Today’s prompt is to write about a favorite song. The song I am writing about is called “Take Me to the World,” from the musical “Evening Primrose,” by Stephen Sondheim.
“Evening Primrose” is a short musical that was shown on television exactly one time, in 1966. I didn’t know about it until years later, when I was taught the song to sing in a music school recital. I fell in love with the song because it shared my longing for love and for companionship and for someone to explore the world with me.
Take me to the world that's real
Show me how it's done
Teach me how to laugh, to feel
Move me to the sun.
The girl who sings the song was accidentally left in a department store when she was a child. She became part of a secret group of people who pretend to be mannequins during the day and who come alive at night. In that small world, she grows up and her dreams of the outer world grow up with her.
Let me see the world that smiles
Take me to the world
Somewhere I can walk for miles
Take me to the world.
Ella, who sings the song with Charles, who has experienced the real world, talks about her longing and her hope that the big world is so much more than the artificial world of the department store.
Ella’s hopes and dreams remind me that it’s okay to keep hoping and dreaming, even when it seems as if they will never be realized.
Here is a link to a youtube video of the song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5zd1XLZCsM
