Musical Quote
We were watching South Pacific this morning, and the lyrics of a song that Lt. John Cable sings after Emile de Becque wonders while American nurse Nellie Forbush will not have anything to do with him.
To hate and fear,
You've got to be taught
From year to year,
It's got to be drummed
In your dear little ear
You've got to be carefully taught.
- You've Got To Be Carfeully Taught, music by Richard Rogers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II
4 comments:
Gonna wash that man.....right outta my hair!
It is one of my "favorite" songs from that show. Within a few seconds of lyric and linguistic beauty R&H capture the essence of hate, prejudice, and discrimination - and did so in an era in which to do so was not popular. It is a song that will live through the ages, not because of its grandeur, but because of its truth.
R&H were begged to pull the number from the show when it was doing its out-of-town trials before going into New York. On the road, critics and others "got it" and were sure the public wasn't ready. But they stuck to their guns and said what they had to say. they were well ahead of their time.
I heard tell in a recent revival on Broadway this song was nearly nixed, as potentially offensive to modern audiences!
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