Donovan Colours

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"Colours" is a song written and recorded by Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan. The "Colours" single was released in the United Kingdom on May 28, 1965 through Pye Records (Pye 7N 15866) and a few months later in the United States through Hickory Records (Hickory 45-1324). The "Colours" single was backed with "To Sing for You" (previously included on What's Bin Did and What's Bin Hid) on the United Kingdom release and "Josie" (from What's Bin Did and What's Bin Hid) on the United States release.Donovan followed up the success of "Catch the Wind" with "Colours", which featured a similar folk style. The single matched the success of "Catch the Wind" in the United Kingdom, reaching #4 on the charts. In the United States, "Colours" reached #61 and marked a decline in popularity from "Catch the Wind". A different mix of the song (without harmonica) was released on his second album Fairytale.When Epic Records was compiling Donovan's Greatest Hits, they were either unable or unwilling to secure the rights to the original recordings of "Catch the Wind" and "Colours". Donovan rerecorded both songs with a full backing band, and the rerecordings were included on the greatest hits album.A live duet with Joan Baez from the 1965 Newport Folk Festival is included on the 1995 compilation Folk Music at Newport, Part 1. (Baez also included a solo version of "Colours" on her 1965 album Farewell, Angelina.) In 1968 composer Van Dyke Parks created a (loose) instrumental adaption of this song titled "Donovan's Colours", which was released as a single (credited to George Washington Brown) and on Park's first album Song Cycle, respectively. This version features mostly the original chord progression, albeit in completely different ragtime arrangement.The song was used in the films Poor Cow and The Rules of Attraction as well as in commercials.