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Being Alive
View on Wikipedia"Being Alive" is a song from the musical Company with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. The song appears at the end of act two and is sung by Robert, a 35-year-old bachelor at the center of the show, who "...realizes being a lone wolf isn't all it's cracked up to be ... he declares that he wants to take the chance, be afraid, get his heart broken—or whatever happens when you decide to love and be loved."[1]
Context
[edit]Situated at the end of musical's second act, the song expresses the central character's concerns while facing his 35th birthday. Prior to singing "Being Alive", Robert reflects on the relationships of five couples, his "good and crazy married friends"—Susan and Peter, Sarah and Harry, Amy and Paul, Jenny and David, Joanne and Larry—along with three girlfriends: April, Kathy, and Marta.[2] While each relationship has its problems, Robert concludes that it's better to live with someone rather than remain alone.
Background
[edit]"Being Alive" was introduced after three previous closing numbers had been tried. The first of these attempts was with the song "Multitudes of Amys", but as Sondheim describes, writer George Furth "transferred the situation in which it was to be sung – Robert's proposal to Amy – to Act One and the song had to be replaced".[3] The second attempt was "Marry Me A Little", which Sondheim later reflected that he realized halfway through the writing process the song would not work for the character, and finished it only as "a favor for a friend who loved it."[3] The third attempt came with "Happily Ever After," which even made it to the Boston tryout before it was "deemed too dark to serve as a closing number."[4] Hence Sondheim made a fourth and final attempt with "Being Alive", where he tried to express the same thoughts as "Happily Ever After" with a touch more optimism.[3]
Sondheim was initially reluctant to write a closing song with a positive tone, and made efforts to write a composition that would combine cynical and hopeful sentiments. He wrote in his 2009 memoir Finishing the Hat that he worried a plainly optimistic approach would be "unearned and pandering, not to mention monotonous, since there would be only one thing to say: namely, marriage is wonderful". His concerns were resolved when "Michael Bennett came up with the idea of using the same technique of interlaced spoken voices from Robert's friends that we used in 'Side by Side by Side,' helping him break through his moment of crisis. That suggested to me a song which could progress from complaint to prayer. Thus, 'Being Alive.'"[5]
Performances
[edit]This section needs additional citations for verification. (April 2022) |
"Being Alive" was first recorded by Dean Jones, who originated the role of Robert on Broadway in 1970. After Jones's short tenure playing the role, his replacement Larry Kert also recorded the song, which has since been included as a bonus track on reissues of the original cast album.
The song was performed by Alex (Judd Hirsch) on the US sitcom Taxi, during the 1980 episode "Alex Jumps Out of a Plane".
"Being Alive" has become popular outside its original musical setting, and while written for a male part, the song is frequently performed by women: Bernadette Peters, Patti LuPone, Barbra Streisand, Dusty Springfield, Margaret Whiting, Lea Salonga, Ute Lemper, and Lauren Samuels, among others.
Raul Esparza was a nominee at the 2007 Tony Awards for his role in Company and performed the song on the awards telecast. On the fourth season of the television series Glee, the character Kurt Hummel (Chris Colfer) performed the song in the episode "Swan Song", as his audition for the fictional school NYADA. Neil Patrick Harris also performed it as Bobby in the 2011 revival of Company.[6]
The American composer Gabriel Kahane wrote the piano scherzo "Being Alive" for the 2015 album Liaisons: Re-Imagining Sondheim from the Piano.[7]
In the British soap opera EastEnders, the song is played during the wedding of Linda Carter (Kellie Bright) and Mick Carter (Danny Dyer) on New Year's Day 2016, performed by West End star Alice Fearn. The song also appears on her album "Where I've Been... Where I'm Going".
In the 2019 film Marriage Story, written and directed by Noah Baumbach, lead character Charlie Barber (portrayed by Adam Driver) performs much of the song in a New York piano bar.[8][9]
The 2023 season finale of 9-1-1: Lone Star featured Tommy singing the song at the wedding of TK and Carlos.
References
[edit]- ^ Blanchard, Jane M. "Bustling, robust 'Company' Sondheim musical seldom misses a beat. 21 May 2002". The Washington Times.
- ^ Flahaven, Sean Patrick (2007). Company Synopsis. Liner Notes: Nonesuch Records Inc., a Warner Music Group Company.
- ^ a b c "Being Alive." Carlin America. Carlin America. Web. April 6, 2011. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on February 6, 2012. Retrieved April 7, 2011.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ Jeremy McCarter. "It's The Little Things." New York Media, LLC. November 30, 2006. Web. April 6, 2011. [1]
- ^ Sondheim, Stephen (2009). Finishing the hat: Collected lyrics (1954-1981) with attendant comments, Principles, Heresies, Grudges, Whines and Anecdotes. New York, NY, USA: Knopf. p. 196. ISBN 978-0679439073.
- ^ Price, Lonny (March 15, 2014), Company (Comedy, Drama, Musical), Neil Patrick Harris, Patti LuPone, Martha Plimpton, Ellen M. Krass Productions, New York Philharmonic, NCM Fathom, retrieved August 22, 2024
- ^ Tommasini, Anthony (April 23, 2012). "Anthony de Mare's 'Liaisons: Reimaging Sondheim'". The New York Times.
- ^ Specter, Emma (November 19, 2019), "Adam Driver Singing Sondheim in Marriage Story Deserves Every Award", Vogue
- ^ Bradshaw, Peter (November 15, 2019), "Marriage Story review – everything you always wanted to know about divorce", The Guardian
Being Alive
View on GrokipediaOverview
Synopsis
"Being Alive" is the emotional climax and finale of Stephen Sondheim's musical Company, performed by the protagonist Robert, a 35-year-old bachelor who, after witnessing the complexities of his married friends' relationships throughout the show, confronts his own aversion to intimacy and arrives at a resolution to embrace human connection.[4] In this pivotal moment, Robert's reflections culminate in an affirmation of the value of vulnerability in relationships, marking his personal growth from detachment to a desire for partnership.[3] The song employs a verse-chorus structure with escalating intensity, beginning in an introspective mode that lists the pains of closeness before building through repeated pleas to a declarative chorus affirming life through love.[3] Key lyrics highlight this progression, such as "Somebody hold me too close / Somebody hurt me too deep / Somebody sit in my chair / And ruin my sleep / And make me aware / Of being alive," which evolve into the insistent refrain "Being alive," underscoring the theme of emotional awakening.[1] A notable semitone key change further amplifies the shift to resolution, transforming initial hesitation into triumphant resolve.[3] Clocking in at approximately 4 minutes and 48 seconds in the original Broadway cast recording, the piece blends ballad-like introspection with anthemic swells, creating a theatrical arc that mirrors Robert's internal journey.[5]Themes
The song "Being Alive" centers on the protagonist Robert's profound ambivalence toward human relationships, depicting his oscillation between the protective solitude of isolation and the perilous uncertainties of emotional intimacy. This internal conflict manifests as Robert weighs the comfort of emotional detachment against the potential for deep hurt and disruption that love entails, ultimately resolving in a tentative acceptance that vitality demands enduring such vulnerabilities. As Sondheim articulates, the piece underscores the challenge of committing emotionally to another while recognizing that complete aloneness is untenable, framing connection as essential to existence itself.[6][7] These themes carry existential undertones rooted in Sondheim's exploration of modern alienation, where urban anonymity exacerbates feelings of disconnection and the illusion of self-sufficiency. The song posits "being alive" not as an idealized state of independence but as a messy embrace of imperfection, interdependence, and the ongoing process of relational negotiation in a fragmented society. Robert's journey reflects a broader philosophical inquiry into how individuals navigate the tension between autonomy and the necessity of others, rejecting isolation as a form of non-existence—"Alone is alone, not alive"—in favor of the raw, interdependent reality of shared human experience.[8][9] Symbolically, marriage serves as a potent metaphor for vulnerability throughout the song, representing not just romantic union but the broader exposure required for authentic living. Robert invokes a partner who will "hold me too close" and "force me to care," transforming marital commitment into an emblem of the risks inherent in opening oneself to another's influence and flaws. Specific lyrics, such as "Make me confused, mock me with praise / Let me be lazy, restless and inconclusive," vividly capture the chaotic messiness of intimacy, where love entails contradiction, inconsistency, and the erosion of personal control.[6][10]Composition
Lyrics
"Being Alive" features lyrics by Stephen Sondheim that trace protagonist Robert's emotional arc from cynical detachment to fervent embrace of human connection. The text begins in the second person, cataloging the disruptions of intimacy as observed from afar, before shifting to the first person in a direct supplication for relational chaos. This progression underscores the song's core tension between isolation and vitality.[2] The lyrics underwent significant revision during the Boston tryouts in early 1970. Initially, the musical's finale was the more despairing "Happily Ever After," a bitter reflection deemed too devastating by director Hal Prince following audience feedback. Sondheim reworked the material into "Being Alive," retaining early lines but pivoting from complaint to prayer by changing the perspective from second to first person, resulting in an optimistic close that affirms commitment's worth.[2] Key verses illustrate this evolution:Someone to hold you too closeHere, the detached "someone" constructions evoke doubt and defense against vulnerability. The rhyme scheme employs loose ABAB patterns—close/deep (assonance), chair/sleep (perfect rhyme)—to mirror relational unease. Subsequent verses intensify the plea:
Someone to hurt you too deep
Someone to sit in your chair
And ruin your sleep
And make you aware
Of being alive
Being alive
Somebody need me too muchThe structure builds through repetition and escalation, culminating in anthemic choruses that repeat "Being alive" for emphatic resolution. The lyrics culminate in affirmation:
Somebody know me too well
Somebody mess up my table
And let me repair it
Somebody touch me, and kiss me, and take me
And fill me completely Return to me
And give me support
For being alive
Make me alive
Make me alive
Somebody crowd me with loveThis final verse resolves the progression, with the rhyme scheme tightening into AABB (love/much implied earlier, but care/there, you/survive) and repetitive "Being alive" chants evoking communal resolve. Sondheim employs irony by framing relationship flaws—holding too close, hurting deeply, crowding with love—as desirable necessities for authenticity, subverting typical romantic ideals to highlight intimacy's raw demands. Alliteration enhances rhythmic urgency, as in "somebody crowd me with love," evoking the overwhelming, sensory assault of connection. These devices reinforce the song's thematic embrace of chaos without delving into broader motifs.
Somebody force me to care
Somebody make me come through
I'll always be there
As frightened as you
To help us survive
Being alive
Being alive
Being alive!
