What is "castles in the air"

n. (castle in the air English)

Castles in the Air is a musical comedy, with a book and lyrics by Raymond Wilson Peck and music by Percy Wenrich (additional lyrics by R. Locke). The story concerns two young men, Monty Blair and John Brown, who mistake an exclusive Westchester resort for an inn. They decide to pretend to be nobility, and Monty introduces John as a Latvian prince. Evelyn's uncle Philip decides to teach her a lesson about social climbing by taking her to Latvia, intending to expose John as an impostor. The plan backfires, though, because John really is a prince.

The musical opened on Broadway in the Selwyn Theatre on September 6, 1926. It moved to the Century Theatre on December 6, 1926. The production was directed by Frank S. Merlin and choreographed by John Boyle and Julian Mitchell. It starred J. Harold Murray as John and Vivienne Segal as Evelyn.

On June 29, 1927, a production opened in London, at the Shaftesbury Theatre.

Castles in the Air is a 1923 British silent drama film directed by Fred Paul and starring Nelson Keys, Lillian Hall-Davis and Campbell Gullan. It was originally made as Let's Pretend.

Castles in the Air'' (Italian:Castelli in aria'') is a 1939 Italian comedy film directed by Augusto Genina and starring Lilian Harvey, Vittorio De Sica and Otto Treßler. It was made at Cinecittà in Rome, as part of a co-production with Germany. A separate German-language version was also released. It is based on a novel by .

"Castles in the Air" is a hit song by Don McLean. Originally recorded in 1970, it was his first American single release, preceding " American Pie." The original version of "Castles in the Air" was included on the Tapestry album. In February 1971, it was released as the first single from the album and reached #40 on the Billboard Easy Listening / Adult Contemporary chart. After the success of the "American Pie" single, "Castles in the Air" was included as the B-side to its follow-up, " Vincent", and received enough radio airplay to reach the Hot 100 chart as a "flip".

In 1981, McLean re-recorded and re-released "Castles in the Air." The new version of the song, a slower ballad version of the more mid to uptempo version of the original, first appeared on his album Believers, and later replaced the original version on some copies of Tapestry. The new rendition was more successful, becoming a Top 40 hit in the U.S. (#36 Billboard and #31 Cash Box), and reaching #11 in Australia. It was also a Top 10 hit on the Adult Contemporary charts of both the U.S. (#7) and Canada (#2). "Castles in the Air" became McLean's final pop hit before his genre shift to Country music in the mid-1980s.

The song describes a man who is unsatisfied with and weary of an urban lifestyle. Although native to the city, he decides to forsake not only his urban 'castle in the air' but also his love interest there. Because of his desire for and love of a country life, he decides to seek romance with a likeminded woman.