Passamaquoddy

Disney Legend George Bruns is probably best known for his theme park music.  Most notably songs from Pirates of the Carribean which he co-wrote with X Atencio.  But that wasn’t the extent of his career.  He also contributed to the Oscar nominated song “LOVE” from Disney’s animated Robin Hood as well as THE JUNGLE BOOK.

Sunday night at the Passamaquoddy music hall we heard a rendition of Bruns song THE LIBERTY TREE from the patriotic film JOHNNY TREMAIN.

And sing along with these lyrics.

Plant the seed in our homeland, boys. Let it grow where all can see.
Feed it with our devotion, boys. Call it the Liberty Tree.

It’s a tall old Tree
And a strong old Tree
And we are the Sons
Yes, we are the Sons
The Sons of Liberty.

Save it from the storm, boys. Water down its roots with tea.
And the sun will always shine on the ole’ Liberty Tree.

It’s a tall old Tree
And a strong old Tree
And we are the Sons
Yes, we are the Sons
The Sons of Liberty.

March along with the piper, boys. We were born forever free.
Let’s go pay the piper, boys, beneath the Liberty Tree.

It’s a tall old Tree
And a strong old Tree
And we are the Sons
Yes, we are the Sons
The Sons of Liberty.

Pay the price they’re asking, boys. Always pay the tyrant’s fee.
Never give up the struggle, boys. Fight for the Liberty Tree.

It’s a tall old Tree
And a strong old Tree
And we are the Sons
Yes, we are the Sons
The Sons of Liberty.

Stand for the rights of man, boys. Stand against all tyranny.
Hang the lamps of freedom, boys, high on the Liberty Tree.

It’s a tall old Tree
And a strong old Tree
And we are the Sons
Yes, we are the Sons
The Sons of Liberty.

N’ it will grow as we grow, boys. It will be as strong as we.
We must cling to our faith, boys- faith in the Liberty Tree.

It’s a tall old Tree
And a strong old Tree
And we are the Sons
Yes, we are the Sons
The Sons of Liberty.

 

Incidentally, one of the more interesting tidbits about Johnny Tremain is that it represented the film premiere of Walt Disney’s daughter  Sharon…  There were articles and interviews with co-stars about the work provided by Sharon.  Everyone worked to make her premiere a noteworthy event but when it was all said and done, her role was very minor.  In fact she is only briefly seen and silent except for singing along with the group during “THE SONS OF LIBERTY”.

 

Last night was the first concert honoring the music of Disney, now it is our turn to discuss the works. From film to stage, from theme parks to theme songs, we’re going to explore the musical best at our beautiful Passamaquoddy music hall in a way only a Passamaquodian can do using only text and without the benefit of a computer sound card.  As it can be assumed from the past several posts, we’ll first take a look at the music in DICK TRACY.

What?  Aw, c’mon kid… we just ate.

THE SONGS

Although it is not a musical by definition, the film does have a few performance numbers that not only confirm the era, but are also prominent in the story structure as many of the elements are explored through montage.  To fulfill this task, director Warren Beatty turned to his collaborator on REDS, Stephen Sondheim.  The songs are deceptively simple and seem to channel the Gershwin brothers.  Three of the songs are nicely performed by Madonna as her character Breathless Mahoney.  They are BACK IN BUSINESS, MORE and the Academy Award Winning SOONER OR LATER. In an additional song, my personal favorite WHAT CAN YOU LOSE she is joined in duet with Mandy Patinkin.  There is also a source music piece, LIVE ALONE AND LIKE IT that was recorded by Mel Torme.

Sondheim is an American musical treasure albeit quite a controversial one.  Outside of politics it is difficult to find a more polarizing figure, a distinction shared with his opposite, Great Britain’s Andrew Lloyd Webber.  A love of one often results in a passionate hatred of the other…  Then there is us in the purple states.  We see value in both.  Still Sondheim’s work is legendary from lyrics on WEST SIDE STORY to INTO THE WOODS and his magnum opus SWEENEY TODD.  If you’ve read this far I’ll share the weirdest thing about Sondheim, his name is coincidentally an anagram for “hedonism”.  There go the red states…

Dick Tracy is musically more than just the Sondheim songs, it also has a powerful musical score composed by Danny Elfman, but that’s for another discussion…

If you want to hear more from the Passamaquoddy Music Hall, search for Music Hall in the right menu search engine.