Can You Read My Mind
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Can You Read My Mind is the love theme from the 1978 film Superman, with music by John Williams and lyrics by Leslie Bricusse.
The music is a theme for Lois Lane, whose role in the film was performed by Margot Kidder. It was originally recorded as a pop-influenced piece, but as the original version might have dated the picture, a more orchestrated version was used for the final film.
It has been said that either Karen Carpenter (The Carpenters) or Toni Tennille (Captain and Tennille) were originally considered to perform the vocal, but there is no existing proof that either one actually did it. What is known is that the producers of Superman tried to get Margot Kidder herself to actually sing it but, according to Richard Donner's commentary track for the Superman DVD, "it didn't sound right". So it was decided that Kidder would recite the lyrics, and this vocal track is what was used for the final film version.
Shortly after the film's release, Maureen McGovern recorded the song proper for the hit single version, which did not appear in the film.
The soundtrack album by Rhino Movie Music contains four versions of "Can You Read My Mind" - the film version with and without vocal (as part of "The Flying Sequence" medley), and two alternate "pop versions", also with and without vocal. Alternate mixes of the "pop version" appear on both the supplementary section of the Superman DVD and the 2008 Film Score Monthly compilation set Superman: The Music (1978-1988).
An instrumental orchestral version with the London Symphony Orchestra (titled "Love Theme From Superman") was recorded for the original 1978 double LP Superman soundtrack as a "concert piece" and had not been intended for use in the movie, but during the film's post-production the final credits ran longer than expected (seven-and-a-half minutes), so to fill the extra time the piece was the last music cue used in the film.
