I realize, of course, that it's no shame to be poor. But it's no great honor either! So, what would have been so terrible if I had a small fortune? Tevya, in Fiddler on the Roof says this - before he breaks into song, his longing to be a Rich Man. His honesty of expectations of what "a Rich Man's Life" was like still makes me smile. At first, he can't even fill in all the blanks - Ya ha deedle deedle, bubba bubba deedle deedle dum. All day long I'd biddy biddy bum. Ya ha deedle deedle, bubba bubba deedle deedle dum. If I were a biddy biddy rich, Yidle-diddle-didle-didle man. But, he figures it out, the difference is perception of others, when your rich they think you really know. and he's OK with that. :grin:
The rich part is Not "the sweetest thing of all" only the time it might buy you.
I think most of these songs are fairy tale replacements. By the time you're a teen and heading toward that hill you eventually climb over - whether you want to or not - you can't really Believe in "million dollar contracts: it was all a mistake, you ARE the prince/ princess" - but you can mock yourself, the desire to regain a little of that nugget of IF when you sing/ hear the music. Frankly, many of us Are destined to 'get by' for our entire lives. We know it, find humor and joy where we can, and work a bit harder to make sure everyone has shoes & underwear and count That as our 'success' - a pleasing tune to hum or belt out along the way is comforting, even as we mock ourselves with the fantasy.... As John Prine sings: "It's a big ole goofy world."
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branchandroot
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Date: 2006-07-22 04:40 pm (UTC)The rich part is Not "the sweetest thing of all" only the time it might buy you.
I think most of these songs are fairy tale replacements. By the time you're a teen and heading toward that hill you eventually climb over - whether you want to or not - you can't really Believe in "million dollar contracts: it was all a mistake, you ARE the prince/ princess" - but you can mock yourself, the desire to regain a little of that nugget of IF when you sing/ hear the music. Frankly, many of us Are destined to 'get by' for our entire lives. We know it, find humor and joy where we can, and work a bit harder to make sure everyone has shoes & underwear and count That as our 'success' - a pleasing tune to hum or belt out along the way is comforting, even as we mock ourselves with the fantasy.... As John Prine sings: "It's a big ole goofy world."