Ragtime lyric question

[Younger Brother]

Posted: 7/26/14 at 6:05am

As my name would suggest, I'm a pretty big fan of Ragtime. After listening to the cast recording with a friend yesterday we got into a bit of a debate over the line in 'Till We Reach That Day when Coalhouse sings about Sarah: "she had life in her, Lord, she had my baby".
I used to thing this was alluding to the fact that Sarah was pregnant again but for some reason I can't quite remember, just decided it was a way of saying she was (or at least grew to be) happy living and that she was the one to give Coalhouse a son. Anyone have an opinion? I've thought about it so much with my friend, I've lost the ability to understand the line properly. I could be doing something more constructive with my time but..

[tazber]

Posted: 7/26/14 at 10:45am

I don't think she was pregnant. At least there is nothing in the book or otherwise mentioned in the play to support that.

I never even thought about your interpretation until this thread.

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

Posted: 7/26/14 at 10:45am

Ever heard the expression "she had a lot of life in her"? Yeah, it's that thing. She wasn't pregnant again.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 7/26/14 at 11:18am

I always took it to mean that she had his baby and now that she was dead he'll never find out where she put it so that's why he was so upset. Is that wrong?

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 7/26/14 at 11:21am

Your original theories were definitely over-thinking it. Basically he's saying "you killed my baby mama."

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 7/26/14 at 11:25am

Also, Coalhouse says "Look what they left of her left of her left of my girl" but then right after that it's said "she was nothing to to them, she was a woman".

So which is it? Is she a girl or is she a woman?

[adamgreer]

Posted: 7/26/14 at 11:31am

Maybe Coalhouse thinks she's a girl, but feminist Emma Goldman believes she's a woman.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 7/26/14 at 11:37am

So much subtext I never got...

[adamgreer]

Posted: 7/26/14 at 11:39am

I was kidding...

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 7/26/14 at 11:47am

Yeah. So was I.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 7/26/14 at 1:38pm

Yes but does he mean the STAIRS got to her or the STARES she had to endure as an unwed black mother!??

[Visceral_Fella]

Posted: 7/26/14 at 4:58pm

I never thought of it that way until you said it, but I do find your interpretation very intriguing.

[busylizzie238]

Posted: 7/26/14 at 5:47pm

on the subject of Ragtime lyrics, there's a line in Till We Reach that Day that's always confused me a little too, it's quite trivial actually but when it goes "So they beat her, And beat her and beated her", the production I saw I thought she was shot to death? or does the beating refer to how life and society had beaten her down?

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 7/26/14 at 6:39pm

As written, she is beaten by the police, and they do use their guns/rifles to whip her.

[busylizzie238]

Posted: 7/26/14 at 6:59pm

oh right, in the production I saw there was a shot and the crowd clears and then we see Sarah dead on the ground from what I remember - I think that works better, surely the police wouldn't start beating and whipping a person they think is armed? Anyways, thanks for clearing that up