Lyrics That Sound Nice, but make no sense- Page 3

[Gothampc]

Posted: 11/26/08 at 8:56am

Continuing on with the R&H musicals:

The corn is as high as an elephant's eye.

It's impossible for corn to grow that high. How many elephants are hanging around farms in Oklahoma?

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 11/26/08 at 10:44am

As soon as I read the title of this thread, I knew the Wicked/"bridges" lyric was either the subject or would be thrown out there soon. It's not that difficult. It is about being so emotionally wrapped up in current events, you don't realize that you have reached a metaphorical destination until you are suddenly there. Glinda didn't know she was crossing a bridge into life filled with self-delusion when she made the decision not to go with Elphaba. Elphaba knew exactly what she had to do and what would probably result from her actions. Glinda's foresight was not as clear. I think it's a brilliant lyric perfectly placed in the show.

"I ask forgiveness for the things I've done, you blame me for..."

Not sure why this is so confusing, but in context with the rest of the lines, it is even more clear.

(Elphaba):
And just to clear the air
I ask forgiveness
For the things I've done you blame me for

(Glinda):
But then, I guess we know
There's blame to share

(Both):
And none of it seems to matter anymore

Makes sense to me. Elphaba's asking forgiveness, not for everything she's done, but for the wrongs she knew she committed against Glinda as well as any wrongs she may have committed unknowingly.

"As someone told me lately, everyone deeserves the chance to fly" - someone told you LATELY? What?

The Wizard used those exact words to Elphaba during Sentimental Man, which happens around the same time, so yes, it was lately.

So Elphaba, I'd like to raise you high
'Cuz I think everyone deserves
The chance to fly

I do agree with Purple Summer, however. When I saw the show, I had no idea what they were singing about. My boyfriend and I burst out laughing.

[Eastwickian]

Posted: 11/26/08 at 10:50am

Avenue Q - The Money Song:
"When her dream comes true/It’ll all be partly thanks to you"

All be partly? It can be one (all be) or the other (partly be), but not both :)

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 11/26/08 at 10:59am

The Wizard used those exact words to Elphaba during Sentimental Man, which happens around the same time, so yes, it was lately.

I think it's the word lately. Wouldn't you (if not striving to find a word to fit the meter) use the word recently there? Doesn't lately imply something ongoing?

[sparrman]

Posted: 11/26/08 at 11:08am

"Someone questioned "It's our funeral too." Why is that hard to understand? Funerals aren't just for those who died, they're for the mourners as well. Makes perfect sense."

But Che thinks it's just as well that Eva is dead. Her funeral might be Argentina's rebirth, not its death! He might say "It's not our funeral, it's our party!" Why is it Argentina's funeral too, from Che's POV? He's either saying that Argentina has died with Eva, or that it should mourn her death. Either is the exact opposite of the sentiment that Che expresses throughout the entire show.

As for yours:

"When you're working at your loom
And you stare absent-minded at the roof... "

Your dictionary definitions don't rule out that the ceiling and roof are the SAME structure, the same boards, like in a simple barn-like building. One side of the planks is the ceiling, the other is the roof. So if you're staring at the planks, you're staring at both the ceiling and the roof. I do get your point, but I don't think that the lyric is technically wrong.

[Ole Chum]

Posted: 11/26/08 at 11:12am

wow. i think this is a good idea for a thread because there are lyrics out there that really dont make sense.

but the selections are disturbing. corn as high as an elephants eye... is a lyric that makes sense. the corn was high. how high? as high as an elephants eye. thats called exaggeration. it does not imply there was an elephant standing next to the corn. jesus.

same goes for "its our funeral"- its not their literal funeral. i think it means "were all screwed."

and the avenue Q lyric is SUPPOSED to be cute like that- it cant be all AND partly your fault. its supp to be clever.

[Pianolin717]

Posted: 11/26/08 at 11:15am

yeah, im a little baffled at peoples choices here... I think its a matter of personal misunderstanding... not that these lyrics don't make sense

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 11/26/08 at 11:19am

Yeah, a lot of this thread is people taking issue with metaphors.


Updated On: 11/26/08 at 11:19 AM

[jasonf]

Posted: 11/26/08 at 11:22am

I can't believe I'm still on this, but have you ever said "look at the chandelier on the roof?" What image does that bring to mind -- the inside or the outside?

The roof is the OUTSIDE of a building. A roof can be the inside top of a mouth or cave, but other than in this instance, I've NEVER heard anyone refer to the ceiling as a roof. There's a reason Lionel Richie's song is "Dancing on the CEILING" not Dancing on the Roof. Similarly, none of us question Fiddler on the Roof, but Fiddler on the Ceiling? Not unless Mary Poppins' Uncle started playing for the string section.

[Pianolin717]

Posted: 11/26/08 at 11:38am

no, the inside part can be referred to as a ceiling, not the outside... but the roof itself is BOTH parts, both the CEILING and EXTERNAL!

ROOF IS BOTH
CELING IS JUST THE UNDERSIDE!

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 11/26/08 at 11:40am

same goes for "its our funeral"- its not their literal funeral. i think it means "were all screwed."

This sort of goes hand-in-hand with the "smoke clears" line. I always thought he meant that everyone is so busy mourning the loss of Eva, they haven't noticed the country is in the crapper as well. Nobody is mourning the victims of Peronism.

I love "the corn is as high as an elephant's eye". It sounds like a typical Southern expression commonly laced with exaggeration. It's charming.

I think it's the word lately. Wouldn't you (if not striving to find a word to fit the meter) use the word recently there? Doesn't lately imply something ongoing?

I don't think so. "Lately" and "recently" are actually synonyms. And the two scenes occur during the same visit with the Wizard, so it is sort of ongoing. A lot happens in that visit. It's very exciting and happy, then scary, then sort of grouchy and pissy, then she's flying around somewhere, possibly outside? That part isn't very clear, but it looks neat.

[sparrman]

Posted: 11/26/08 at 11:44am

Eva sings (twice):

So share my glory
So share my coffin

Che sings:

It's our funeral too

I can't possibly read this as anything other than agreement with her. In that context, sure, it "makes sense". But the question is WHY is Che agreeing with her? From Che's POV, it makes no sense.

Can't put it any more clearly than that, and I promise I won't try again!

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 11/26/08 at 11:58am

I get what you're saying Matt, but there's something about the use of lately there that has always stuck out to me. I can't think of any example of someone using lately for recently in that context.

[Ole Chum]

Posted: 11/26/08 at 11:58am

its one thing to wonder the intent of the lyricist- what did Che mean when he said that? Why did Anita say "a boy who kills has no heart"- did she know Bernardo killed Riff? This kind of speculation is what theater nerds do.

But thats different than saying the lyrics dont make any sense- in both these examples- Evita and WSS- they absolutely do.

And in general, its kinda funny that all these "theater buffs" have no idea what the hell it is they are appreciating.

[jasonf]

Posted: 11/26/08 at 12:00pm

I've made my point. I stand by it. I'm done discussing it. But if anyone ever tells me that a chandelier is hanging from a roof I will laugh at them (unless it's on the outside).

[A Fleur De Toi]

Posted: 11/26/08 at 12:08pm

This thread totally describes most of the songs in Light in the Piazza. God, the score is close to perfect but lyrics are so "gentle" that they simply fall apart upon closer scrutiny.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 11/26/08 at 12:27pm

Eva sings (twice):

So share my glory
So share my coffin

Che sings:

It's our funeral too

I can't possibly read this as anything other than agreement with her. In that context, sure, it "makes sense". But the question is WHY is Che agreeing with her? From Che's POV, it makes no sense.

If you view it as a direct response to Eva, it sounds more like to me Che is saying, "It's not all about you, bitch." Che does not believe the country is dying with her, but because of her.

Eva also sings:

They fired those cannons
Sang lamentations
Not just for Eva, for Argentina
Not just for Eva, for everybody

They DO agree that the country has died as well, but for very different reasons and yet the funeral is really all about Eva. And she believed the country would suffer due to her death.

I do agree that the line kind of bugs me and nothing would be truly lost by cutting it. It really depends on how it is staged to make it effective.

[PRFRMR20]

Posted: 11/26/08 at 1:22pm

Yes, I believe that Mister Matt's interpretation about "it's our funeral too" is the closest to the original/"correct" intent. If you listen to either the OBC or especially the London Revival CR, it is obvious that Che is using that line to argue her and have the "last word."

He does not want to "party" because as a revolutionary he sees the constant death and destruction of his beloved country and though Eva's death is a "good" thing to him, Juan Peron is still alive and the Peron legacy has left Argentina in shambles. All he can do is curse her death and funeral by reminding her that "Hey, today is your funeral, but because of you, it is Argentina's funeral too"

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 11/26/08 at 1:59pm

Mister Matt, the Elphaba line about the blaming and the doing has terrible syntax. And it doesn't really make sense. I know that Mr. Schwartz put that line in there so that Glinda can sing about sharing the blame, but Elphaba's line is just bad. I know what he's going for, but it could have been written a whole lot better.

I ask forgiveness for the things I've done you blame me for.

The way it's written, it's like, "I'm sorry for doing the things I'm being accused of," which alternately means, "I really did do those bad things, so sorry." The line should be something like, "I'm really sorry I did those things, but I'll take the blame." I'm not a lyricist, but it makes a whole lot more sense than whatever Elphaba says.

The "As someone told me lately" line is inexcusable. Clearly, there are hundreds of better ways to say that line, no matter if you do believe "lately" and "recently" are interchangeable.

~Steven

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 11/26/08 at 2:00pm

I enjoy Wicked enough, but I do kinda feel like Schwartz wrote one draft of lyrics and never attempted to clean any of them up.

[overthemoonboy]

Posted: 11/26/08 at 2:14pm

I hardly ever post on here, but I've always interpreted that wicked line as:

I ask forgiveness for the things I've done- you blame me for.

It's as if she was saying, "For the things I've done- No, the things you blame me for." It's her way of saying that she's sorry for hurting Glinda's feelings but she wouldn't change what she has done.


On another note, does anyone know what the hell Joseph is talking about in Any Dream Will Do?

I closed my eyes,
Drew back the curtain
To see for certain
What I thought I knew.

Far far away,
Someone was weeping
But the world was sleeping.
Any dream will do.
Updated On: 11/26/08 at 02:14 PM

[PRFRMR20]

Posted: 11/26/08 at 2:22pm

I haven't thought about Any Dream Will Do for like 10 years... At first thought, I was lost as to any answer to your question and felt that those lyrics are the most confusing thing ever.

However, after looking at the whole song, I think this was a dream Joseph had about the future (being taken to Egypt, his father crying and how he goes back to his family at the end). The show is a dream, his dream that comes true because Joseph can interpret dreams he is telling us what will happen. The only thing weird about this is that he says "I wore my coat" but at this point in the story Joseph has yet to receive the coat....??? Who knows, another Tim Rice mystery

Updated On: 11/26/08 at 02:22 PM

[PRFRMR20]

Posted: 11/26/08 at 2:22pm

Double post
Updated On: 11/26/08 at 02:22 PM

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 11/26/08 at 2:22pm

Weak lyrics can still make sense. I'm not arguing the quality of the lyrics, just whether or not their meaning or intent are confusing or misleading. The blame line makes sense to me every time I've heard it. Is it the best way to say it? Certainly not, but most lyrics are not as speech. I also don't think anyone goes around saying "s'wonderful" or "cherry pies ought to be you", but I know what they mean. I do think it is a weak line, but not difficult to understand.

The "As someone told me lately" line is inexcusable.

Why? It's a snide way of throwing the Wizard's words back into his face. "As so-and-so said to me lately" was a common way to both name-drop and toss out a clever bon-mot in order to impress others. I love how it is used here.

[Kad]

Posted: 11/26/08 at 2:25pm

The roof/ceiling debate is ridiculous.

What if you're in the first story of a house, looking up? It's a CEILING. Would you call it the floor, since it's essentially the floor for the second story of the house? And what about a house with an attic? Roof is outside, ceiling is inside, and they're not two sides of the same coin. Roofs frequently aren't just.... paper-thin slabs stuck on a house. They have dead space inside, for insulation and support and such.

And a lot of people here need to look up literary devices such as metaphor and hyperbole.