Mateo is exactly right that the show is WAY underrated. Here's something from a piece I'm working on related to the show: the phrase "Voulez-vous" is supposed to be sexual (coucher avec moi ce soir) but in the show it's not "Do you want to have sex with me?" The song's theme is "Dad, will you walk me down the aisle"? But that's NOT linguistically what it means, since you'd use the informal "tu" with someone you know casually. Saying "vous" either implies a serious distance (unlikely given her character arc) or what I believe it is, which is a plural. The song is "DADS, will you walk me down the aisle?"
Amazing analysis! I'd honestly never have expected Mamma Mia to have as much musical depth as this. Are there more songs in the show with this much to dissect? Would love to see more of these if there are! Great video as always 😊
How the catalog is affects whether a show would work so much! Some musicians have songs that are abstract and do a great job of giving you a mood, but then doesn't really move the story forward. So it's a little like "let's pause the story for 3 minutes so we can sit in the mood of the conversation we just had, shall we?" And then there's the "hi, I'm the guy that have these five qualities and we joked about these two objects once when we were growing up, cool, can I sing this song that mentions those random words now?" problem. I find that musicians who have lyrics that already pleads and addresses the other person directly tend to make for better jukebox musicals. And you got to appreciate the arranger / orchestrator in helping it along too!
A really great analysis of a brilliant song from a seriously underestimated musical. I'd suggest listening to this analysis and then watching a video of Mazz Murray (the West End's current Donna) and see it all performed by a stage powerhouse.
