Music From the Past, When the World Was Young
Brigadoon; Heather on the Hill; a man discovers joy and love
If you can stand it, you might contrast Brigadoon with “Get rich or die tryin’”, or any sample of hip hop lyrics that have infiltrated what is called The Culture.
Once upon a time, American Broadway musicals took the country by storm. South Pacific, Oklahoma, Finian’s Rainbow, Guys and Dolls…
Many of the musicals were made into films. Like Brigadoon.
Here’s a synopsis of that exhilarating show (1947).
Stageagent.com: —When New Yorkers Tommy Albright and Jeff Douglas get lost on a vacation in the Scottish Highlands, they stumble into Brigadoon. Brigadoon is a mythical village that, they learn, appears for a single day once every hundred years. At first, Tommy and Jeff are mystified by the villagers’ 18th century garb as they go to market, but they are soon charmed by romantic liaisons: Tommy, who is engaged back in New York, falls terribly in love with headstrong Fiona, while Jeff enjoys a harmless flirtation with Meg Brockie. It is only when Harry Beaton, the rejected suitor of Fiona’s sister, Jean, tries to leave Brigadoon that the two men realize the complicated truth: at the end of the day, this town will disappear into the mist for the next hundred years – and if anyone succeeds in leaving Brigadoon, the town and the people in it will be lost, forever. Tommy is forced to choose between returning to the world that he knows and his New York fiancee—or taking a chance on life and love in a mysterious new place. Including such famous hits as “Heather on the Hill” and “Almost Like Being in Love,” Lerner and Loewe’s Brigadoon has music that will sweep you off your feet and a whimsical story that is a tribute to the power of true love.—
Tommy risks everything for true love…and grasps it.
TCTL editor’s note:
Reading Jon Rappoport’s post (above) inspired me to share the music from Brigadoon here with our readers. The music and the lyrics lifted my heart. I couldn’t help but listen over and over as I prepared the lyrics, and I remember being enchanted by the music when I first heard it so many years ago.
“There’s a smile on my face for the whole human race. Why, it’s almost like being in love.”
“All the music of life seems to be, like a bell that is ringing for me.”
I hope that as you listen to the videos shared below, that this music will bring a smile to your heart and to your face, and that perhaps you will find yourself swaying with the sounds of joy and the love carried within the music.
The story of Brigadoon is magical in that it reminds us of the many worlds within our world. And that the choice is ours where we hold our attention. Our attention carries our power to create worlds.
I hope you enjoy listening as much as I did while preparing this. I know I’ll be hearing their echo and will be singing these songs for days to come. ~ Kathleen
Music from Brigadoon as performed by Kelli O’Hara and Patrick Wilson, New York City Center in 2017
“Almost Like Being In Love” from Brigadoon
Lyrics
Maybe the sun gave me the power
For I could swim Loch Lomond
And be home in half an hour
Maybe the air gave me the drive
For I’m all aglow and alive
What a day this has been
What a rare mood I’m in
Why, it’s almost like being in love
There’s a smile on my face
For the whole human race
Why, it’s almost like being in love
All the music of life seems to be
Like a bell that is ringing for me
And from the way that I feel
When that bell starts to peal
I would swear I was falling
I could swear I was falling
It’s almost like being in love
When we walked up the brae
Not a word did we say
It was almost like bein’ in love
But your arm linked in mine
Made the world kind o’ fine
It was almost like being in love
All the music of life seems to be
Like a bell that is ringing for me
And from the way that I feel
When that bell starts to peal
I would swear I was fallin’
I could swear I was falling
It’s almost like being in love
The Making of Lerner & Loewe’s Brigadoon (New York City Center 2017 Cast Recording)
The Heather on the Hill
Lyrics
Can’t we two go walkin’ together
Out beyond the valley of trees?
Out where there’s a hillside of heather
curtsyin’ gently in the breeze
That’s what I’d like to do
See the heather, but with you
The mist of May is in the gloamin’
And all the clouds are holdin’ still
So take my hand and let’s go roamin’
Through the heather on the hill
The mornin’ dew is blinkin’ yonder
There’s lazy music in the rill
And all I want to do is wander
Through the heather on the hill
There may be other days as rich and rare
There may be other springs as full and fair
But they won’t be the same
They’ll come and go
For this I know
That when the mist is in the gloamin’
And all the clouds are holdin’ still
If you’re not there I won’t go roamin’
Through the heather on the hill
The heather on the hill
~
The mist of May is in the gloamin’
And all the clouds are holdin’ still
So take my hand and we’ll go roamin’
Through the heather on the hill
The mornin’ dew is blinkin’ yonder
There’s lazy music in the rill
And ’tis a lovely time to wander
Through the heather on the hill
There may be other days as rich and rare
There may be other springs as full and fare
But they won’t be the same
They’ll come and go
For this I know
That when the mist is in the gloamin’
And all the clouds are holdin’ still
If you’re not there, I won’t go roamin’
Through the heather on the hill
The heather on the hill
Cover image credit: neelam279
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