Comments on: The spoken, then sung monologue of a prostitute

The spoken, then sung monologue of a prostitute

tellurian — Fri, 04 Aug 2006 21:17:21 -0800

is one of the most important songs in the history of the American theatre. The back story.

By: Epenthesis

Epenthesis — Fri, 04 Aug 2006 22:39:12 -0800

At a concert a couple of years ago I had the pleasure of seeing Victoria Clark (who won a Tony a year later for her incredible performance in The Light in the Piazza) sing this, substituting at the last minute for the originally announced Patti LuPone. It's a startling, upsetting, deeply thrilling song. Still, I preferred Clark's rendition of "From This Day On" (Brigadoon) later in the concert, which earned her a huge round of applause. She can sing anything.

By: tellurian

tellurian — Fri, 04 Aug 2006 22:53:34 -0800

***Colour me green***

By: languagehat

languagehat — Sat, 05 Aug 2006 11:23:45 -0800

Nice song, interesting back story. But "one of the most important songs in the history of the American theatre"? That's just insane. And this is not only insane but repugnant: British composer Alan Bush, creator of Joe Hill and other operas, told this writer in 1971, in Leningrad, "'The Nickel Under the Foot' is the finest blues ever written." It's a nice song that nobody's ever heard of, which makes it a good subject for a MeFi post, but this sort of hyperbole just detracts from it.

By: grabbingsand

grabbingsand — Sat, 05 Aug 2006 11:43:40 -0800

"Nickel Under The Foot" as performed by Polly Jean Harvey. From the 1999 film, Cradle Will Rock.

By: theonetruebix

theonetruebix — Sat, 05 Aug 2006 12:11:58 -0800

From the 1999 film, Cradle Will Rock. Well, from the end credits anyway.

By: elizard

elizard — Sat, 05 Aug 2006 16:16:31 -0800

That was very interesting--thanks, tellurian. And many thanks to grabbingsand for that gorgeous recording. I'm a PJ Harvey fan, but hadn't heard that one before.

By: PinkStainlessTail

PinkStainlessTail — Sat, 05 Aug 2006 16:28:28 -0800

"Nickel Under The Foot" as performed by Polly Jean Harvey. From the 1999 film, Cradle Will Rock. The sheer atrociousness of that cover nearly ruined the whole film for me. Harvey utterly failed to get this song, and her souless arrangement shows it.