Originally posted by magickalmama
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So when and where can we read said paper? <grin>
Spoiler:
In a society where anything can be written into song and dance, music is everything. Every song has its own meaning, but what gives a song its meaning? Is it the lyrics? Or is it the performer who sings them? Or maybe it’s a combination of both. Most people would say that a song’s message is derived from their lyrics and what the lyrics may symbolize. Until recently, I would have agreed with them. Cole Porter’s “Anything Goes” from the musical Anything Goes is what changed my mind.
The first time I heard the song, I was three years old and watching Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Now I know you’re thinking, “Who let’s a three year old watch a PG-13 movie?” I have a lot of older cousins and sometimes they didn’t think to make sure young ones weren’t in the room when they popped in a movie. Of course, because of my age, the song didn’t make a big impact on me. Growing up, The Temple of Doom has always been my favourite American movie, but even so, this song didn’t even so much as make a dent. I was too enraptured by Harrison Ford with a bull whip. I didn’t even realize it was the same song until about an hour ago when I was humming the melody. Of course, that might have to do with the fact that the song is Chinese in the movie.
Anything Goes was written and produced by Vinton Freedley in 1934. He wrote the musical with the aide of Guy Bolton, P.G. Wodehouse, Ethel Merman, and Cole Porter. The musical revolves around Reno Sweeny, a night-club singer, her pal Billy Crocker, his debutante-love Hope Harcourt, and Moon-Face Martin, a “Public Enemy No.1” wannabe. Originally, the plot was centred on how these characters reacted to being shipwrecked, but a few weeks before rehearsals started, a major shipwreck took place off the coast of New Jersey. The script was hastily rewritten to stay on schedule, and the title song was added in a fit of desperation to end the first act. The song, sung by Reno, was originally sung by Ethel Merman. In the 1987 Broadway Revival, Patti LuPone was casted as Reno and revived the character to all her glory.
In 2004, John Barrowman, an actor and singer, published his own version on his singles album Swings Cole Porter. Barrowman had been, in the 2002 London Revival, casted as Billy Crocker. The song is essentially the same. The lyrics are out of order, and he skips an entire refrain. Also, the tempo is slower, but the melody and lyrics are still the same as composed by Cole Porter in 1934. So how do the original version and Barrowman’s rendition have different meanings? Well considering that the song was originally written for a woman during a time when women were well established in their crusade to be considered equal, when a woman sings the song as it’s meant to be, the song states an ultimatum. The woman is offering that with times changing, keep up or get lost. She’s changing with the times, and if the men in her life can’t accept that, she doesn’t need them.
Barrowman’s statement is quite different. As an out and proud gay man, he tries to seduce his audience with his dulcet tones to accept who he is. He’s waiting for society to catch up with his ideals and at the same time trying to coax them to become more accepting at a faster pace. They both appeal to the changes in society, but whereas a female voice is saying take it or leave it, Barrowman needs the acceptance of his audience.
In conclusion, the lyrics of song can mean anything, but its symbolism can change with who performs the song. The current events of an era impacts heavily on what lyrics mean. “Anything Goes” was written to express the freedom and equality of women. Barrowman turned it into a plea of acceptance. His personal background effected how he rendered the song, and thus changed the connotation of the symbolism.
The first time I heard the song, I was three years old and watching Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Now I know you’re thinking, “Who let’s a three year old watch a PG-13 movie?” I have a lot of older cousins and sometimes they didn’t think to make sure young ones weren’t in the room when they popped in a movie. Of course, because of my age, the song didn’t make a big impact on me. Growing up, The Temple of Doom has always been my favourite American movie, but even so, this song didn’t even so much as make a dent. I was too enraptured by Harrison Ford with a bull whip. I didn’t even realize it was the same song until about an hour ago when I was humming the melody. Of course, that might have to do with the fact that the song is Chinese in the movie.
Anything Goes was written and produced by Vinton Freedley in 1934. He wrote the musical with the aide of Guy Bolton, P.G. Wodehouse, Ethel Merman, and Cole Porter. The musical revolves around Reno Sweeny, a night-club singer, her pal Billy Crocker, his debutante-love Hope Harcourt, and Moon-Face Martin, a “Public Enemy No.1” wannabe. Originally, the plot was centred on how these characters reacted to being shipwrecked, but a few weeks before rehearsals started, a major shipwreck took place off the coast of New Jersey. The script was hastily rewritten to stay on schedule, and the title song was added in a fit of desperation to end the first act. The song, sung by Reno, was originally sung by Ethel Merman. In the 1987 Broadway Revival, Patti LuPone was casted as Reno and revived the character to all her glory.
In 2004, John Barrowman, an actor and singer, published his own version on his singles album Swings Cole Porter. Barrowman had been, in the 2002 London Revival, casted as Billy Crocker. The song is essentially the same. The lyrics are out of order, and he skips an entire refrain. Also, the tempo is slower, but the melody and lyrics are still the same as composed by Cole Porter in 1934. So how do the original version and Barrowman’s rendition have different meanings? Well considering that the song was originally written for a woman during a time when women were well established in their crusade to be considered equal, when a woman sings the song as it’s meant to be, the song states an ultimatum. The woman is offering that with times changing, keep up or get lost. She’s changing with the times, and if the men in her life can’t accept that, she doesn’t need them.
Barrowman’s statement is quite different. As an out and proud gay man, he tries to seduce his audience with his dulcet tones to accept who he is. He’s waiting for society to catch up with his ideals and at the same time trying to coax them to become more accepting at a faster pace. They both appeal to the changes in society, but whereas a female voice is saying take it or leave it, Barrowman needs the acceptance of his audience.
In conclusion, the lyrics of song can mean anything, but its symbolism can change with who performs the song. The current events of an era impacts heavily on what lyrics mean. “Anything Goes” was written to express the freedom and equality of women. Barrowman turned it into a plea of acceptance. His personal background effected how he rendered the song, and thus changed the connotation of the symbolism.
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