It’s a Musical Life
I love a good musical! While I’ve seen several that are very good, few stick out in my mind as much as Fiddler on the Roof, The Music Man, and The Sound of Music. The famous musical duo of Rodgers and Hammerstein were instrumental (literally . . . haha) in the making of the later and they are the topic of today’s post!
Beginning in the early 1940s, Rodgers and Hammerstein became a dynamic duo of composer and lyricist. Richard Rodgers had spent the last 27 years as a musical partner with Larry Halt up until the 40s. Due to this long-term relationship, the musical world was highly skeptical of any new partnerships for Rodgers. However, after the premier of R&H’s first musical together (Oklahoma!) no one had any doubt that their ability to work together was legendary and even magical. For more information on R&H and how they ended up as such important influencers in the world of Broadway, check out this link HERE.
I was listening to the soundtrack for The Sound of Music this weekend and was struck by a particular lyric in Maria von Trapp / Julie Andrews’ famously optimistic song “I Have Confidence”. As she sings, she seems to be talking herself into thinking watching seven children will not be that difficult and that she will have all the energy in the world to take care of them. Hence the following lyric:
“. . . when you wake up, wake up!”
I don’t know about you, but I struggle waking up a lot of days. I finally got sick of running my entire morning around getting as much sleep as possible. I realized that when I got up at 5 or 6 in the morning I wasn’t any groggier than I was at 7 or 8. So I decided to make a habit of setting my alarm and actually getting up seven hours from when I hopped in bed (5 am if bed at 10 pm, 4 am if bed at 9 pm, etc.). I have still struggled often; in fact, the last month has been an entirely unsuccessful series of very sleepy mornings.
Keeping my “resolution” in mind I just had to smile and nod at this lyric! Getting up at the actual tone of the alarm never hurt anyone (as far as I know) and I am no exception. Here’s to waking up on time!
Enjoy your Tuesday and go read a book! (And maybe slip in a musical tonight . . . 🙂 )
