| WHO ARE YOU NOW: GREAT lyric in my humble opine | |
| Last Edit: lordofspeech 05:37 pm EST 02/05/22 | |
| Posted by: lordofspeech 05:27 pm EST 02/05/22 | |
| In reply to: re: WHO ARE YOU NOW Lyric Question - Circlevet 10:19 am EST 02/05/22 | |
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| It’s quarter and oughtta (orter). Seems like a great rhyme based on the lower east side accent. As for « Am I giving too little by my loving you too much? ». I think it’s brilliant. Fanny, an empath who wants to embrace the whole world, has fallen for an empty-souled creature. Addicted to gambling (and his own stylishness) over and above his own humanity or the needs of those he professes to love, Nicky is a version of the type currently called « narcissist. ». So of course Fanny would see her love as successful if she could successfully give to him. She is a classic « woman who loves too much. ». But in this song she begins to see that not only is her love (and her generosity) smothering him and pushing him away, it will ultimstely preclude him from any possible chance of growing into real humanity or empathy. Sharif was very effective in this role. There’s nobody home. And yet of course he would be attracted, initially, to Fanny. If only he could become alive to being a human being, as she is. To me, it’s a piercingly brilliant lyric in a very very sad song about the ill-fated fatedness of opposites attracting. I’m rambling. But I think I’m right here. Side-note...(There are some discrepancies in versions of WHO ARE YOU NOW’s other lyrics. I go with the OBCAST RECORDING.). « How is the view? Sunny and green? How do you compare it to the views you’ve seen? » also brilliantly points to the warm perspective on life that she has and wishes she could share with him. More likely, Nicky Arnstein has no color in his life whatsoever, let alone green. Seeking other people’s money to make himself feel whole, never knowing what « sunny and green » is like, and desperate to learn what it would be to be Fanny by possessing Fanny. It’s as pathological a relationship as that of Bill Sikes and Nancy. At least Fanny, in the end, walks away and stands up. (Styne went on record that the film’s conclusion with « My Man, » betrayed the correct finale of the story. Onstage, the show closes with a reprise of « Don’t Rain on my Parade. ». Which is perfect. She gives up show business for him at the end of Act One, but, in the finale/reprise, she gives him up so that she can survive and thrive. But if she sings « My Man, » Fanny ends up jettisoning Fanny. A death-in-life. He’s a bad bad man. He can’t help it. Probably will never change. But in WHO ARE YOU NOW, she starts to come to terms with his limitations. I also like Merrill’s lyrics in CARNIVAL. |
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