Nelly Spoor: Kinderorkest in een tuin
[Children's orchestra in a garden] (1912)

" … delighted to have even a bit part in this latest ongoing production."

My iAlogue, my internal dialogue, most often amounts to a soundtrack rather than a back-and-forth conversation, a concert more than a dialogue. I serve as a passive observer, witness, and fan. I firmly believe The Great American Songbook contains most of the advice worth taking in this world. If I had my druthers, I'd re-release The Bible as a compendium of Twentieth Century pop, jazz, and show tunes with lyrics more usefully instructive than any other moral/spiritual guidebook ever compiled. The vast majority of the tunes are so-called love songs and many focus on the more practical aspects of the emotion than does the typical heavenly host. Even the occasional vengeful tune employs language in ways that render them extremely attractive and unforgettable.

Rodgers and Hammerstein's HappyTalk, from their hit Broadway show South Pacific, typifies what I'm talking about here. The lyric encourages young love and offers decent advice. It asks the supermely musical question, "If you don't have a dream, how you gonna have a dream come true?" Further, the melody was born earworm. Get it in my head and it will reverberate for most of the following week. And what's to complain about such good vibes echoing around in what might otherwise be empty space between my ears? My walk repeats the cadence of the tune and I feel filled with bonhomie, everyone I meet seems like an instant long-lost friend. "HappyTalk keep talking HappyTalk, talk about things you like to do …"

Any odd Tuesday might be utterly transformed by a bit of Tommy Dorsey's band revising Sunny Side Of The Street. I feel especially susceptible when I'm feeling discouraged. I can gain instant buoyancy by remembering some snippet of Broadway wisdom or Hollywood insight. Gershwin could cure most ills with his introductions, and his brother could stitch up open wounds with his lyrics. Surround me with a show tune, and everything seems right with this world. Who could resist singing along? Who would want to resist?

I occasionally tune into Texas Hill Country, so-called Outlaw Country music, because it features some great lyric writers like Adam Wright and they create seriously infectious music. It's obviously not of the same sophisticated quality as even mediocre Broadway songbook veterans, but it can be equally inductive, and I listen for the feelings listening evokes. I want to live in a world where the old neighborhood gang could refurbish a run-down barn into a Broadway-quality theater over a long weekend and where everybody could suddenly sing and dance with the best professionals. I want the drama to become melodrama by the third reel and for the protagonist always to get the girl. If this predilection renders me old-fashioned, so be it. I'm old-fashioned and preternaturally happy, delighted to have even a bit part in this latest ongoing production.

©2024 by David A. Schmaltz - all rights reserved

Tags: #iAlogue , #PureSchmaltz