"Mark or Travis" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
>To me it's condescending & insulting to
>the person it addresses. In my head it basically says 'you're ain't
>exactly pretty, your bod ain't so hot and you're not the brightest
>light bulb on the Christmas tree but I love you anyway'. If it had
>even that little glimmer of humor in it, it might not be so bad. But
>I find the melody, though very beautiful in & of itself, to be very
>maudlin, as if the person singing actually pities the object of their
>affection. It just seems that the lyricist feels very superior to the
>person they love and feels the need to reassure them. Kinda
>unhealthy, I think. Now I know the song says 'don't change a hair for
>me, not if you care for me' but couldn't there have been at least one
>positive thing to say about this person? You're sweet. You're kind.
>You have a wonderful sense of humor. You make other people feel good
>about themselves.
In the seldom heard verse of "My Funny Valentine," the singer does say severa
l positive things about her loved one: he has good intentions, is "noble,"
"truthful, sincere." Even in the well known refrain, he is "sweet" and makes
her heart smile. Anyway, the singer's disparaging comments pertain mostly to
the cosmetic, and are sung with apparent sweet intent.
The Hart lyric is a modern paraphrase of Shakespeare's sonnet "My mistress'
eyes are nothing like the sun," which takes similar notice of the love
object's physical faults, even much more critical. The key to both texts is
the last couplet of the sonnet:
"And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare
As any she belied with false compare."
Both singers embrace the reality oin another Hart lyric, "My Romance," the
singer eschews all the cliched trappings of storybook love -- no "moon," no
"blue lagoon," no "twinkling stars" or "soft guitars." The singer is "wide
awake," and realizes that his "romance doesn't need anything but you" (and by
implication, "just the way 'you' are," Billy Joel, Shakespeare, etc.).
It's interesting to note, by the way, how Lorenz Hart's personal life
informed nearly every lyric he wrote. He had mild dwarfism (4' 9" with an
overly large head) and suffered constant rejection due to his appearance. His
inability to find requited love underscored his lyrics which demythologized
romance.
-Fred Simon
*****
My Funny Valentine - lyrics by Lorenz Hart, music by Richard Rodgers
VERSE
Be hold the way our fine feathered-friend
his virtue doth parade.
Thou knowest not my dim witted friend,
the picture Thou hast made.
Thy vacant brow and Thy tousled hair
conceal Thy good intent.
Thou noble upright, truthful, sincere
And slightly dopey gent- you are.
REFRAIN
My funny valentine
Sweet comic valentine
You make me smile with my heart
You looks are laughable, unphotographable
Yet you're my favorite work of art
Is your figure less than Greek
Is your mouth a little bit weak
When you open it to speak, are you smart?
Don't change a hair for me
Not if you care for me
Stay little valentine stay
Each day is valentine's day
*****
"My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun" - William Shakespeare
My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;
Coral is far more red than her lips' red:
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.
I have seen roses damask'd, red and white,
But no such roses see I in her cheeks;
And in some perfumes is there more delight
Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.
I love to hear her speak,--yet well I know
That music hath a far more pleasing sound;
I grant I never saw a goddess go,
My mistress when she walks, treads on the ground;
And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare
As any she belied with false compare.
*****
My Romance - lyrics by Lorenz Hart, music by Richard Rodgers
VERSE
I won't kiss your hand, Madam,
Crazy for you though I am.
I'll never woo you on bended knee,
No Madam, not me.
We don't need that flow'ry fuss,
No sir, Madam, not for us
REFRAIN
My romance
doesn't have to have a moon
in the sky
My romance
doesn't need a blue lagoon
standing by;
No month of May,
no twinkling stars,
no hide away,
no soft guitars.
My romance
doesn't need a castle
rising in Spain,
Nor a dance
to a constantly surprising refrain.
Wide awake
I can make my most fantastic dreams come true.
My romance doesn't need a thing but you.
