Lyric Question

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 4/20/13 at 12:42pm

In the lyrics for "42 nd St" it says "the avenue I'm taking you to - 42 nd St"

42 nd St is a street & not an avenue. Mrs R asked me this while we were singing this in bed today. Does this make sense?

[theatergeek3]

Posted: 4/20/13 at 1:19pm

Well if it was 'the street I'm taking you too-forty second street' it wouldn't sound as good as 'the avenue I'm taking you to-forty second street' so it may not be right but it sounds better.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 4/20/13 at 2:37pm

That was my thinking also.

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 4/20/13 at 4:54pm

"Avenue" in that lyric is just a generic word for "thoroughfair".

I realize there are specific differences between some streets and avenues on the NYC grid, but, in lots of places, street, avenue, lane, road, terrace and place are all synonyms.

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 4/20/13 at 5:01pm

And, it might be added, "every street's a boulevard in Old New York"

[dramamama611]

Posted: 4/20/13 at 5:14pm

Outside of Philly there is a Street Road. I kid you not. It's a pretty busy thoroughfare at that.

[John Adams]

Posted: 4/20/13 at 5:25pm

Let Me Google That For You:
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=avenue+definition

[canmark]

Posted: 4/20/13 at 5:59pm

>>> Outside of Philly there is a Street Road.

There's an Avenue Road in Toronto.

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 4/20/13 at 6:22pm

In my hometown (Fort Lauderdale), which has a strict grid except where it is interrupted by canals (which is often), streets, courts and places run East/West; avenues, terraces, lanes run North/South. "Boulevards" are few and usually refer to divided streets with a median or other separator in the middle.

On the other hand, our second largest city, LA, has no apparent system: streets, roads and the like run in all directions, often for 40 or 50 miles at a stretch.

Isn't the world (and the English language) interesting?

[Wilmingtom]

Posted: 4/22/13 at 7:08pm

And the simple, internal rhyme "Avenue I'm takin' you to" is terrif.

[temms]

Posted: 4/22/13 at 7:27pm

My bigger problem is with "Lullaby of Broadway". It has nothing whatsoever to do with Broadway Theatre, it's about the street and how people in New York City stay up all night. It's such a non-sequitur when Julian Marsh builds up to "Think of Musical Comedy, the two most glorious words in the English language!", and then the whole company enters and sings and dances and says "AND YOU GET TO STAY UP REALLY REALLY REALLY LATE!"

But I guess people just hear the word "Broadway", watch the kickline, and don't think too closely about what they're actually singing.

[Wilmingtom]

Posted: 4/22/13 at 8:52pm

Temms, the lyric is ironic. While the word "lullaby" suggests something quiet and calm, in New York we go to sleep accompanied by "hip hooray and bally hoo;" "the rumble of the subway train, the rattle of the taxis;" After all, "Manhattan babies don't sleep tight until the dawn." That's the fun of the number.

[Jon]

Posted: 4/22/13 at 9:37pm

Yes, it's a great song in of itself, but it really makes no sense in the context of Julian Marsh convincing Peggy Sawyer not to quit the show.

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 4/22/13 at 10:12pm

In the movie the song is a production number in the show so the lyrics aren't perhaps an ideal literal fit for the slot in the musical in which it is not a show-within-a-show number. Still, it works brilliantly.