"In some ways too it's a song that can be taken as Curly trying to encourage Jud to kill himself in the 'when you're dead they'll all realize you weren't so bad and they'll cry cause they miss you and regret treating you like a total piece of shit - which you aren't, of course, but everyone thinks that anyway' kind of way."
Not only do I think it "can be taken" that way, I think that's exactly how it was meant to be taken, and that it can't really be taken any other way . It's right there in the lyrics, and also in the dialogue before the song.
"It's not just a comedy song. No matter how you perform it, it's pretty screwed up for a 'light-hearted' old fashioned musical comedy, especially as sung by the guy who is meant to be the romantic hero lead to the guy who is generally seen as the villain."
Agreed, and I think most audiences and critics have taken it that way from the beginning. It's a very weird "comedy" song sung in a very dark and morbid situation. |
