Kiss of the Spider Woman

I have been listening to Tim Rice's shoddy work on "Chess." "I see my present partner in the imperfect tense!"

By contrast, it's nice to remember Fred Ebb's crisp, clean writing for "Kiss of the Spider Woman."

There's a cobblestone street

And a little red door--

And three flights up is Marta...

Waiting there is Marta...

The speaker--Valentin--has limited access to his emotions. The only clue to the depth of his feeling is his choice to repeat a name: "Marta."

And I still can see us lying together--

Laughing, smoking, lying together--

And that thought of being together

Helps me through...

Valentin's slightly awkward repetition of "lying together" mimics actual speech. He is fumbling for words.

So I close my eyes

And I hear her step

And I know she's come to hold me--

So my senses stir...

But it's never, ever her.

It's just a dream of her.

Having worked with Kander for many, many years, Ebb knows how to fit lines to a Kander melody. The song reaches its climax--appropriately--on the words "hold me." It's a "goosebumps" moment. Anthony Crivello won the Tony Award--all of the leads won Tony Awards--and Crivello's win is largely because of this song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ns7tJLZX5xk

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