hugged to the chest, the moon is a fair full of stars, but this heart is still lonely. And of course that makes me think of Crowley as the starmaker. Ow.

I made the very intelligent decision to rewatch the first three episodes of season 2, knowing what the Job minisode and the Edinburgh minisode do to me. I'll be here clutching Crowley, well, hugging him close to the chest, just like that song... ah, fuck, here we go again.

I listened to you all and am drinking a lot of water, since my tear ducts were emptied yesterday and now I'm unable to cry. I also ate too much chocolate.

I searched for sad Aziracrow edits and watched them. Don't look at me. I'm in a hell of my own creation.

I used too many emotions last night and now I feel hollow and achy. Maybe I should cope with humour and write the summaries.

Or maybe that will backfire and I will be filled with horrifying levels of emotion.

I slept. A lot. Many hours. Lots sleep.

So. Well. You know. Adopted child of divorce. You were all right, this is exactly like dealing with a breakup or divorce, but much more painful.

Someone please, please, please stop me from clicking the Crowley whump tag to find fanfiction.

I remember my initial Good Omens posts. I remember calling the fandom sad, desperate, queer and masochistic, and also pointing out how you all blame Neil and then sit and make headcanons that are a hundred times worse than canon.

I was so right. Look at me now, sad, desperate, queer and masochistic, making headcanons that are a hundred times worse than canon.

Wahoo.

[brainwormcity]

So, we've all had the idea that the Bentley began to play "A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square" of its own volition, but I was thinking about the fact that if Crowley had turned it on himself, then he was most likely listening to it right before he asked to watch Aziraphale invite the other shopkeepers to the meeting.

That would mean that without knowing about the ball and without planning to confess his love, Crowley was just casually rolling around, sweet as hell, listening to their song. It's so cute and so fucking painful. 😭

[queer-reader-07]

the thing that gets me about the fandom’s reaction to azi and crowley’s Kiss is how many people somehow missed that the point of the Kiss was not to show they were in love.

i feel like you have to have SUCH a narrow view of what love looks like if you think that two people need to smooch for it to be love. azi and crowley are so unbelievably in love the whole of season 1 & 2 (and the book) and it’s SOOOO obvious. and we all knew that, right? we all knew that they had something going on, there was love there regardless of what kind of love you thought it to be. it was undeniably there.

and yet. so many people have talked about how the Kiss is “the proof they’re in love” or have wondered why beelzebub and gabriel didn’t kiss too. and i’m just like. what about gabriel and beelzebub’s dynamic needed a kiss? you can tell they’re in love and a kiss would’ve felt so awkward in my opinion.

and i think in the end what this boils down to is that i don’t think kisses are inherently romantic, and a lot of people apparently do think they are. and i don’t think you need to have two characters kiss for them to be in love. are azi’s stolen looks, genuine smiles, and desire for closeness not enough? is crowley running into the burning bookshop and walking on hallowed ground not enough? what about a kiss would make their love any more real?

that Kiss was crowley’s last ditch effort to tell azi how he felt. to convey what he means when he says he wants to be an Us. The Kiss was crowley realizing that the acts of service weren’t enough to show azi how he loved him, his words weren’t clear enough, he had to /show/ azi. that Kiss was not there to be a “oooo they’re so in love” moment. and i think a lot of people missed the point because they were happy that they kissed in general.

i honestly couldn’t have cared less if azi and crowley ever kissed. and i don’t really care if they get a “proper” kiss in season 3 (whatever that means). because what makes their love so special is that they don’t need physical intimacy for it to be clear to literally everyone that they’re in love.

i’d rather they get to ride in the bentley as they go off for an extremely alcoholic breakfast at the ritz while listening to tori amos’ rendition of a ‘nightingale sang in berkeley square’. i’d rather crowley be able to walk into the bookshop and be able to take his glasses off again, because it’ll finally be a safe space again. i’d rather they actually fucking talk to each other. and if they kiss? whatever. because kisses shouldn’t be the end all be all of what love is. they shouldn’t be the thing that *has* to happen for love to be valid and real.

and maybe that’s me being unpopular on main, but oh well.

[innefableidiot]

Now, let's think of an innefable husband Valentine's day shtick. We start off with Crowley arriving at aziraphales shop with a bouquet of yellow tulips and Aziraphale has baked like cookies or something for Crowley and got him a new plant of some sort AND MAYBE THEY EXCHANGE STUPID LOVE NOTES OR SOMETHING. They go out and listen to things like "somebody to love" and "a Nightingale sang in Berkeley Square" in the Bentley as the drive to a restaurant where they eat crepes for breakfast. And then they stroll around the park and feed ducks, maybe aziraphale tortures Crowley by doing some magic tricks and Aziraphale listens to Crowley ranting on and on about how "bread is bad for ducks" and such AND BASICALLY JUST ENJOY EACH OTHERS COMPANY. then they dine at the Ritz OF COURSE and end the day with a night picnic watching the sunset and then star gazing on the grass while Crowley got aziraphale his favorite pastries and such that they snack on while spotting different constellations as they sit next to eachother wrapped in a (tartan) blanket. I HONESTLY JUST WANT THEM TO DO LOVEY DOVEY STUFF AND THIS I JUST WANT THEM TO BE HAPPY. (If you can't tell I'm treating valentines day as a huge excuse to talk about the innefable husband's, and to forget about the divorce)