Let me tell you the story of a musical adventure. No literally, it was an adventure with musicals. And since many musicals are whimsical and fairy-tale-like, we shall storybook this story.
Ahem. Once upon a time in a magically crazy-weathered kingdom lived three sisters. Well actually, only two sisters lived there. The other one visited mostly on weekends. Nonetheless, these sisters were well-known throughout the land for their musical talents. They performed classical piano pieces, added beauty to any orchestral arrangement, and surprised all listeners with their stellar vocal talents. While they often shared these talents with the greatest amounts of seriousness, they had an especial procedure for using them when cozied up in their own home on its green hill rolling away in all directions.
One Thursday evening, a brilliant idea pounced upon the sisters before they knew it was to dance them away into a world of musical wonder . . . or, probably more accurately, of musical wrongness. The Wicked music book found itself in the hands of the sisters oldest and youngest, and a strange commotion rent the air as the two began a tragic slaughtering of the beautifully written melody Popular, though the lyrics stayed in tact.
It was monstrous! But it was oh so pleasing in its hilarity! And no mind, despite the grating in each ear, would miss the performance in its entirety.
And then, another idea crept close through the African prairie brush and grabbed hold of all three girls with deathly jaws.
Several musicals were pulled out of a black filing box and the fun commenced. The lyrics of My Fair Lady sung to the memorable phrases of Les Miserables. The Little Mermaid's Les Poisson sung passionately to Tangled's I See the Light. So many combinations of The Phantom of the Opera with all those already mentioned. The girls discovered exactly how long Masquerade was when they attempted three times to match its lyrics up with another musical's music. Finally a suitable pairing was made. With Part of Your World and Part of Your World (Reprised). Yes, it only worked if both songs were sung in succession. Another favorite was Past the Point of No Return lyrics with We are the Daughters of Triton. They also crafted a slightly altered rendition of Fathoms Below with the words of Tangled's Flower Incantation.
Somehow, those invited to hear these unique collaborations in close quarters were not able to grasp the beauty in its fullness. It seemed the performers themselves were the only ones with complete satisfaction. But it was enough to simply please themselves. After all, it was just a silliness they'd never share publicly anyway.
Do you think we were crazy to do this? If so, you would be correct. Although I'm sure there are plenty of Bowman-esque people out there who would immediately do this same thing. The best part of this was the phrase match-ups and the heart-warming melodies boasting about cutting off fishes heads . . . I mean, yes there were some strange meet ups, but it made the adventure fantastic!
From pondering these moments, I have come to a few conclusions about the writing of music in general. First, and most importantly, some lyrics when heard with melodies of opposing emotion sound really freaking creepy and wrong! Or just too silly to ever be used in front of people. The rhymes become forced and childish, the rhythms thrown together. So I guess you could say that any and every song ever written is ridiculous. Any of them can be mocked, which brings me to my second point. Musicians are fantastic mythical beasts! (Credit for that description goes to Rhett and Link.) They bring life to their lyrics through so many varying melodies, and their music overwhelms listeners with its expression of emotion whether the words are there or not.
Short story made shorter: give musicians some credit and support them if you especially like them. And also, think about this. Every new song for them is another risk, exposing themselves for criticism and ridicule. Yeah, I'd say musicians are pretty tough kids.
So go to a concert or go buy a CD or something.
Oh. And they all lived happily ever after.
Awesome_
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