with a song in my heart...

from the movie "With a Song in My Heart"
sung by Jane Froman
pictured here Susan Hayward
with Richard Allan

Though I know that we meet ev'ry night
and we couldn't have change since the last time,
to my joy and delight,
it's a new kind of love at first sight.
Though it's you and it's I all the time
ev'ry meeting's marvelous pastime.
You're increasingly sweet,
so whenever we happened to met
I greet you ...

With a song in my heart
I behold your adorable face.
Just a song at the start
but it soon is a hymn to your grace.
When the music swells
I'm touching you hand
It tells that your're standing near, and ..
At the sound of your voice
heaven opens his portals to me.
Can I help but rejoice
that a song such as ours came to be?
But I always knew
I would live life through
with a song in my heart for you.

Oh, the moon's not a moon for a night
and these stars will not twinkle and fade out,
and the words in my ears
will resound for the rest of my years.
In the morning I find with delight
not a note of our music is played out.
It will be just as sweet,
and an air that I'll live to repeat:
I greet you ...

With a song in my heart
I behold your adorable face.
Just a song at the start
but it soon is a hymn to your grace.
When the music swells
I'm touching you hand
It tells that your're standing near, and ..
At the sound of your voice
heaven opens his portals to me.
Can I help but rejoice
that a song such as ours came to be?
But I always knew
I would live life through
with a song in my heart for you.

no one is alone...

sung by Bernadette Peters
from "Into The Woods"
by Stephen Sondheim




No one here to guide you
Now you're on your own
Only me beside you
Still your not alone
No one is alone
Truley
No one is alone

Sometimes people leave you
Half-way through the wood
Others may decieve you
You decide whats good
You decide alone
But no one is alone

People make mistakes
Father's, Mother's
People make mistakes
Holding to their own
Thinking they're alone

Honor their mistakes
Everybody makes
One another's terrible mistakes

Witches can be right
Giants can be good
You decide whats right
You decide whats good
Just remember

Someone is on your side
Someone else is not
Well we're seeing our side
Maybe we forgot
They are not alone
Cause no one is alone

Hard to see the light now
Just don't let it go
Things will come out right now
We can make it so
Someone is on your side
No one is alone


cross posted on no matter what... eschew obfuscation

Bosom Buddies - Bea Arthur...

on the sad news of a life well lived ending, i would be remiss in not posting my favorite Bea song - Bosom Buddies - from Mame.

i've previously posted the version of Bea singing it from the movie with Lucille Ball. here she is singing it with the person that made it famous with her - Angela Lansbury...




the real Vera Charles...

brush up your Shakespeare...

Mayor Richard J. Daley has announced that this Thursday, April 23, 2009, is 'Talk Like Shakespeare Day' in Chicago.

April 20, 2009 (CHICAGO) -- In honor of William Shakespeare's upcoming birthday, Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley has proclaimed "Talk Like Shakespeare Day" in the city.

Although Shakespeare's actual birth date is not known, many scholars believe it to have been on April 23, 1564, since the poet and playwright is known to have been baptized three days later.

This year, April 23 is Thursday.

In his recent proclamation, Daley urged Chicagoans to celebrate the occasion by bringing the spoken words of Shakespeare into their daily lives.

ABC7 Chicago News via the AP

so what's the big deal?

i tried to find a video of how Da Mayor normally speaks, but couldn't. he speaks soutside. that's not a typo. there is no /sh/ sound in soutside English. i should know; i speak it fluently.

well, not on a regular basis. with education you learn to speak differently, but i can slip right into it when i'm with friends or family. as a matter of fact, i just got of the phone with my cousin. "i's speakin' soutside wid'im" the entire time.

so, for Mayor Daley to proclaim this Thursday "Talk Like Shakespeare Day" is wonnerfull.

actually, it's also in conjunction with the Chicago Shakespeare Theater that is one of the greatest in the country. it won a national Tony Award a number of years ago for top regional theater. i've seen many incredible performances there over the years.

so, thou may speaketh on Thursday yon as if thy were with the Bard


but you may need to "Brush Up Your Shakespeare" first...




words & music by Cole Porter
from Kiss Me Kate

The girls today in society
Go for classical poetry,
So to win their hearts one must quote with ease
Aeschylus and Euripides.
But the poet of them all
Who will start 'em simply ravin'
Is the poet people call
The bard of Stratford-on-Avon.

Brush up your Shakespeare,
Start quoting him now.
Brush up your Shakespeare
And the women you will wow.
Just declaim a few lines from "Othella"
And they think you're a heckuva fella.
If your blonde won't respond when you flatter 'er
Tell her what Tony told Cleopaterer,
And if still, to be shocked, she pretends well,
Just remind her that "All's Well That Ends Well."
Brush up your Shakespeare
And they'll all kowtow.

Brush up your Shakespeare,
Start quoting him now.
Brush up your Shakespeare
And the women you will wow.
If your goil is a Washington Heights dream
Treat the kid to "A Midsummer Night Dream."
If she fights when her clothes you are mussing,
What are clothes? "Much Ado About Nussing."
If she says your behavior is heinous
Kick her right in the "Coriolanus."
Brush up your Shakespeare
And they'll all kowtow,
And they'll all kowtow,
And they'll all kowtow.

Brush up your Shakespeare,
Start quoting him now.
Brush up your Shakespeare
And the women you will wow.

Brush up your Shakespeare
And they'll all kowtow,






crossposted at no matter what... eschew obfuscation

I dreamed a dream...

this is the dream a lot of people would love to come through.

embedding has been disable on YouTube so you need to click on the link below for one of the biggest surprises you've ever heard...

Susan Boyle - Singer - Britain's Got Talent 2009

simply amazing...

Three-Five-Zero-Zero...

after the last entry, i decided to post my favorite song from the musical Hair. the phrase dirty little war i used in the previous post is from the lyric.

it's quite the anti-war song...

and anti-racist, if you listen carefully to the meaning behind it...

Three-Five-Zero-Zero
from Hair
the film version
by James Rado and Gerome Ragni



Ripped open by metal explosion
Caught in barbed wire
Fireball
Bullet shock
Bayonet
Electricity
Shrapnel
Throbbing meat
Electronic data processing
Black uniforms
Bare feet, carbines
Mail-order rifles
Shoot the muscles
256 Viet Cong captured
256 Viet Cong captured

Prisoners in Niggertown
It's a dirty little war
Three Five Zero Zero
Take weapons up and begin to kill
Watch the long long armies drifting home

Where or When...

Happy B-day, George...


sung by George Michael
from Babes in Arms (1937)
music/lyrics by Richard Rogers & Lorenz Hart


It seems we stood and talked like this before
We looked at each other in the same way then
But i can't remember where or when
The clothes you're wearing and the clothes you wore
The smile you are smiling you were smiling then
But i can't remember where or when
Some things that happen for the first time
Seem to be happening again
And so it seems that we have met before
And laughed before
And loved before
But who knows where or when

Some of those things that seem to happen for the first time
Seem to be happening again
And so it seems that we have met before
And laughed before
And loved before
But who knows where or when.

known mostly for pop/rock music, George Michael put together the album featured in the video above of standards from the the 1930's-1990's that show the versatility of his talent. his version of Roxanne written by Sting and first performed by The Police is a favorite. you can find it here.

Crazy World...

sung by Julie Andrews
from Victor/Victoria
lyric - Leslie Bricusse
music - Henry Mancini


Crazy world
Full of crazy contridictions, like a child.
First you drive me wild, and then you win my heart
With your wicked art.
One minute tender, gentle, then tempermental as a summer storm.
Just when I believe your heart's getting warmer, you're cold, and you're cruel.
And I like a fool, try to cope, try to hang on, to hope.

Crazy world
Every day the same old roller coaster ride.
But I've got my pride, I won't give in.
Even though I know I'll never win.
Oh, how I love this crazy world.


i thought of this song after finishing a post on my main blog - no matter what... eschew obfuscation - regarding the death of George Carlin today - now, who's going to tell us the truth?

i think he really loved this crazy world otherwise he would never had told us the truth about it...

Money, money, money...

Money from Cabaret
Liza Minelli & Joel Grey


Money makes the world go round
The world go round, the world go round
Money makes the world go round
It makes the world go round

A mark, a yen, a buck or a pound
A buck or a pound, a buck or a pound
Is all that makes the world go round
That clinking, clanking sound
Can make the world go round

Money, money, money, money
Money, money, money, money
Money, money, money, money, money

If you happen to be rich and you feel like a night's
entertainment
You can pay for a gay escapade
If you happen to be rich, and alone, and you need
A companion, you can ring tingaling for the maid

If you happen to be rich and you find you are left by your
lover
Tho you moan and you groan quite a lot
You can take it on the chin
Call a cab, and begin to recover on your fourteen carat
yacht

Money makes the world go round
The world go round, the world go round
Money makes the world go round
Of that we both are sure
On being poor

Money, money, money, money
Money, money, money, money
Money, money, money, money, mon

When you haven't any coal in the stove and you freeze
In the winter and you curse to the wind at your fate
When you haven't any shoes on your feet and your coat's
thin as paper
And you look thirty pounds underweight

When you go to get a word of advice from the fat little
pastor
He will tell you to love evermore
But when hunger comes to rap, rat-a-tat, rat-a-tat
At the window, see how love flies out the door

For money makes the world go round
The world go round, the world go round
Money makes the world go round
The clinking, clanking sound of money

Money, money, money, money, money, money, money
Get a little, get a little
Money, money, money, money
Mark, a yen, a buck or a pound
That clinking, clanking, clunking sound
Is all that makes the world go round
It makes the world go round

As If We Never Said Goodbye...

Happy Birthday, Barbra...


As if We Never Said Goodbye
from Sunset Boulevard




I don't know why Im frightened
I know my way around here
The cardboard trees, the painted scenes, the sound here.
Yes a world to rediscover,
But I'm not in any hurry
And I need a moment.

The whispered conversations in overcrowded hallways,
The atmosphere as thrilling here as always
Feel the early morning madness
Feel the magic in the making
Why everything's as if we never said goodbye.

I've spent so many mornings
Just trying to resist you
I'm trembling now
You can't know how I've missed you,
Missed the fairy-tail adventures
In this ever-spinning playground
We were young together.

I'm coming out of make-up
The lights already burning,
Not long until the cameras will start turning
And the early morning madness
And the magic in the making...
Yes, everything is as if we never said goodbye.

I don't want to be alone that's all in the past,
This world's waited long enough,
I've come home at last!

And this time will be bigger,
And brighter than we knew it.
So watch me fly, we all know I can do it...
Could I stop my hand from shaking?
Has there ever been a moment with so much to live for?

The whispered conversations in overcrowded hallways,
So much to say, not just today, but always.
We'll have early morning madness.
We'll have magic in the making.
Yes, everything is as if we never said goodbye...
Oh, please don't ever ever make me say goodbye!

He's my friend...

He's my friend
from The Unsinkable Molly Brown

look at the dance moves carefully; they're remarkable... in heels, full length gown, one single take - incredible...

Happy Birthday, Debbie Reynolds!

bosom buddies...

Bosom Buddies
from Auntie Mame
Lucille Ball & Bea Arthur

Vera and Mame:
[singing]
We'll always be bosom buddies,
Friends, sisters and pals;
We'll always be bosom buddies,
If life should reject you,
There's me to protect you.
Vera:
If I say that your tongue is vicious,
Mame:
If I call you uncouth;
Vera and Mame:
It's simply that who else but a bosom buddy
Will sit down and tell you the truth.
Vera:
[speaking]
Tho' now and again I'm aware that my candid opinion may sting,
Mame:
Tho' often my frank observation might scald;
I've been meanin' to tell you for years
You should keep your hair natural like mine.
Vera:
If I kept my hair natural like yours, I'd be bald.
[singing]
But darling,
Vera and Mame:
We'll always be dear companions,
Vera:
My crony,
Mame:
My mate;
Vera and Mame:
We'll always be harmonizing,
Vera:
Orphan Annie and Sandy,
Vera and Mame:
Like Amos and Andy.
Vera:
If I say that your sense of style's as far as off as your youth;
It's simply that who else but a bosom buddy
Will tell you the whole stinkin' truth.
Mame:
[speaking]
Each time that a critic has written, "Your voice is the voice of a frog!"
Straight to your side to defend you I rush;
You know that I'm there ev'ry time that the world makes and unkind
remark.
When they say "Vera Charles is the world's greatest lush!"
[singing]
It hurts me!
Vera:
And if I say your fangs are showing,
Mame, pull in your claws,
It's simply that who else but a bosom buddy
Will notice the obvious flaws!
Mame:
[speaking]
I feel it's my duty to tell you it's time to adjust to your age;
You try to be "Peg O' My Heart", when you're "Lady Macbeth."
Exactly how old are you, Vera? The truth!
Vera:
Well, how old do you think?
Mame:
I'd say somewhere in between forty and the death!
Vera and Mame:
[singing]
But sweetie,
Vera:
I'll always be Alice Toklas,
If you'll be Gertrude Stein.
And tho' I'll admit I've dished you,
I've gossiped and gloated,
But I'm so devoted.
Mame:
And if I say that sex and guts made you into a star,
It's simply that who else but a bosom buddy
Will tell you how rotten you are.
Vera and Mame:
Just turn your bosom buddy
For aid and affection,
For help and direction,
For loyalty, love and for sooth!
Remember that who else but a bosom buddy
Will sit down and level
And give you the devil,
Will sit down and tell you the truth!

being alive...

Being Alive - John Barrowman

i'm sitting here watching the 2006 version of Company by Stephen Sondheim on PBS right now with Raul Esparza. It won the 2007 Tony for Best Revival and he was nominated for Best Actor in a Musical.

Being Alive is usually considered the show stopper in the play. it is also the finale. it really says a lot when you listen to the words. I prefer the John Barrowman version of all of the ones i've heard. Barrowman did it in a revue with Carol Burnett years ago, but the videos are not very clear. when i found the video above, it combined John's version with my favorite character - Captain Jack - in Torchwood. what more could i ask for?

after the lyric, i have included the Raul Esparza version for your added enjoyment.

Someone to hold you too close
Someone to hurt you too deep
Someone to sit in your chair
And ruin your sleep
And make you aware of being alive

Someone to need you too much
Someone to know you too well
Someone to pull you up short
And put you through hell
And give you support for being alive - being alive
Make me alive, make me confused
Mock me with praise, let me be used
Vary my days, but alone is alone, not alive.

Somebody hold me too close
Somebody force me to care
Somebody make me come through
I'll always be there
As frightened as you of being alive
Being alive, being alive

Someone you have to let in
Someone whose feelings you spare
Someone who, like it or not
Will want you to share a little, a lot of being alive
Make me alive, make me confused
Mock me with praise, let me be used
Vary my days, but alone is alone, not alive

Somebody crowd me with love
Somebody force me to care
Somebody make me come through
I'll always be there
As frightened as you to help us survive
Being alive, being alive,
Being alive, being alive.


Being Alive - Raul Esparza


[the other song from the play i'll have to post is The Ladies Who Lunch with Elaine Stritch who was in the original Broadway version at another time. it was a theme song the bartenders had at the bar i worked at many years ago. we had a tendency to go out to lunch before work and felt no pain when we got there. if you get my drift?]

You can pull all the stops out...

Till they call the cops out
Grind your behind till you bend.
But you gotta get a gimmick
If you wanna get a hand.
You can sacrifice your sacharo
Working in the back row.
Bump in a dump till you're dead.
Kid you gotta have a gimmick
If you wanna get ahead.
You can uh...You can uh...
You can uh...uh...uh...
That's how Burlesque was born.
So I uh...and I uh...
And I uh...uh...uh...
But I do it with a horn...
Once I was a Schleppa,
Now I'm Miss Mazzeppa,
With my revolution in dance.
You gotta have a gimmick
If you wanna have a chance!



stephen sondhiem is known for many, many musicals - sweeney todd, assassins, company.... what a lot of people forget is that he also wrote the lyrics for many other shows - west side story and gypsy being two of the biggies. the video above is from the movie gypsy. you gotta have a gimmick is my favorite song from it but there is a personal story that adds to my favoring it. back in the day, many, many many years ago, i tended bar in chicago. one evening chili pepper and a couple of the other performers from the baton came in. when i saw them i grabbed the gypsy disc and put you gotta have a gimmick on the turntable. chili came up to the bar and said, "michael, you're a bitch!" i said, "thank you" and bought them all cocktails. see... ya gotta have a gimmick...

i am what i am...

i am my own special creation
so come take a look, give me the hook or the ovation
it's my world that i want to have a little pride in
my world and it's not a place i have to hide in
life's not worth a damn 'til you can say, hey world
i am what i am

i am what i am is from the musical version of la cage au folles. this is the breakout song. the scene in the play is albin getting ready to perform and putting on his makeup/costume, hence, the opening explanation that john does here.

john barrowman is doing it from a bbc tv show called the sound of musicals that focused on, what else, musicals. he has also been seen in the new dr. who series, his own bbc show torchwood, london stage productions - sunset boulevard. the movies de-lovely and the producers, on broadway, in the nighttime soap opera central park, and many, many other venues.

john was born in england and lives there now with his partner. he grew up in the joliet/plainfield, illinois area not that far from where i live. he returns to his high school alma mater to run summer workshops for students in theatre, film and music. in the interviews i've watched with him, he seems like quite a character. i would love to meet and get to know him. he always seems like he's having a great time. you'll see more of him here from time to time. i'm a great fan.

priceless...

i started out looking for cole porter music, got into elaine paige, ended up with john barrowman.

but... in looking at john barrowman performances, i came across this priceless blooper with carol burnett and john (he's in the deep red shirt). it's worth it. watch...



i'll have to do john barrowman next

what good is sitting alone in your room?

Come hear the music play.
Life is a Cabaret, old chum,
Come to the Cabaret.

i couldn't find a video of liza minelli singing her signature song, liza with a z, but it might be better not to use it. she is probably better known for many others, especially from the movie cabaret. in cabaret there is really too much from which to choose. she was really great in all of the music in the movie.

but, finally, i would be remiss if i didn't post the title song, and finale in the movie, from cabaret. last week was liza's 60th birthday. she was born four days after i was.

happy birthday, liza...



and my favorite part of the lyric -

I used to have a girlfriend
known as Elsie
With whom I shared
Four sordid rooms in Chelsea

She wasn't what you'd call
A blushing flower...
As a matter of fact
She rented by the hour.

The day she died the neighbors
came to snicker:
"Well, thats what comes
from to much pills and liquor."

But when I saw her laid out like a Queen
She was the happiest...corpse...
I'd ever seen.

to be at the top...

etre à la hauteur is from a french musical Le Roi Soleil about louis xiv. i know. only the french would do a musical about the sun king. well, maybe. maybe not. this song was also one of the top hits in france the year it premiered with thanks to the young man singing the song - emmanuel moire. besides, i like the song.

Emmanuel Moire - Etre à la hauteur

so what's it like to be at the top? lonely...

sins of the flesh...

the history of the world, my dear, is who gets eaten and who gets to eat...



we'll serve anyone, and to anyone, at all...........

try a little priest!

faerie tales...

though i prefer the original version with bernadette peters, i really like the message that barbra gives with her rendition. my life has been surrounded by children. i see in them the hope of everything. they are going to be what i will miss the most when i retire in march.