The Timelessness of "I'm Still Here"

I think the sentiment of the song is timeless, but the lyric's timelessness is running out. I mean, no kid under twenty, if randomly asked on the street would know who Brenda Frazier, J. Edgar Hoover, or wally (of Wally's affair) is.


The song is brilliant however if you are approching it with a 1970's time of reference.

I would love for Sondheim to recreate lyrics for a newer version, 40 years in the future from when the song originally took place, with all the current events that have happened since the song was written.

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I'm still here, whippin' ma her back 'n' forf.

It could totally work.

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"Does the new generation want everything handed to them on a plate or can art still ask them to "reach" a little bit?"

have you MET the new generation?

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If you can understand Shakespeare you can follow "I'm Still Here."

Why'd ya have to post that picture PJ? It gives me the heebie-jeebies.

The boyfriend and I flew into Reno and drove to Lake Tahoe. As we drove past yet another seedy casino, my boyfriend mused aloud "I've been through Reno, I've been through Beverly Hills....NOW I get it."

I think people are making these lyrics more obscure than they actually are. With the exception of the verse that starts with "I've been through Ghandi," I would think the the other references in the song would land with just about anyone.

I'm pretty sure that you're not allowed to question Sondheim on this board. I know I'm not.

The Sondheim Mafia is comin' for you!

Better the Sondheim Mafia than the Fosse Police... although the Fosse Police are very easy to outrun.

"I've been through Gandhi,
Windsor and Wally's affair
And I'm here
Amos and Andy,
Mahjong and platinum hair
And I'm here
I've been through Abie's Irish Rose,
Five Dionne Babies
Major Bowes
Had heebie-jeebies
For Beebe's bathysphere
I lived through Brenda Frazier
And I'm here.
I've gotten through Herbert and J. Edgar Hoover
Gee, that was fun and a half
When you've been through Herbert and J. Edgar Hoover
Anything else is a laugh."

I agree that this is definitely the verse in question. Although it's only one verse it should not take away from the song as a whole but the entire point of putting cultural references in to your song such as these is so that people WILL know what you're talking about and be reminded of all of these things that she has gone through. I'm sure that the 1970 audience were familiar with and laughed at almost all of these quips but 40+ years later they just sound like names being listed and I don't think that was the original intent.

That's not to say that it should be updated I suppose, but I would argue that this verse creates the flaw in this song that is the precise reason why it is NOT timeless.

I guess I'm never going to believe that Herbert and J Edgar Hoover are that obscure.

The thing is, there's no real argument in this thread about the timelessness of the song in the first place. Mildred mentions it speaks to him more than any Sondheim song, but that has nothing to do with timelessness, it has to do with his personal reaction to the song.

Maybe the song isn't timeless, but it works in the context of the show, offending verse and all.

Updated On: 1/28/11 at 05:01 PM