Why Bill Murray chose to cover his favourite Bob Dylan song during a unique project
Bill Murray is known for the unexpected. He has frequently made public appearances in the most random of places, including singing Elvis at a private karaoke party, serenading an old lady on her 94th birthday and joining a ball game in New York City. Yet, Murray’s spontaneity also extended to his performances in films.
In St. Vincent, Murray performs a beautiful and moving rendition of Bob Dylan’s ‘Shelter From The Storm’, during the film’s closing credits. The track is taken from Dylan’s 1975 album Blood on the Tracks. St. Vincent was released in 2014 and was directed by the American filmmaker Ted Melfi.
Murray plays a retired, miserable alcoholic Vietnam War veteran who lives in Brooklyn, New York City, spending his days smoking and drinking the days away. He has a sad life; his wife has Alzheimer’s disease and cannot recognise him. The film portrays Vincent’s relationship with his new neighbours.
Ted Melfi once revealed that he had initially planned for the film to end with a complex shot featuring many special effects, but after some consideration, he felt that the outcome would be too much like a typical Hollywood ending with too much manipulation involved.
As such, Melfi decided to ask Murray to go out into the backyard of the house the film was being shot and simply sing a song. Melfi revealed, “It was ‘Shelter From the Storm’ from the start. I love it. I tell Bill, and he says, ‘Well, that’s one of my favourite songs of all time.’ So it’s kismet.”
Melfi had advised Murray to simply do nothing during the take. The camera was to be positioned stationary. The only thing that Murray was to do was remove a packet of cigarettes from an empty flower pot and, as he is not meant to be smoking, when his girlfriend smells the cigarette, replace it with an electronic version.
“By the end of the take, half the crew was crying,” Melfi said. “They were just so moved by him doing nothing. A second take was made, in which Melfi filmed Murray from overhead, with the awkward Vincent singing out of time to Dylan’s tune.
“He’s just a mess the whole way, and I guess that’s what the film’s about, how we’re all just kind of a mess, a beautiful mess,” Melfi said. “And Bill is a beautiful mess, and Vin’s a beautiful mess, and I’m a beautiful mess, and everybody around is. How messy you get defines who you are and what your life is.”
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