Arcade Fire, Baby Mine | Track Review 🎵

Grammy-winning Canadian rock band Arcade Fire delivers a terrific reinterpretation of “Baby Mine,” the end title from Disney’s 2019 live action version of Dumbo. 

“Baby mine, don’t you cry / Baby mine, dry your eyes / Rest your head close to my heart / Never to part, baby of mine.” Sigh, you’ve gotta love that fact that Disney is releasing live-action versions of some of their animated classics.  2019 in particular is a fruitful year for the company, with live-action arrivals of Dumbo and Aladdin.  Focusing on Dumbo, Grammy-winning alternative rock collective Arcade Fire were tapped to cover the main song from the original, “Baby Mine.” Sure, Win Butler and company aren’t the obvious choice, but “Baby Mine” gets a magical interpretation in the hands of the one-of-a-kind band.

“Baby Mine” totally works – totally.  Following a lovely, lush intro (choral vocals, some rocking guitar, a brief drum groove), Régine Chassagne delivers haunting, warm vocals on the first verse, excerpted above.  She maintains the lullaby sensibility of the record, while still bringing some of the left-of-center charm that makes Arcade Fire cool. Some of that ‘charm’ includes “old guitars, harp, Theremin, and triangle” apparently. Her hubby, Win Butler, arrives for the second verse, and the remainder of the song, accompanied by a smooth, alternative/retro-rock-tinged backdrop. Even incorporating the indie-rock vibes into the mix, “Baby Mine” stays idiomatic of a theatrical, authentic Disney soundtrack. Perhaps it’s the strings?

Final Thoughts 

Arcade Fire and Disney, again, isn’t a match that comes to mind off the top of one’s head.  That said, it’s indeed ‘a match made in heaven’ when it comes to “Baby Mine.”  This is a terrific interpretation which thrives off of awesome vocals from Chassagne and Butler, as well as superb production work.  It works because it perfectly combines the best attributes of the alternative rock of the band, as well as maintaining the sanctity and best elements of an iconic soundtrack classic for kids.

Arcade Fire • Baby Mine – from “Dumbo” / Soundtrack Version • Walt Disney • Release: 3.11.19

Photo Credit: Walt Disney