| Although, if one believes that I'm Still Here is a book song for Carlotta about her life (outlined in the other Follies thread further up the board), it need not bring to mind the style of any past composers in the way the pastiche former Follies numbers do. I've always believed I'm Still Here is Carlotta singing about her life, not performing her Follies number from the past. That said, this discussion has made me ponder if it might not be so black and white. For one, no other character aside from the four leads (and their ghosts) sings a book song. And two, I'm Still Here does sound more like pastiche than the musical style of the other book songs in the show. Finally, we know the authors original intent was for Carlotta to sing on old Follies number (Foxtrot) and that the moment was reconsidered to tailor a song for the star they were writing for. Maybe the result was a hybrid where she sings about her life, but in a musical pastiche style. This might explain why some people get confused on this topic. |
