I have been mesmerised by the musical Matilda, and more notably the bittersweet and very tragic comedic aspect of Roald Dahl's work was encapsulated perfectly in Tim Minchin's translation from book to stage. I teared at this song, "When I grow up" because the cynical and double entendres below really was a blow below the belt. At the age of 24, I see this set of words very differently. Yet, the song melody is so hopeful and positive - when in reality, as adults we now know that "when we grow up" the meaning of being grown-up also entails a whole host of responsibilities.
I would advise that you watch the wonderful staging of this particular song first, and then read my thoughts about each stanza of the lyrics, and then re-watch the song - maybe you'd be able to empathize how I felt during that time.
When I grow up
I will be tall enough to reach the branches
that I need to reach to climb the trees
you get to climb when you're grown up.
I will be tall enough to reach the branches
that I need to reach to climb the trees
you get to climb when you're grown up.
Figurative trees and branches, to get on top of our lives and when we grow up, we will be joining the rat race called Life.
And when I grow up
I will be smart enough to answer all
the questions that you need to know
the answers to before you're grown up.
I will be smart enough to answer all
the questions that you need to know
the answers to before you're grown up.
Growing up means we are made to answer all kinds of questions - questions of our actions, our character, our motivations etc. We have to constantly justify our goals and dreams to others.
And when I grow up
I will eat sweets every day
on the way to work and I
will go to bed late every night!
I will eat sweets every day
on the way to work and I
will go to bed late every night!
When I grow up, I eat sweets everyday (to keep me awake at work) and I go to bed late every night (because I have a lot more work to do, which will make me sleep in the day...the viscious cycle continues).
And I will wake up
when the sun comes up and I
will watch cartoons until my eyes go square
and I won't care 'cause I'll be all grown up!
when the sun comes up and I
will watch cartoons until my eyes go square
and I won't care 'cause I'll be all grown up!
I will watch cartoons until my eyes go square...indeed, sometimes I'm not exactly sure if the news on TV is reported facts or simply caricatures of people who seem to have lost their minds like Spongebob square pants. And indeed, I won't care because I've seen it all when I've grown up.
When I grow up!
When I grow up, when I grow up
I will be strong enough to carry all
the heavy things you have to haul
around with you when you're a grown-up!
I will be strong enough to carry all
the heavy things you have to haul
around with you when you're a grown-up!
And when I grow up, when I grow up
I will have to be strong to carry the burdens of life, the heavy things called responsibilities. Minchin was right ot use the word "haul" - after all, we carry all sorts of baggages around, emotional ones included.
I will be brave enough to fight the creatures
that you have to fight beneath the bed
each night to be a grown-up!
I will have to be strong to carry the burdens of life, the heavy things called responsibilities. Minchin was right ot use the word "haul" - after all, we carry all sorts of baggages around, emotional ones included.
I will be brave enough to fight the creatures
that you have to fight beneath the bed
each night to be a grown-up!
And when I grow up
We fight our fears every night when we're grown up, and indeed we will have to brave to wake up the next day to continue to fight the good fight. Living is a struggle - and every night for some can be a time when it's most tempting to give it all up.
I will have treats every day.
And I'll play with things that Mum pretends
that Mum's don't think are fun.
We will have chocolates and ice-cream everyday, but alas at what cost? We'll play with the same things as our parents, because we will become our parents.
And I will wake up
when the sun comes up and I
will spend all day just lying in the sun
but I won't burn 'cause I'll be all grown-up!
when the sun comes up and I
will spend all day just lying in the sun
but I won't burn 'cause I'll be all grown-up!
When I grow up!
And when I grow up, when I grow up
I will be brave enough to fight the creatures
that you have to fight beneath the bed
each night to be a grown-up!
I will be brave enough to fight the creatures
that you have to fight beneath the bed
each night to be a grown-up!
Hey that's a really interesting interpretation, especially for the cartoons line! Personally I found the degree of intimidation that the song implies really interesting, especially the second verse about knowing the answers before you're grown up, meaning there's some sort of rigid dividing line between adult and not. (Also, the adult having powers that verge on being magical, and that it took Matilda's superhuman (read: quasi-adult) abilities to effect change. Idk, this whole story and the power themes creep me out when I really get into it and think about it.) And of course, the very bittersweet aspect of how adulthood is painted as this thing that gives you loads of opportunities -- which is kind of sad, really, because sleeping early is pretty much all I want to do sometimes.
ReplyDeleteI love the finale version of this song though! (I'm basing everything I know of this off the soundtrack.) It feels really liberating and the last two verses are both this straightforward directive and indirect condemnation? And also how they generally don’t use the term ‘children’, which would automatically make most of their audience exclude themselves from the content, but ‘little’, which encompasses everyone.
The principal's tirade at the end is also awesome :D
Yes! *high five
DeleteThe intricacies and complexity of this musical number is (slightly) beyond words, or rather it would take me too many words to explain everything without boring my readers.
It is the benefit of hindsight that makes us almost-adults [what is adulthood anyway?] feel a sense of helplessness that we cannot tell these children that this hopeful opportunity when you grow up will change because the context of which all these happens changes.
And yeah I haven't thought about Matilga's quasi-adult abilities to effect change in the original book; but I definitely see the juxtaposition of the "child-like" dependency of Ms Honey and the independent Matilda really makes us question about the assumptions we have about young people - that age=helplessness/incompetency to think for ourselves.
Just as the artist tries to make sense of the world to the observer through his/her art, the artist shows more of him/herself to the world than vice versa.
ReplyDeleteYour interpretation of the play thus shows more of how you view your life, and what you are expected to do, and also what you really want, than breaking the play down. The play in effect, broke you down. DOUBLE ENTREE FTW.
Among the many cliche ways of approaching life, be it from the technical and systematic utilitarians, to the YOLO and mind-your-own-business libertarians and maybe to the noble Kantians, let me part with a quote from one of your favourite musical comedian, Tim Minchin - "life is meaningless, so go fill it with meaning."
Isn't that the wonderful magic dialectic relationship between art and the audience? It's the idea of mediation and interpretation that has academics tied up in knots.
DeleteIt is true that my interpretation reflects a lot on how I see life and what I want from it, and enough of "I feel this way" and we have a zeitgeist, alas...we all have our opinions about things - whether rational or not.