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By Jason Fortner
Each month, Jason Fortner spotlights one or more musical theatre composers
and/or lyricists, offering his own unique perspective on the songwriting legends
of musical theatre. Send your comments/questions on this column to
happgood@aol.com.
To access past Songwriters columns, click on the Songwriters archive
link to the left.
April 2009
"It's Hammer-stein:
Part 2"
The year is 1925.
The show is SUNNY, a musical comedy with lyrics by Hammerstein and frequent
collaborator Otto Harbach. Writing lyrics to a tune by composer Kern,
Hammerstein is faced with a dilemma. How to match a lyric to the first note of
the chorus, a B-natural held for two and a quarter bars or 9 beats. Hammerstein
searched for a word that was short and sweet and could be used again and again
in the song. His choice was “Who” and the aptly named song became one of the
hits of 1926. Here's the basic lyric:
Who stole my heart away?
Who makes me dream all day?
Dreams I know can never be true;
Seems as if I'll ever be blue.
Who means my happiness?
Who would I answer yes to?
Well, you ought to guess who.
No one but you.
YouTube clip of "Who?" from the 1929 film version of SUNNY
featuring the star of the original Broadway production, Marilyn Miller.
The next show was
SONG OF THE FLAME (1925), with music by Herbert Stothart and George Gershwin,
lyrics by Hammerstein and Harbach. Set during the Russian Revolution of 1917,
Hammerstein struggled with the topic and subject matter, trying to avoid
political putfalls while creating an entertaining show. Rarely if ever heard or
performed, one song from this score has had a life outside the show, fueled by
many cabaret appearances over the years (including a hilarious take by Dorothy
Loudon). The song is entitled “Vodka” and here's the lyric:
Of all the concoctions alcoholical,
I know but one that's diabolical.
I simply thrive on old Champagne,
And sparkling Burgundy.
Whiskey, Cointreau, Moselle, or Eau de Vie
Are just like tea,
But…
Vodka, don't give me vodka,
For when I take a little drink
I forget to think
What a little drink can do to me
Vodka, don’t give me vodka,
For when I take a little nip, I begin to slip
And I start romancing with the man that I am dancing with
For vodka, makes me feel oddka
I go and grab a six foot two, anyone will do
If he's only wise enough to see
I'll not scream should he kiss me
Couldn't if I would, wouldn't if I could
Vodka, you ruin me!
The late great Dorothy Loudon performing "Vodka" at the
1993 Tony Awards. NOTE: Video quality is terrible, but the audio comes through
pretty clear.
For THE DESERT SONG
(1926), Hammerstein would contribute lyrics along with both Otto Harbach and
Frank Mandel, all set to the music of Sigmund Romberg. An operetta about French
Foreign Legionnaires and Arab Bedouins, it boasted a hit in the tune “One
Alone”, a song that Oscar and Otto produced lyrics for by driving around
Harbach's neighborhood and tossing out phrases. Here are the lyrics:
I have heard all you've been saying
Yet I will love in my own way
Lonely as a desert breeze
I may wonder where I please
Yet I keep on longing
Just to rest a while
Where a sweetheart's tender eyes
Take the place of sand and skies
All the World forgotten
In one Woman's smile
One alone, to be my own
I alone, to know her caresses
One to be, eternally
The one my worshipping soul possesses
At her call, I'd give my all
All my life and all my love enduring
This would be a magic World to me
If she were mine alone
Like the other
operettas of its era, THE DESERT SONG featured a rousing song for the fighting
men to sing that symbolized their bravery and might. Here's the lyric to “The
Riff Song”:
Over the ground there comes a sound
It is the drum, drum, drum of hoofbeats in the sand
Quiver with fear if you are near
It is the thunder of The Shadow and his Band
(And all who plunder learn to understand)
(To understand the cry of.....)
Ho!
So we sing as we are riding
Ho!
It's a time you'd best be hiding
Low
It means the Riffs are abroad
Go
Before you've bitten the sword
Ho!
That's the sound that comes to warn you
So!
In the night or early morn, you know
If you're The Red Shadow's foe
The Riffs will strike with a blow
That brings you woe!
No darkest night can bring respite
For still the drum, drum, drum of hoofbearts in the air
No flying steed could match in speed
The swiftness of The Shadow's vengeance drawing near
Fear grips the heart, when they the message hear
As clarion clear the challenge
Ho!
So we sing as we are riding
Ho!
It's a time you'd best be hiding
Low
It means the Riffs are abroad
Go
Before you've bitten the sword
Ho!
That's the sound that comes to warn you
So!
In the night or early morn, you know
If you're The Red Shadow's foe
The Riffs will strike with a blow
That brings you woe!
"The Riff Song" as performed in the 1929 film version of
THE DESERT SONG. As with many of these YouTube vintage clips, audio is somewhat
better than the video.
Other shows of this
period with Hammerstein lyrical contributions were THE WILD ROSE (1926) and
GOLDEN DAWN (1927), but his biggest hit and most lasting work from this period
was for SHOW BOAT (1927). Based on Edna Ferber's epic novel, SHOW BOAT was
produced by the legendary Florenz Ziegfeld and featured book & lyrics by
Hammerstein, music by Jerome Kern. Creating a wealth of material, the world
premiere performance ran over 4 hours, but the writers quickly made cuts that
trimmed it down to three. Subsequently, no two versions (films or revivals) of
SHOW BOAT are exactly the same, as different material is picked up or abandoned
over the years, so that a side by side comparison of the various variations is a
daunting task. The impact of SHOW BOAT on modern musical theatre is immense, as
it paved for the way for the future introduction of darker, richer material into
a genre known mainly for frothy musical comedies.
One of my favorite
SHOW BOAT tunes comes from the 1936 film adaptation. It is entitled “I Have The
Room Above Her”:
I have the room above her
She doesn't know I love her.
How could she know I love her?
Sitting in her room below?
Sitting in her room below,
How could she dream how far a dream could go?
Sometimes we meet,
She smiles, and oh, her smile's divine.
It's such a treat to hear her say,
“Hasn't the weather been fine?”
I blush and stammer badly;
My heart is beating madly,
Then she goes into her room,
And I go sadly up to mine.
Of course SHOW BOAT
is not without humor, often provided by the comic duo of Frank & Ellie. Here's a
favorite comedy number from the show, entitled “Life Upon The Wicked Stage”:
ELLIE
Why do stage struck maidens clamor
To be actin' in the drammer?
GIRLS
We've heard say
You are gay
Night and day.
ELLIE
Oh, go 'way!
GIRLS
We drink water from a dipper,
You drink champagne from a slipper.
ELLIE
Tho' it seems cruel to bust
All your dreams,
Still I must;
Here's the truth I tell you:
Life upon the wicked stage
Ain't ever what a girl supposes;
Stage door Johnnies aren't raging over you with gems and roses.
When you let a feller hold your hand (which
Means an extra beer or sandwich),
Ev'rybody whispers: "Ain't her life a whirl?"
Though you're warned against a roue'
Ruining your reputation,
I have played around
The one night trade around
A great big nation:
Wild old men who give you jewels and sables
Only live in Aesop's Fables.
Life upon the wicked stage
Ain't nothin' for a girl.
GIRLS
Though we've listened to you moan and grieve, you
Must pardon us if we do not believe you,
There is no doubt
You're crazy about
Your awful stage!
ELLIE
I admit it's fun
To smear my face with paint,
Causing ev'ryone
To think I'm what I ain't,
And I like to play a demi-mondy role
With soul!
Ask the hero does he
Like the way I lure
When I play a hussy
Or a paramour,
Yet when once the curtain's down
My life is pure,
And how I dread it!
GIRLS
Life upon the wicked stage
Ain't ever what a girl supposes,
Stage door Johnnies aren't raging over you with gems and roses.
ELLIE
If some gentleman would talk with reason
I would cancel all next season
Life upon the wicked stage ain't nothin' for a girl!
MGM musical star Virginia O'Brien was known for her
signature deadpan vocal style which she demonstrates here in "Life Upon The
Wicked Stage" from the 1946 Jerome Kern bio-pic TILL THE CLOUDS ROLL BY.
One of the songs
that got cut after one performance in the Washington DC premiere was “Mis'ry's
Comin' Around”, a personal favorite of Mr. Kern's. As stated by John McGlinn in
his liner notes for his complete SHOW BOAT recording he states:
“Kern's affection
for it must have been very high - not only did he salvage most of the music for
use in the overture (not composed until well after the deletion of the song) but
he also insisted the number by published in the complete vocal score, published
in 1928.”
This song has been
included in productions of the past 20 years or so, and has become a fixture in
most modern variations, giving Queenie and the ensemble an ominous song of
foreboding. Here's the partial lyric, as written in 1927:
Mis'ry's comin' aroun'
De mis'ry's comin' aroun'
I knows it's comin' aroun'
Don't know to who.
Heaven keep that devil away
Keep dat misery far away
An' if he is a-comin' today
Heaven, don't let him stay!
Mis'ry's comin' aroun'
So if you done any wrong
Den lift yo' feet off the groun'
And fly away.
And of course the
quintessential lyrics of SHOW BOAT can be found in “Can't Help Lovin' That Man”
and “Ol' Man River”, two of the most famous songs in musical theatre history. In
writing out lyrics from SHOW BOAT, the question comes as to whether to leave
them in their original slang versions or to change them to proper English
vernacular. I have chosen to leave them as is for two songs that warrant a look
at how Hammerstein originally wrote them (Mis'ry/Ol' Man River) and to use the
modernized version of Can't Help Lovin' That Man. Here are those lyrics, back to
back:
CAN'T HELP LOVIN' THAT MAN
Oh listen sister
I love my mister man
And I can't tell you
Why there is no reason
Why I should love that man
It must be something
That the angels have planned
Fish gotta swim
Birds gotta fly
I gotta love one man till I die
Can't help lovin' that man of mine
Tell me he's lazy
Tell me he's slow
Tell me I'm crazy
Maybe I know
Can't help lovin' that man of mine
When he goes away
That's a rainy day
And when he comes back
That day is fine
The sun will shine
He can come home
As late as can be
Home without him
Ain't no home to me
Can't help lovin' that man of mine
OL' MAN RIVER
Ol' man river,
Dat ol' man river
He mus' know sumpin'
But don't say nuthin',
He jes' keeps rollin'
He keeps on rollin' along.
He don' plant taters,
He don't plant cotton,
An' dem dat plants 'em
Is soon forgotten,
But ol' man river,
He jes keeps rollin' along.
You an' me, we sweat an' strain,
Body all achin' an' racked with pain,
Tote dat barge!
Lif' dat bale!
Git a little drunk
An' you land in jail.
Ah gits weary
An' sick of tryin'
Ah'm tired of livin'
An' skeered of dyin',
But ol' man river,
He jes'keeps rolling' along.
Colored folks work on de Mississippi,
Colored folks work while de white folks play,
Pullin' dose boats from de dawn to sunset,
Gittin' no rest till de judgment day.
Don't look up
An' don't look down,
You don' dast make
De white boss frown.
Bend your knees
An' bow your head,
An' pull date rope
Until you' dead.
Let me go 'way from the Mississippi,
Let me go 'way from de white man boss;
Show me dat stream called de river Jordan,
Dat's de ol' stream dat I long to cross.
Ol' man river,
Dat ol' man river,
He mus' know sumpin'
But don't say nuthin'
He jes' keeps rollin'
He keeps on rollin' along.
He don' plant tater,
He don' plant cotton,
An' dem dat plants 'em
Is soon forgotten,
But ol' man river,
He jes' keeps rollin' along.
Long ol' river keeps hearing dat song.
You an' me, we sweat an' strain,
Body all achin an' racked wid pain.
Tote dat barge!
Lif' dat bale!
Git a little drunk
An' you land in jail.
Ah, gits weary
An' sick of tryin'
Ah'm tired of livin'
An' skeered of dyin',
But ol' man river,
He jes' keeps rollin' along!
Helen Morgan (who starred as Julie in the original
Broadway production), Irene Dunne, Hattie McDonald and Paul Robeson perform
"Can't Help Lovin' That Man" in the 1936 film version of SHOW BOAT. (Clip has
Portuguese subtitles.)
From the same film, Paul Robeson performs "Ol Man River"
(no subtitles).
And on that note
we'll close this look at another section of Hammerstein's career. Next month
we'll explore the period between SHOW BOAT and OKLAHOMA! where failure hit Oscar
at nearly every turn, then move onto his many triumphs (and a few misses) with
Richard Rodgers.
