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Lonely Room

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"Lonely Room"
Song
Published1943
Songwriter(s)Oscar Hammerstein II
Composer(s)Richard Rodgers

"Lonely Room" is a tune from Rodgers and Hammerstein's 1943 musical Oklahoma!, sung not too long after "Pore Jud Is Daid".

"Lonely Room" is Jud Fry's declaration that he will get out of his smokehouse and get Laurey Williams to be his own.[1] He states how tired he is of the dirtiness of his smokehouse, and how he longs for a girl of his own. Rodgers ability to describe character through music is highlighted by the chromatic sound and the adventurous dissonant intervals.

Sung by Howard Da Silva in the original Broadway production, the song was omitted from the 1955 film adaptation, though an instrumental version is heard briefly during the dream ballet.[2] It was restored for the 1980 and 1998 Broadway and London revivals.

Lyrics

The floor creaks, The door squeaks, There's a fieldmouse a-nibblin' on a broom. And I set by myself Like a cobweb on a shelf, By myself in a lonely room.

But when there's a moon in my winder And it slants down a beam 'cros my bed Then the shadder of a tree starts a-dancin' on the wall And a dream starts a-dancin' in my head. And all the things that I wish fer Turn out like I want them to be, And I'm better than that Smart Aleck cowhand Who thinks he is better'n me!

And the girl I want Ain't afraid of my arms And her own soft arms keep me warm. And her long, yeller hair Falls across my face Jist like the rain in a storm!

The floor creaks, The door squeaks, And the mouse starts a-nibblin' on the broom. And the sun flicks my eyes- It was all a pack o' lies! I'm awake in a lonely room...

I ain't gonna dream about her arms no more! I ain't gonna leave her alone! Goin' outside Git myself a bride Git me a womern to call My own.

References

  1. ^ Pogrebin, Robin (May 16, 2002). "Pore Jud Is . . . Sympathetic? Adding Depth To a Villain". The New York Times. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
  2. ^ Carter, Tim (2008). Oklahoma!: The Making of an American Musical. Yale University Press p. 161. ISBN 978-0-3001-3487-2.