This is actually a good topic for a thread. I'm interested to see what other people come up with. I've often rewritten certain lyrics in my mind that I thought sounded or fit better than the original. For example, in INTO THE WOODS during "Stay with Me" the Witch sings to Rapunzel:
Princes wait there in the world it's true
Princes, yes, but wolves and humans too
I always found "humans" to be redundant 'cause princes are human, too. I think it should be "wolves and giants too" 'cause, after all, it is a giant that wreaks havoc in Act II and incidentally kills Rapunzel, so the song could also serve as ironic foreshadowing regarding Rapunzel's fate.
For my second pick, I would rewrite Eva's verse in "High Flying, Adored." The original goes:
High flying, adored
I've been called names but they're the strangest
My story's quite usual -- local girl makes good, weds famous man
I was slap in the right place at the perfect time
Filled a gap -- I was lucky
But one thing I'll say for me
No one else can fill it like i can!
Nothing wrong with it, really, but as an Eva Peron historian of sorts I think the following would work better:
High flying, adored
That's good to hear but unimportant*
My story's quite usual -- local girl makes good, weds famous man
I was cast in the right scene with the perfect part
Learned my lines -- I was lucky
But one thing I'll say for me
No one else can play it like I can!
*This line lifted from movie soundtrack
In the musical, Eva is always referred to as an actress, much like she was in real life. In fact, her critics argue that "Evita" was the greatest role she ever played. Even Marisa Navarro (one of her well-reputed biographers) said, "She was the person who created her own myth, and she was very good at it because she's an actress. She's a radio actress, a movie actress. She knows about stage, about performing, about being something else than what you really are." Furthermore, Navarro states, "She says that she plays a unique political role. She is the bridge of love between the people and Peron. She is what binds the masses, the descamisados, with the leader. And she knows that there's no one else who can play that role..." So my revised lyrics follow that "acting" motif.
That's it for now. I'm sure there are more, but these two are off the top of my head.
Salve, Regina, Mater misericordiae
Vita, dulcedo, et spes nostra
Salve, Salve Regina
Ad te clamamus exsules filii Eva
Ad te suspiramus, gementes et flentes
O clemens O pia
Updated On: 12/30/10 at 10:39 PM
