Sleep-deprived theatric-analytical babblings
— Partial lyrics – Martin Guerre: “Don’t” —
Don’t, don’t let it start,
Know in your heart, each step we take, takes us too far.
Don’t.
Don’t fall for this.
From the first kiss, we’d start to lose,
lose who we are.
Don’t let the tides of your heart rise, or they’ll tear you apart.
But wrong, never reach for my hand.
Never let me come near you, for I fear you’ll regret.
One day, that I first kissed you.
One day, that I let myself hold you.
What I told you all I feel, please don’t….
…..
Of course, every time I hear a song like this, I take a different meaning away from it. I mean, there are several obvious interpretations, kinda like “Total Eclipse of the Heart” can be about drug addiction.
The song goes on of course, it is after all a duet of two reluctant lovers (or perhaps simply nervous and tentative). And has some gorgeous harmonies. Schonberg and Boublil, of course. They who brought us Les Miserables and Miss Saigon, fascinated by tragic love. Martin Guerre, I think, is a good one for me to like. Every time I listen to its music, I get a different impression. In terms of musicals, it’s certainly their weakest. Still, there are so many thresholds for new interpretation in it, so many restrained emotions that could overwhelm the audience were they not carefully released in moments like this.
There are few moments in the show that lend themselves to solo performances, so much depends on context. The passion is there, it just seems less clearly delineated. The tangle of relationships is hard to decipher in this medium, I suppose. It’s all in how they interact; the few solo pieces are more like snapshots than biographies. It seems unfinished. There are no moments of exuberant love or joy – the whole show is about confusion. I guess one thing I like about it is the leaving of so much to the imagination.
I think this song in particular best illustrates the threshold. Whether it’s a new human love or a new phase or a new enthrallment… dunno. So much unresolved, raising little but questions. Frustrating and fascinating, as I suppose all worthwhile pursuits are.
But it’s striking a chord tonight.
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