I'm an unashamed Frank Wildhorn fan, and my favourite work of his is 'The Civil War', but that doesn't mean I don't find the lyrics utterly hilarious at times. Observe these opening lyrics from the song 'Judgement Day'. This song is up-tempo, almost upbeat, and I laugh every time I hear it.
"And sometimes it's too much to bear
The dead and dying everywhere
And every day for me is judgement day
Every day for me is judgement day
I sit among my charts and maps
And hear the lonely call of Taps
Like the wind across the moon"
It proceeds to burble on about sending boys out to die, killing floors, bloody sounds of war, all to an almost perky melody. It's *just* dignified enough that the song isn't completely ridiculous, but it's still uptempo enough that it seems a bizarre juxtaposition with such doom 'n' gloom lyrics.
I'm also a big fan of the Australian musical 'Paris', about the siege of Troy, purely because of the way they manage to stretch the word "Aphrodite" out to five syllables in one song. That takes some doing! XD
EDIT: ohhh, and I completely forgot about the song 'Missing You (My Bill)', also from 'The Civil War'! With such choice segments as:
"I learned to chop a tree today
I laughed so hard I cried
And Billy helped and scraped his knee
But he took it all in stride"
and
"The parlour roof still leaks a bit
Where the gable meets the eave
You always meant to get to it
But I know you had to leave"
How can we not consider this song a comedy classic? And Deana Carter just sounds so goshdarn EARNEST as she sings it!
Updated On: 6/23/08 at 02:32 PM
