For Low Voice Alone, from I Hear America Singing

Duration: 3:44

First Performances: 9 May 2024 / Christopher Scott, baritone / Rauh Studio Theater, Pittsburgh, PA

Dedication: “For Christopher Scott, 2024.”

Text: Daron Hagen

Publisher: Peermusic Classical

Program Note:

Written for the film / stage 2024 revival of I Hear America Singing for the character of Roger, an alcoholic baritone who struggles to remain sober during a critical weekend in New York City when, compelled by the fact that he must perform with his ex-wife, he is forced to come to terms with his failed marriage. The song combines musical theater singing with opera, and integrates body percussion. Folks familiar with the Lincoln Center area will recall Paddy McGlade’s, a bar that stood at the southwest corner of 67th Street and Columbus Avenue for more than 100 years before being closed and replaced by a Starbuck’s.

Lyric:

…To beat time.
…To lessen the longueurs.
...To forget.
...To remember.

It's the patient and the nurse.
It's the blessing and the curse.
It's both pram and hearse.

I don't think like you.
I don't drink like you.
I know I have a problem,
but don't tell me what to do,

Because who,
who wouldn't want the feeling to last forever?
Who wouldn't want potential to always be there,
Like the feeling of hanging in mid-air?

It's the beginning and the end.
It's the friend you always lacked.
It's tender til it renders you as stupid as a fact.

…To beat time.
…To lessen the longueurs.
...To remember to forget.
...To forget to remember.

I'm going to McGlade's for a drink.