Harry Nilsson – "Jump Into the Fire" (1971)

You can climb a mountain

You can swim the sea

You can jump into the fire

But you’ll never be free

I really don’t know why I bother with you people.    

No one has guessed what this year’s “29 Songs in 29 Days” have in common – even though I gave you clue after clue after clue.  

And even though all you would have had to do to get the answer was take six or seven of the songs’ titles and put them into a Google search.

Are you all so clueless that you never thought to do that?  Or is the problem apathy?

Maybe we’re dealing with cluelessness and apathy.

Scorsese and DeNiro

In any event, this year’s “29 Songs in 29 Days” all appear on the soundtracks of Martin Scorsese movies.  To be precise, they were taken from Martin Scorsese movies that starred either Robert DeNiro or Leonardo DiCaprio.

We’re talking classics like Mean Streets (“Be My Baby,” “Mickey’s Monkey”), Goodfellas (“Then He Kissed Me,” “Beyond the Sea,” “Sunshine of Your Love,’ “Layla”), Casino (“Working in the Coal Mine,” “I’ll Take You There,” “Boogaloo Down Broadway”), The Departed (“Baby Blue,” “Sail On, Sailor”), and Wolf of Wall Street (“Bang! Bang!,” “Never Say Never,” “Uncontrollable Urge”).

Scorsese and DiCaprio

If you’re a Scorsese fan, you know that he used a number of Rolling Stones songs in his movies.  I’m saving the best for last – the final four songs I’m featuring in this year’s “29 Songs in 29 Days” are Rolling Stones songs (including one that Scorsese used in not one . . . not two . . . but three of his movies).

“Jump Into the Fire” accompanies the astonishing “Last Day as a Wise Guy” sequence of Goodfellas – probably the best thing Scorsese ever did.  

Click here to watch that remarkable sequence.

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The late Harry Nilsson was one of a kind.  

His two biggest hits – “Everybody’s Talkin’” and “Without You” – were written by other songwriters, while the best-known song he ever wrote – “One” – became a hit for Three Dog Night.

Nilsson had a strange sense of humor, as songs like “Coconut” (“You put de lime in de coconut”) and “You’re Breakin’ My Heart” (“You’re breaking’ my heart, you’re tearing’ it apart, so f*ck you”) demonstrate.

Click here to view the trailer for a 2010 documentary about Nilsson.

I think “Jump Into the Fire” (which was released on 1971's Nilsson Schmilsson album) is the best track Nilsson ever recorded.  

Click here to listen to the album version of “Jump Into the Fire.”

Click here to buy the song from Amazon.