Context: This is the opening number to the musical The Rocking Horse Winner. The family welcomes Basset, a young Army buddy of Jack, the family's patriarch, to their household on Christmas Eve. The family is having a warm, extravagant holiday celebration. But we realize that Hester, Jack's wife, is not participating. Then we go inside her troubled mind. She is tormented by the aggressive joy and materialism that her family is indulging in.
About the creation of the song: The musical exists stylistically between the warmth of Broadway's Golden Age (think The Sound of Music), and the darkness of modern music (think Sondheim's Passion, or Sweeney Todd). We wanted to write an honest-to-goodness Christmas song. Then we wanted to contrast that musically and lyric-wise with the angst inside Hester's head. I Can't Breathe has constantly shifting time-signatures and verse patterns, with grotesque dissonance. I wanted to have the lyrics add to the grotesque-ness. I actually started by looking up lists of words people have physical revulsion to, and incorporated as many of those words as I could ("maggots", "ooze", "hatch", "wheeze"). I also wanted to show Hester's intelligence, and her rigidity, so I concocted an incredibly rigid block of four two-syllable phrases. The first and second phrase had all of the same consonant sounds, with only the first vowel sound different ("latching, leeching"). Then the first and third phrase rhymed with each other, as did the second and fourth ("latching, scratching", "leeching", "screeching"). So this little eight syllable phrase was like a crystal lattice structure in the midst of the chaos. ("Latching, leeching, scratching, screeching", "Stroke them, strike them, poke them, pike them".) By the time the Christmas song returns, the audience is indeed aware of the double meaning of the title "You Can't Have Too Much Christmas", and the audience has some idea what it's in for.
About the creation of the song: The musical exists stylistically between the warmth of Broadway's Golden Age (think The Sound of Music), and the darkness of modern music (think Sondheim's Passion, or Sweeney Todd). We wanted to write an honest-to-goodness Christmas song. Then we wanted to contrast that musically and lyric-wise with the angst inside Hester's head. I Can't Breathe has constantly shifting time-signatures and verse patterns, with grotesque dissonance. I wanted to have the lyrics add to the grotesque-ness. I actually started by looking up lists of words people have physical revulsion to, and incorporated as many of those words as I could ("maggots", "ooze", "hatch", "wheeze"). I also wanted to show Hester's intelligence, and her rigidity, so I concocted an incredibly rigid block of four two-syllable phrases. The first and second phrase had all of the same consonant sounds, with only the first vowel sound different ("latching, leeching"). Then the first and third phrase rhymed with each other, as did the second and fourth ("latching, scratching", "leeching", "screeching"). So this little eight syllable phrase was like a crystal lattice structure in the midst of the chaos. ("Latching, leeching, scratching, screeching", "Stroke them, strike them, poke them, pike them".) By the time the Christmas song returns, the audience is indeed aware of the double meaning of the title "You Can't Have Too Much Christmas", and the audience has some idea what it's in for.
You Can't Have Too Much Christmas/I Can't Breathe (from the musical The Rocking Horse Winner)
Lyrics by David Rackoff, Music by Sahara Sunday Spain
Lyrics by David Rackoff, Music by Sahara Sunday Spain
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YOU CAN’T HAVE TOO MUCH CHRISTMAS,
OR TOO MANY LOVED ONES RING TOO MANY CHRISTMAS CHIMES. YOU CAN’T HAVE TOO MUCH CHRISTMAS, OR TOO MANY MEM’RIES FROM OLD-FASHIONED CHRISTMAS TIMES. SEE THE STOCKINGS ON THE SHELF, BY THE RED CINDER BRICKS. WE HAVE FIVE OF THEM RIGHT NOW, BUT THERE’S ROOM FOR SIX. YOU CAN’T HAVE TOO MUCH CHRISTMAS, OR TOO MUCH IMPATIENCE OPENING A CHRISTMAS TOY. YOU CAN’T HAVE TOO MUCH CHRISTMAS, OR TOO BIG A SMILE BASKING IN THE CHRISTMAS JOY. HERE’S A CANDY THAT’S A CANE, AND A CAKE MADE OF FRUIT. MAYBE LATER WE’LL HAVE DAD WEAR HIS SANTA SUIT. WHEN A LITTLE TIME HAS PASSED, AND THE WEATHER’S GETTING HOT. WHEN THERE’S NO MORE SNOW, AND THE FLOWERS GROW, THEN YOUR FRIENDS ARE ALL YOU’VE GOT. WHEN ANOTHER WINTER’S GONE, AND WE’VE HAD OUR FILL OF CHEER, I’M AS PLEASED AS PUNCH THAT I’M WITH THIS BUNCH TO BEGIN A BRAND-NEW YEAR. YOU CAN’T HAVE TOO MUCH CHRISTMAS, OR TOO MANY VOICES FILL THE TOWN WITH CHRISTMAS GLEE. YOU CAN’T HAVE TOO MUCH CHRISTMAS, OR HAVE TOO MUCH TINSEL BRIGHTENING THE CHRISTMAS TREE. THEY’VE ALREADY HAD THEIR MEAL, SINCE YOU GOT HERE SO LATE. BUT IN CASE YOU CARE TO EAT, THEN I FIXED A PLATE. WHEN YOU’RE FIGHTING OVERSEAS, WHEN YOU THINK OF THINGS YOU MISS, IN A TIME OF WAR, ON A FOREIGN SHORE, YOU’D IMAGINE NIGHTS LIKE THIS. WHEN WE’VE COME IN FROM THE SNOW, AND WE’RE BUNDLED UP IN FLEECE, THEN WE’LL SAY A MASS, AND WE’LL RAISE A GLASS TO BEGIN THIS TIME OF PEACE. YOU CAN’T HAVE TOO MUCH CHRISTMAS, OR WAKE UP TOO EARLY WELCOMING A CHRISTMAS DAY. YOU CAN’T HAVE TOO MUCH CHRISTMAS, OR TOO MUCH ADVENTURE RIDING ON A CHRISTMAS SLEIGH! SEE THEM FILLING UP ON CHEER WHILE THEIR DEBITS ACCRUE, UP TO JANUARY EIGHTH, WHEN THEIR BILL COMES DUE. YOU CAN’T HAVE TOO MUCH CHRISTMAS, OR YOU'LL GET A MIGRAINE FIGHTING OFF THE CHRISTMAS BLUES. YOU CAN’T HAVE TOO MUCH CHRISTMAS, THAT’S WHY UNCLE OSCAR THANKS OUR LORD FOR CHRISTMAS BOOZE! |
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YOU CAN’T HAVE TOO MUCH CHRISTMAS, OR TOO MANY SNOWMEN GUARD THE HOUSE ON CHRISTMAS NIGHT. YOU CAN’T HAVE TOO MUCH CHRISTMAS, OR TOO MANY CANDLES TWINKLING THEIR CHRISTMAS LIGHT. |
PEACE ON EARTH,
LOVE AND JOY, TO ALL MEN. PEACE ON EARTH AND LOVE AND JOY TO ALL. PEACE ON EARTH, LOVE AND JOY. CHRISTMAS LIGHT. |
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HEAR THE TOWER CHIMING TWELVE, BY THE CLANG OF THE BELL.
WITH OUR FAM’LY AND OUR FRIENDS, ALL IS RIGHT AND WELL. |
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BEWARE THE MAGGOTS.
THEY’RE ALL AROUND. OOZE, THEY OOZE, THEY BUBBLE UP, UP FROM THE FLOOR AND UP MY UNDER-SKIRT. ITCH. THEY SCRATCH. THEY CRAWL INSIDE MY BOSOM STEALING COINS. FEEL THEM HATCHING, FEEL THEM LATCHING LEECHING, SCRATCHING, SCREECHING ‘TIL I CAN’T BREATHE. I CAN’T BREATHE! SPEND, THEY SPEND ON TOYS, ON FOOD. YES, THEY’RE MY CHILDREN AT MY THROAT. WHEEZE, I WHEEZE— THEY SMOTHER— SQUEEZE THEIR MOTHER SEIZING OXYGEN FROM ME. I CAN’T BREATHE. I CAN’T BREATHE. I CAN’T BREATHE! BEWARE YOUR FAM’LY. THEY’RE ALL AROUND. GRAB. THEY GRUB. THEY STAB, THEY STUB. THEY MAKE ME WISH THAT I COULD STEP ON THEM JUST TO BREATHE. IN MY DREAM, I CHOKE THEM, STROKE THEM, STRIKE THEM, POKE THEM, PIKE THEM ’TIL THEY CAN’T-- THEY CAN’T... THEY-- THEY CAN’T BREATHE. ’TIL THEY CAN’T-- THEN I’D BREATHE. I COULD BREATHE. HOW I’D BREATHE. I WANT TO-- WANT TO LOVE THEM, BUT THEIR CHRISTMAS CHRISTMAS, NEVER-ENDING, GREEDY-- ROBBING ME OF-- JUDGING ME FOR-- ROB ME OF MY, OF MY COUTH, HEALTH, YOUTH, WEALTH. TOO MUCH CHRISTMAS. MY VERMIN HUSBAND-- MORE MONEY-- BROTHER REPTILE-- MORE MONEY-- FIND MY AIR, GRAB IT. I MUST-- I MUST-- LOVE MY CHILDREN, WHY CAN’T I? CHILDREN! MAGGOTS! WHY CAN’T? I CAN’T BREATHE. I CAN’T BREATHE! |
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YOU CAN’T HAVE TOO MUCH CHRISTMAS
IF YOU LOOK INSIDE YOU, THEN YOU WON’T SEE CHRISTMAS LEAVE. YOU CAN’T HAVE TOO MUCH CHRISTMAS NO, NOT TOO MUCH CHRISTMAS. MERRY, MERRY CHRISTMAS EVE! |