Some Wicked Music!

My aunt and uncle went to see Wicked last week with my cousin, Beau. I knew that Beau liked Wicked, but he said he wasn't able to go with us. So I'm glad that he got to see it. My aunt and uncle didn't really know anything about it, but they liked it a lot.
My uncle said he wasn't too interested in the music though. Which surprised me, because I love most of it. And when I played "For Good" for Dad, he sad he wasn't too crazy about that music either.
But I get what they mean, since they're probably thinking about it from a classical music sort or perspective. And the strength of Wicked's music is mainly in the lyrics. The words, rhyming, and meaning of the songs are just amazing. And when you're in a theater, or listening to a song for the first time, it's pretty much impossible to hear every word and understand exactly what's being said. I've listened to the songs over and over, and also read through the lyrics (since there are a few nonsensical words, such as "disgustingified") so I've had plenty of time to feel the meaning in them. Plus Elphaba is amazing to listen to.
I figured I'd talk about some of the things I love in the Wicked soundtrack. And share some of my favorite phrases. I'll avoid writing all of them. (There may be a few minor spoilers).


The Wizard and I
In this song, she says that she has a vision. A vision about all of Oz having a celebration about her. Which comes true. Everyone celebrates the fact that she's dead. Man, that's so sad!
And she also thinks that the Wizard can make her not be green anymore, although that's not really important. Except it obviously is important to her, since she's fantasizing about it. Which makes me wonder how much she's trying to fool herself about her green skin (How do you think you'd react if you met someone green?).
"So happy I could melt." Such unfortunate foreshadowing...
"When people see me they will scream." Again, unfortunate foreshadowing. Poor Elphie.


What is This Feeling
Yesterday, I started singing the beginning of this song:

"What is this feeling
So sudden and new
I felt the moment
I laid eyes on you
My pulse is rushing
My head is reeling
My face is rushing
Oh, what is this feeling?"

And Dad said, "that's what I thought the first time I saw your Mom."
And I looked at him really weird as I continued to sing

Fervid as a flame
Does it have a name?
Yeeeees,
LOATHING!

At which Dad started laughing.
It really does sound like it could be the start of a love song. And yet it's not. Not by a long shot.
And then there's a line where the students say that they don't mean to be biased. Hah! Yeah right. There's a couple of these obvious contradictions in these songs. It's cool, because it's so obvious that they're lying.
And then they call Galinda a martyr, and she basically says that Elphaba was "sent to try her." Jeez. If someone said that about me, I would want to smack them so badly.
I don't get how a song about hating someone can be so fun to sing. But since they end up as friends, it's all okay.
And I love the overlapping melodies that happen later in the song. That kind of stuff is so awesome (Like The Confrontation in Les Mis).
(Galinda's little squeak at the end is so funny. ^o^ )


Dancing Through Life
This is one of the examples of freaking awesome rhyming.
There's some cool lines in this one. Like "Life's more painless for the brainless." And "those who don't try never look foolish."
Poor Boq.
And poor Nessa!
I still think this line is hilarious: "You deserve each other, this hat and you!" Poor Elphaba. Her fashion sense is even worse than mine. Well... maybe about the same.


Popular
"Celebrated heads of state
Or specially great communicators
Did they have brains of knowledge?
Don't make me laugh!
They were popular!"

Which is probably more true than I wish it were.


I'm not that Girl
There's some great phrases in this one.
"Hearts leap in a giddy whirl."
I love that image.

"Every so often we long to steal
To the land of what-might-have-been
But that doesn't soften the ache we feel
When reality sets back in."


Defying Gravity
Definitely one of my favorite songs. Here's my favorite parts of it.

"Too late for second-guessing
Too late to go back to sleep
It's time to trust my instincts,
Close my eyes and leap!"

"I'm through accepting limits
Cause someone says they're so
Some things I cannot change,
But till I try I'll never know.
Too long I've been afraid of
Losing love I guess I'd lost
Well if that's love,
It comes at much too high a cost!"


Thank Goodness

"But I couldn't be happier
Simply couldn't be happier
Well, not simply.
Cause getting your dreams
It's strange, but it seems
A little, well, complicated.
There's a kind of a sort of cost
There's a couple of things get lost
There are bridges you cross
You didn't know you crossed
Until you've crossed
And if that joy, that thrill
Doesn't thrill you like you think it will"

"Because happy is what happens
When all your dreams come true
Well, isn't it?"


Wonderful
"A man's called a traitor, or a liberator
A rich man's a thief or philanthropist.
Is one a crusader or ruthless invader?
It's all in which label
Is able to persist."


No Good Deed
The chanting she does sounds really cool.

"One question haunts and hurts
Too much, too much to mention
Was I really seeking good
Or just seeking attention?
Is that all good deeds are
When looked at with an ice-cold eye?
If that's all good deeds are,
Maybe that's the reason why
No good deed goes unpunished!"


For Good
Another of my favorites. It's a beautiful song. I'll resist writing the entire thing here.

"I've heard it said
That people come into our lives for a reason
Bringing something we must learn
And we are lead
To those who help us most to grow
If we let them
And we help them in return
Well, I don't know if I believe that's true
But I know I'm who I am today
Because I knew you."

"Like a comet pulled from orbit as it passes a sun"

"So much of me
Is made of what I learned from you
You'll be with me
Like a handprint on my heart
And now whatever way our stories end
I know you have re-written mine
by being my friend."

Elphaba: "And just to clear the air
I ask forgiveness
For the things I've done you blame me for."
Glinda: "But then I guess we know there's blame to share
And none of it seems to matter anymore."

Who can say if I've been changed forever
I do believe I have been changed forever
And because I knew you,
I have been changed for good."


Heheh. By the end I seem to have mainly just quoted the songs, but I think the words do a fine job of speaking for themselves.