The Want of a Nail

[eatlasagna]

Posted: 10/17/04 at 4:57pm

ok... so I finished watching the movie CAMP... and like most of you said... crappy story but some good performances, especially the two girls singing How Shall I See You Through My Tear and Here's Where I Stand (such a powerful yet simple song)... but my friends and i are confused... and maybe i'm dumb... but what the hell do the lyrics of The Want of a Nail mean??? what's the song about??? thanks

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 10/17/04 at 4:59pm

Sasha Allen sings How Shall I See.
Tiffany Taylor sings Here's Where I Stand

[Mamie]

Posted: 10/17/04 at 5:03pm

I don't know the song you're talking about, but the saying goes:

"For want of a nail, the shoe was lost (referring to a horse shoe)

For want of the shoe, the horse was lost,
For want of the horse, the rider was lost,
For want of the rider, the battle was lost,
For want of the battle, the kingdom was lost.

And all for the want of a nail.

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 10/17/04 at 5:05pm

those are the lyrics.....

[Mamie]

Posted: 10/17/04 at 5:25pm

Wow! I never thought of anything that heavy before. I've heard that saying since I was very little and it was always used to demonstrate the importance of taking care of the little things, and not letting them slide. Because forgetting some little thing today might lead to a greater loss later.

[Plum]

Posted: 10/17/04 at 6:33pm

Wasn't there something derived from that in Richard III? I think it was just, "My kingdom for a horse!" though.

[spiderdj82]

Posted: 10/17/04 at 7:38pm

"The Want of a Nail" actually does not come from a musical. It is from a pop singer named Todd Rundgren. The song that is from THE GOSPEL OF COLONUS that they sing in CAMP is " How Shall I See You Through My Tears"

Updated On: 10/17/04 at 07:38 PM

[eatlasagna]

Posted: 10/17/04 at 9:04pm

so the lyric so The Want of a Nail are not original lyrics?

[sndtrklvr]

Posted: 10/17/04 at 9:55pm

Todd Rundgren is a rock singer best known for the song "Hello its me" The song is a remake of his song. BTW, Idina Menzel sings on the "Camp" version.

[eatlasagna]

Posted: 10/17/04 at 10:36pm

what does Idina sing? a song or a line of a song?

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 10/18/04 at 12:15am

Idina didn't sing any CAMP songs.. the kids did. Unless you mean a background/underscore song.. which Want Of A Nail is not.

[NoDayButToday2]

Posted: 10/18/04 at 12:17am

Wait. You've managed to thouroughly confuse me. Since when is Idina involved with CAMP? I think you are way overanalyzing the lyrics too. Just sit back and enjoy the song!

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 10/18/04 at 12:18am

Idina had nothing to do with CAMP/Want Of A Nail.

[eatlasagna]

Posted: 10/18/04 at 12:23am

i wasn't analyzing the lyrics when i asked if Idina sang on it... someone said she did so i just wanted to confirm...

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 10/18/04 at 12:24am

the KIDS sing it


Vince Rimoldi
Daniel letterle
Joanna Chilcoat
ryan Fitzgerald
tracee beazer
dequina Moore............

etc

[NoDayButToday2]

Posted: 10/18/04 at 12:26am

The 'I think you are overanalyzing the lyrics' wasn't directed at you, eatlasanga

Posted: 10/18/04 at 1:50am

Some analysis of the lyrics:

A small event can change things far beyond the seeming initial circumstance.

"For want of a nail the kingdom was lost"

Something of great importance may depend on an apparently trivial detail.

The idea is sometimes used today as a metaphor for chaos theory, which states that even very small changes can have huge effects down the line. This also is known as "sensitive dependence on initial conditions."

[sndtrklvr]

Posted: 10/18/04 at 10:18am

Broadwayguy2,

Idina Menzel does sing backup on "The want of a nail" on the Camp soundtrack. Check out the credits to the soundtrack.

[umgeoboy]

Posted: 10/18/04 at 3:38pm

If you type Idina's name into IMDB.com camp comes up. She is a background singer.

Updated On: 10/18/04 at 03:38 PM

[bronxboundexpress]

Posted: 10/18/04 at 3:41pm

"We have a sports counselor?"

[mizzie]

Posted: 10/18/04 at 3:55pm

I love the movie camp....the story isn't the best I've seen, but the musical sequences are the best. Idina Menzel sing back-up? Oh wow....I'll never listen to the soundtrack the same way ever again! Also....the song is about how one little thing can change everything....kind of like what the kids at the camp want to do.

[NoDayButToday2]

Posted: 10/18/04 at 4:08pm

"We have a sports counselor?"

Haha I LOVE the scene where they are all playing baseball

[mizzie]

Posted: 10/18/04 at 4:12pm

LOL, I love the Baseball scene too...."The Sooner We Finish This The Sooner We Can All Go Home!" "They said black is slimming?"

Hey, what is everyone's favourite musical performance? For some reason I really like "Turkey Lurkey Time"....I don't know why.

[WindyCityActor]

Posted: 10/18/04 at 4:28pm

My favorite number: "Ladies Who Lunch"

Best moment by far....the snipette of "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf" that appears at the very end of the credits.

[Mamie]

Posted: 10/18/04 at 5:32pm

"The Want of a Nail" actually does not come from a musical. It is from a pop singer named Todd Rundgren.

so the lyric so The Want of a Nail are not original lyrics?


I had to do a little looking into this when I saw these notes. Again, I'm assuming that we're still talking about the same basic lyrics because broadwayguy2 said they were the same.

When I said I'd heard that proverb when I was little I meant I'd heard it around 50 years ago. Definitely pre-Rundgren. When I looked it up I found out that Benjamin Franklin had cited it in one of his "Poor Richard's Almanac's" in 1758. And that probably wasn't the first. I saw that it was referenced in Shakespeare's "Richard III" - although I wasn't able to spot it immediately.