Classic Sondheim

I've never written about one of the all-time classic Sondheim songs, "I'm Still Here," partly because I sort of think the song is too long. (Heresy! I know!)

But, given the awfulness of the news, I find myself thinking of "I'm Still Here":

Good times and bum times....

I've seen them all, and, my dear....

I'm still here.

Plush velvet sometimes;

Sometimes, just pretzels and beer.

But I'm here.

Sondheim talks about form matching content--and you see that with the constantly repeated, "I'm here." "I'm still here." It's almost irritating--just as we imagine the speaker needed to be a bit irritating, at varying points in her life, to survive.

(When the words in a sentence are repeated but shift their position in the sentence? That's chiasmus. "Plush velvet sometimes; sometimes, just pretzels and beer....")

I've stuffed the dailies in my shoes....

Strummed ukuleles, sung the blues....

Seen all my dreams disappear....

But I'm here.

Sondheim famously said, "God is in the details," and here you have it. You would stuff the dailies--the newspapers--in your shoes to replace worn-out soles (if you couldn't afford actual new soles). You would strum a ukulele for a little cash. This is a funny image--but there is subtext. When you smile through an awful job, you are coping with the disappearance of your own dreams.

And then the song goes on--more of the same. (Heresy!)

It's therapeutic to revisit these lines in September 2020....

P.S. Notice the verb alliteration in the second verse. "Stuffed dailies, strummed ukuleles, sung blues, seen dreams....."

P.P.S. We celebrate Sondheim's half-birthday this week! Hooray!

P.P.P.S. "Been called a pinko, commie tool....Got through it stinko by my pool....I shoulda gone to an acting school, that seems clear....Still, someone said SHE'S SINCERE....So I'm here...." I love the element of surprise and free association in those lines. The way that "shoulda gone to an acting school" seems to bubble up within the speaker's soul. And, yes, she IS sincere. You see that in her autobiography. This is a big part of her charm.

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