Pal Joey's "Lady is a Tramp"
Pal Joey's "Lady is a Tramp"
sparkleplenty
Stand-by Joined: 9/4/07
#1Pal Joey's "Lady is a Tramp"
Posted: 7/18/08 at 7:33pmThis is a confession. I've never really understood the irony of the song's lyrics. I feel pretty stupid, but can someone explain the intent of this song's words.
Jon
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/20/04
#2re: Pal Joey's 'Lady is a Tramp'
Posted: 7/18/08 at 7:39pm
First of all, the song's not from Pal Joey. It's from Babes in Arms.
When the film version of Babes in Arms was made, the studio decided the song was too "sophisticated" for a movie about teenagers staring Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland, even though a teenager originated the song on Broadway. The song was later added to the movie version of Pal Joey.
The point of the song is that the girl doesn't act like something she isn't. She refuses to do things just because they are feshionable and trendy. She is down to earth and unpretentious, so the snobs think she is a "tramp".
Updated On: 7/18/08 at 07:39 PM
sparkleplenty
Stand-by Joined: 9/4/07
#2re: Pal Joey's 'Lady is a Tramp'
Posted: 7/18/08 at 7:40pmthanks for the correction and the help.
#3re: Pal Joey's 'Lady is a Tramp'
Posted: 7/18/08 at 9:18pm
Oh phew. I thought you were starting a thread about my drunken rendition at the Sip 'n' Twirl on Fire Island, late in the summer of '94.
Some things are best forgotten, but take it from me: You would have understood those lyrics, but good.
#4re: Pal Joey's 'Lady is a Tramp'
Posted: 7/18/08 at 11:01pmIt is a rare case where the interpolation works amazingly well though it does offer a double entendre on teh word "tramp" and Rita Hayworth's facial expression is priceless!
Cast albums are NOT "soundtracks."
Live theatre does not use a "soundtrack." If it did, it wouldn't be live theatre!
I host a weekly one-hour radio program featuring cast album selections as well as songs by cabaret, jazz and theatre artists. The program, FRONT ROW CENTRE is heard Sundays 9 to 10 am and also Saturdays from 8 to 9 am (eastern times) on www.proudfm.com
#5re: Pal Joey's 'Lady is a Tramp'
Posted: 7/18/08 at 11:30pmThe common use of the word "tramp" in the 1930's, when Babes in Arms was written, was to describe someone who travels cheaply across the country (hitchhiking, sneaking a ride on the back of a train) looking for work during The Depression. It wasn't exactly a negative term. The character who sings "The Lady Is A Tramp" in Babes in Arms is such a person. The joke of the song is that she says she chooses to live that lifestyle because she could never get used to the rules of social circles.
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