Unusual pronunciations of words in songs- Page 3

[Theaterfan555]

Posted: 2/27/07 at 10:19pm

I always shudder at the lyric in "Another Opening, Another Show" from KISS ME KATE:

In Philly, Boston and Baltimo

Like, he changed the name of the city to make it rhyme with "show." I'm sorry, that's unacceptable even if you're Cole Porter.

Not a showtune, but has anyone ever noticed that Nat King Cole says "folks dressed up like Eskeemos" in The Christmas Song

[gumbo2]

Posted: 2/27/07 at 10:35pm

In response to the post about Jack in the Into The Woods OBC, he said EVERYTHING with extremely strange inflection, which I thought was genius for the character (if a little bizarre).

And as for lyrics in Sweeney (tidy/Friday) Sondheim was writing with the accent in mind, so I don't really count that as unusual.

[p.s.]

Posted: 2/27/07 at 10:44pm

When Gary Beach rolls his fingers it looks like he's going "tick tock, tick tock".
But sometimes he rolls them backwards as if to say "tock tick, tock tick".


p.s. Literally counterclockwise.

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 2/27/07 at 11:06pm

As someone studying classical singing, I've become extremely bothered by the way Broadway people sing "you." Like "yew." There are very few Broadway people who don't do it (an example of someone who doesn't is Rebecca Luker.) The worst offender IMO is Norbert Leo Butz; in The Last Five Years it really is noticeable. But again, that "you" is more of a classical thing. It's just something that's started to drive me nuts.

The "When I look atchu" thing is an attempt at the French accent, I think... it's always bothered me how Marguerite has a French accent but Armand doesn't, btw.

Anyway...
Evita London Revival has MANY offenses. "You let down your people, Eviter" being the one that stands in my mind.

[stonewall2]

Posted: 2/27/07 at 11:33pm

When I did "Once Upon A Mattress" recently the two girls playing the Queen (it was double cast) did not even try to say the word epitome correctly. They said it epytomy until finally someone corrected them and told them that it was not a word. Everyone I have ever seen do that part mispronounces epitome and never tries to make the word work with the music.

[EdmundOG]

Posted: 2/28/07 at 3:34pm

[i]Like, he changed the name of the city to make it rhyme with "show." I'm sorry, that's unacceptable even if you're Cole Porter. [/i]

What do you mean "even if you're Cole Porter"? He couldn't stop doing that stupid cutesy thing. Particularly in Kiss Me Kate. "Within our Demo-crassy" is especially egregious, as it comes BEFORE the words it's been changed to rhyme with.

[Danielm]

Posted: 2/28/07 at 3:52pm

I actually like it when the word is purposely written to be pronounced for a humourous rhyming effect and in Baltimo, or Democrassy.

It annoys me a little when a word is mispronounced without humor just so it will work with the melody as in Sunset BOOO-levard or The Phantom of the Op-ER-AH.

One amusing odd pronunciation, in the very odd FOLLIES revival for Reprise Vickie Carr while singing "In Buddie's Eyes" instead sang "In Buddies Ahs" which sounded like "In Buddies Ass".

[Weez]

Posted: 2/28/07 at 6:07pm

I hate hate HATE people mispronouncing words for cute/humorous effect. There's a girl at work who has taken to saying "crim" instead of "crime" because she thinks it's cutesy, and I am SO CLOSE to ripping her head off it's not even funny. XP

Anyway, tangent over...

[lesmisforever]

Posted: 2/28/07 at 7:22pm

I believe that's how you must pronounce it is the original poem in order for it to rhyme. Thus the "Jew-ahn." (It's not pronounced "Hwan" when you read the poem, which is the source material for the reference).

[Danielm]

Posted: 2/28/07 at 8:24pm

"I hate hate HATE people mispronouncing words for cute/humorous effect. There's a girl at work who has taken to saying "crim" instead of "crime" because she thinks it's cutesy, and I am SO CLOSE to ripping her head off it's not even funny. XP"

Go ahead and rip her head off.

I'm talking about when lyricists rhyme words for a humorous effect, not people in their daily lives;

"I'd go to hell fa ya
Or Philadelphia."

[Raviolisun]

Posted: 2/28/07 at 8:47pm

AAAWWWHHHLL I EEVAAHHHH NEEDED WAAHHHHSS THAH MUSIC AHND THAH MIIRRAHHH AHND THE CHAAHHHHNCE TO DAAAAHHHNCE FAH YEEEWWW!

[Danielm]

Posted: 3/1/07 at 3:47pm

"Like, he changed the name of the city to make it rhyme with "show." I'm sorry, that's unacceptable even if you're Cole Porter"

I'm sorry for all the offense everyone here will take at what I'm about to say and I will just say that I don't care whose feelings get hurt.

People on this site criticising Cole Porter? It just tells me those people are probably just too dumb to get the jokes.

[BSoBW2]

Posted: 3/1/07 at 3:57pm

That's Charlotte's natrual accent, anyway.

[Jon]

Posted: 3/1/07 at 4:05pm

Re KISS ME KATE:

The "Baltimo'" pronunciatiion works if, as in the original production, the first chorus of the song is sung by a "big black woman" (to quote marc Shaiman).

The "Gone With the Wined" bit is actually a double joke - a reference to "Gone With the Wind" and a play on the fact that in Shakespeare, the word "wind" was often pronounced to rhyme with "find".

[theminutepast]

Posted: 3/1/07 at 5:28pm

Miss Saigon:
Whatever heaven brings
is
Whatever heaven brangs

[fairygodmother]

Posted: 3/1/07 at 5:42pm

the first noel "look-ed" thing is something that happened frequently in old english - it happens a lot in shakespeare, and it always drives me crazy when people "iron it out", because it screws up the rhythm of the line.

[Jon]

Posted: 3/1/07 at 8:51pm

The funniest example intentionally mispronouncing words to make the rhyme work is in SPAMALOT:

We're knights of the round TABLE
Quite indefati-GABLE
But often times
We're given rhymes
That are quite unsing-ABLE

[Prettylittlepicture2]

Posted: 3/1/07 at 9:44pm

I have no idea if this is intentional, but the song "My High School Sweetheart" from In Trousers, ridiculous is pronounced rid-dik-a-lus.

[HumATune]

Posted: 3/1/07 at 11:26pm

He filled my days with endLESS wonder.

Instead of pronouncing like ENDliss.

And Joan Almedilla sang this:


“end-LESS won-da"

She had a lot of stranger pronunciations because she. could. not. belt.

And then there’s “pretendaaaang” from some Eponines.