From a distance, we can often see things more clearly, like the whole forest and not just the trees in front of us. In this song, Bette Midler achieves this kind of vision and points out that the divine observer, God, is of course watching us from a distance.
The song was written by a singer/songwriter named Julie Gold, who in a
Songfacts interview said, "I only set out to write a decent song about the difference between the way things seem and the way things are."
Bette Midler released "From A Distance" in September 1990, and the song reached its chart peak of #2 that December (held off by Stevie B's "
Because I Love You (The Postman Song)"). Around this time, the United States was building up troops in the Middle East to prepare for an invasion of Kuwait, which had been attacked by Iraq. When the Gulf War stated in January 1991, "From A Distance" became an anthem for the troops, letting them know their friends and loved ones were thinking of them back home. It became the most requested song on Saudi Band Radio and was very closely associated with the war. The song won a Minute Man award from the US Army for inspiring troops during this time.
Bette Midler wasn't the first to record "From A Distance." Julie Gold wrote the song in the winter of 1985 and Nanci Griffith released the original version, including it on her 1987 album Lone Star State Of Mind. Her version was a hit in Ireland but didn't get much attention elsewhere. Julie Gold told Songfacts how it got to Griffith:
"My friend Christine Lavin heard it and mailed my demo of the song to Nanci Griffith, who fell in love with it and decided to record it. I should mention that Christine is an excellent (and famous) songwriter in her own right. She wrote 'Sensitive New Age Guys' with John Gorka, among many others. After Nanci Griffith recorded 'From A Distance,' it quickly became an anthem in Ireland and a favorite for her fans worldwide. In 1990, Bette Midler recorded it, and it went on to become a mega hit. Many 'From A Distance' covers came after Nanci Griffith's [version]. Some came after Bette Midler's, too. That's what makes it so cool, if you ask me. All of these legendary artists decided to record my song!"
When Julie Gold wrote this song, she was working odd jobs in New York City to make ends meet. She received a very special 30th birthday gift from her parents back home in Philadelphia: the piano she had played as a child. The men who delivered her piano told her that it had gotten pretty cold in the truck on its way to her, and that she shouldn't play it for a day to give it time to adjust to its new surroundings in her apartment. Gold wanted to play it very badly, but, not wanting to cause damage, resisted the urge. Instead, she just "hugged it and polished it." The next day, she sat down at that piano and wrote this song in about two hours. It became Gold's first recorded song when Nanci Griffith recorded it in 1987.
Bette Midler released the soaring ballad "
The Wind Beneath My Wings" in 1988, which went to #1 in the summer of 1989 and became one of the most popular songs for dedications and memorials. Like "From A Distance," that one was a cover - the song was originally recorded in 1982 by Roger Whittaker.
"From A Distance" was a very effective follow-up to "The Wind Beneath My Wings," and in both cases, Midler's versions became far and away the most popular. And they both earned Song Of The Year Grammy Awards for the writers, even thought they were written years earlier.
In 1990, the same year Midler recorded the song, Cliff Richard reached #11 in the UK with his rendition. The song was also recorded by Judy Collins, Kathy Mattea, Jewel, The Byrds, Dickie Rock (Ireland), Simon Nicol (of Fairport Convention), Ronan Tynan and a host of others. Patti LaBelle opened her Live at the Apollo show with it, and the song was performed at the start of the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta.
Nanci Griffith's version was beamed as a "wake up call" to astronauts aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis in 1995. The song's opening lyrics, "From a distance the world looks blue and green, and the snow-capped mountains white," were particularly appropriate for astronauts who would take their first space walk that very day, seeing our planet from an awe-inspiring perspective reserved for the very special few.
Julie Gold released her original demo version of this song on her first solo album, Dream Gold, which came out in 1998.
This is by far the most famous song Julie Gold ever wrote, and her only one to chart. Other songs Gold wrote include "Heaven," which has been recorded by Nanci Griffith, Patti LuPone and Bette Midler; "The Journey," which has been recorded by Lea Salonga and Kathie Lee Gifford, and "Goodnight, New York," recorded by Heather MacCrae, Nanci Griffith, and Andrea Marcovicci. "Once You Said You Loved Me" and "Try Love" charted in Ireland for Frances Black, and "Dream Loud" is used by the Girls Scouts of America and was in the movie Unfaithful with Richard Gere and Diane Lane. Says Gold: "There's no 'formula' for a hit and these days there's not much on radio that touches my soul. But to a pure 'old fashioned' songwriter I'd say this: write from your heart. Be honest. If you're not honest then it comes through in your writing. Don't deliberately imitate anyone. If you've loved and listened to music all your life, other styles and other writers will automatically bleed into your own style. Let that happen naturally. Then you'll be a beautiful amalgam of all the music you've loved all your life.
As for me, I only write when I feel I have something I MUST say. Then, I try to say it in as universal but personal a way as I possibly can. I always try to take the scenic route musically and lyrically. The job of a song is to take a person on a musical journey for 3 minutes. In those three minutes you can transport your listener to a better, higher place. When they return to their starting point, hopefully they'll be changed forever for the better.
The point is, songwriting is an amazing gift. When a writer picks up a pen they have the chance to touch and change the world. This can not be taken lightly. It's a huge and beautiful responsibility."
Bette Midler's first big hit was also a ballad: "
The Rose," released in 1979 as the title song to the movie of the same name, which also starred Midler. "The Wind Beneath My Wings" was also from a movie Midler starred in:
Beaches in 1988. With "From A Distance," Midler became best known for her ballads, but her roots are in stage performance, and most of her songs are upbeat. Her signature song is a jaunty tune called "
Friends" that she released on her first album in 1973.
Regarding her songwriting process, Julie Gold told Songfacts: "Fortunately, words and music usually come together for me. I had been playing around with the lyric and the concept for a few weeks but when I finally sat down at the piano, it all sort of happened at once. I can only write at home. I can only write at a piano. I can only write alone, though I'm trying to change my ways. In some ways that song took me a lifetime and in some ways it took me around two hours.
I love all my songs, and though I have no children, I would imagine that the writing process is similar to the birthing process. Long, painful, rewarding. I guess if you have several children you're able to know or predict who will be the 'brainy' one, who's the 'sensitive' one, who will make a difference in the world, etc. I love my songs because I remember their births. I hope they all have meaningful lives. I realize that some might go further than others. With 'From A Distance,' it's like I gave birth to a Nobel Prize winner or something. I reeled in a whale. I still don't believe it and feel I was just chosen as the designated messenger. I hope and pray I've been a worthy steward."
