Bloody Mary is the girl I love.
Bloody Mary is the girl I love.
Bloody Mary is the girl I love.
Now ain't that too damn bad!
Isn't that astonishing for a first verse? It's got great repetition, so you can go to the bathroom or bake a cake and not have to worry about missing anything. And get the subtlety. You can almost picture Rodgers and Hammerstein arguing it out:
RODGERS: I've got it! We'll close it with "Now ain't that too damn bad!"
HAMMERSTEIN: [SHAKES HIS HEAD] No, I'm still partial to "And who gives a fuck what you think?"
The second verse takes us to unexpected places:
Her skin is tender as Dimaggio's glove.
Her skin is tender as Dimaggio's glove.
Her skin is tender as Dimaggio's glove.
Now ain't that too damn bad!
Got that? This verse wisely reiterates the structure and repetition of the first verse, but deepens our understanding of these butch sailors in World War II by illustrating their love of imagery. I'm sure this is a positively brilliant comparison, and one day soon a theatergoer will figure out exactly who this "Dimaggio" is.
Bloody Mary's chewin' betel nuts.
She is always chewin' betel nuts.
Bloody Mary's chewin' betel nuts.
And she don't use Pepsodent!
Now ain't that too damn bad!
Sadly, this verse kind of loses me. I'm not sure what chewing betel nuts says about a character. At the risk of sounding bold, R&H might have chosen a description that is a bit more meaningful, like "Bloody Mary has a hamster named Sam," or "Bloody Mary wears extra-large Spanx."
I don't think I need to explain the reference to Pepsodent other than noting I wrote a story praising Kelloggs once and two weeks later somebody sent me a Pop Tart in the mail.
Anyway, after examining the brilliance of this work, I'm sure you're a fan of musical theatre now too. Keep an eye out for South Pacific. And look for my forthcoming musical, Stonewall!, which tips its hat to R&H with the showstopper, "Harvey Starts His Day With Count Chocula."
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