Top Five Songs: Parade

More Parade!  As I said yesterday, the show’s lovely score needs more praise devoted to it than I had space for in my last post, so we’re back to look at the music.  Here are my absolute favorite songs from this show.

“The Old Red Hills of Home” – This opening number drops us right into the world of Parade, first through the history that informs its people and then fading into the “present” of 1913.  I love the way it opens with a young soldier going off to fight in the Civil War and segues to the same man, now an old veteran, taking part in the Memorial Day parade.

Best Line:  “We gave our lives for the old hills of Georgia, / The old red hills of home. / Not much survives of the old hills of Georgia / But I close my eyes and hear / All the treasures we held dear.”

“It Don’t Make Sense” – The shared grief of an entire community at an unexpected tragedy is poignantly realized in this number.  The people of Atlanta mourn the loss of 13-year-old Mary Phagan and ask how such a horrific thing could have happened.  Led by Frankie, who’d been sweet on Mary, it’s both universal and deeply personal.

Best Line:  “And no, it don’t make sense / The way the world can let you fall - / I swear it don’t make sense to me at all.”

 

 

“The Factory Girls” – In Leo’s trial, three of the girls who work for him are called to the stand to lie about him, claiming he’s made lascivious advances toward them.  The subject matter is monstrous, but the music is just unbelievably beautiful.  The resulting song is haunting and evocative.

Best Line:  “I’m in the hall / And then he’s there, / He passes much too close. / I change my clothes, / Put up my hair, / And somehow, I’m sure he knows.”

(I couldn't find a single picture of this song from the original Broadway cast.  This one is from a production in St. Louis.

“A Rumblin’ and a Rollin’” – I mentioned this one yesterday.  After Leo receives his guilty verdict, people in the North rush to defend him and fight for justice.  Meanwhile, the black citizens of Georgia take the whole conceit to task, wondering where the outcry is against the racism that informs their lives.

Best Line:  “I can tell you this, as a matter of fact, / That the local hotels wouldn’t be so packed / If a little black girl had gotten attacked.”

“This Is Not Over Yet” – When Leo finds out there’s a possibility his death sentence may be commuted, he clings to it desperately.  His wife Lucille is responsible, and Leo sings her praises as he contemplates his chance at life.

Best Line:  “It means the journey ahead might get shorter; / I might reach the end of my rope; / But suddenly, loud as a mortar, / There is hope! / Finally, hope!”