Lyr Req: Soft as a Pigeon Lights? (Romberg)

Subject: Lyr Req: Soft as a Pigeon Lights? (Romberg)
From: MorwenEdhelwen1
Date: 14 May 12 - 08:10 PM

For a while I've been listening to songs from the operetta [i]The Desert Song[/i] (Yeah, I'm a musical geek) and was curious about one sequence in the 1929 movie. (It's on YouTube) In the Azuri's Dance sequence, what is the exact title of the song that starts "Soft as a pigeon lights upon the sand?" Some references to it I've found through Google suggest that it's just called "Soft as a Pigeon Lights", but I can't find any lyrics or music for it. Also, does anyone know what the lyrics are? I can't puzzle them out.
Here's what I have so far:
Soft as a pigeon lights upon the sand,
Swift as a tiger she will ??? his hand,
????? with fury,
So is the maid Azuri.

Can anyone help?

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Soft as a Pigeon Lights? (Romberg)
From: MorwenEdhelwen1
Date: 14 May 12 - 08:15 PM

here's the sequence on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWIngMc8lSM. (The song starts at 3.39)

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Soft as a Pigeon Lights? (Romberg)
From: MorwenEdhelwen1
Date: 14 May 12 - 08:41 PM

ETA: This song, with the nearly-incomprehensible lyrics, is one of the songs written for a male character in a musical that I can pull off (I can just sing The Riff Song, as well. I've got a feeling it's not [i]too[/i]far down in a woman's typical low range, but then I've [i]never[/i] seen any sheet music for it listed in any of the Romberg songbooks)

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Soft as a Pigeon Lights? (Romberg)
From: MorwenEdhelwen1
Date: 14 May 12 - 10:22 PM

Just on a hunch, searched for "soft as a pigeon lights" in the script of The Desert Song on Google Books. Found nothing.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Soft as a Pigeon Lights? (Romberg)
From: MorwenEdhelwen1
Date: 15 May 12 - 04:43 AM

refresh. Can anyone help me out?

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Soft as a Pigeon Lights? (Romberg)
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 15 May 12 - 08:58 AM

I'm sorry, Morwen. I listened, but it is totally incomprehensible. The singer is obviously more interested in producing tone than in enunciating the words.

Perhaps you can make some words to fit.

Thanks for the link to an enjoyable old film, by the way.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Soft as a Pigeon Lights? (Romberg)
From: GUEST
Date: 15 May 12 - 03:08 PM

I just looked in my Desert Song score and the lyrics are:
Soft as a pigeon lights upon the sand,
Swift as a tiger she will grip his hand,
Claws of a tiger sharp with fury,
So is the maid Azuri.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Soft as a Pigeon Lights? (Romberg)
From: MorwenEdhelwen1
Date: 15 May 12 - 05:16 PM

Thanks, leeneia! (and GUEST)

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Soft as a Pigeon Lights? (Romberg)
From: MorwenEdhelwen1
Date: 15 May 12 - 05:35 PM

Leeneia, you're welcome. The movie [is] good, mainly because of the songs. The acting and dialogue is a bit old-style Victorian melodrama, and it's a bit racist in its depiction of its Moroccan characters (as if [i]all Moroccan/Arab men want to have multiple wives[/i] And Azuri, in particular, is evil because she's "native."
And the Red Shadow/Pierre-- well personally, here what I think about the Shadow: "why did he have to be a Frenchman?" I get that's so that Margot can recognise Pierre's other side, but the way it plays out is sort of like "The locals are helpless without a white man."

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Soft as a Pigeon Lights? (Romberg)
From: MorwenEdhelwen1
Date: 15 May 12 - 05:44 PM

sorry: "here's". And sure, if you changed the Shadow's ethnicity to have him be an actual local, (as I'm doing in a story I'm working on, which is a twisted version of the plot), you get rid of the whole secret identity thing and so it's not The Desert Song anymore, but the whole "White man saves the natives because he's so much better than them" is just.. ugh. Unfortunate implications.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Soft as a Pigeon Lights? (Romberg)
From: Jack Campin
Date: 15 May 12 - 05:46 PM

I find it hard not to imagine the song is about one of the odder delicacies in Chinese cooking.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Soft as a Pigeon Lights? (Romberg)
From: MorwenEdhelwen1
Date: 15 May 12 - 05:50 PM

ha ha, Jack. Anyone want to discuss the whole "white saviour" aspects of the operetta's plot?

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Soft as a Pigeon Lights? (Romberg)
From: MorwenEdhelwen1
Date: 15 May 12 - 05:52 PM

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MightyWhitey

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Soft as a Pigeon Lights? (Romberg)
From: MorwenEdhelwen1
Date: 15 May 12 - 07:11 PM

To make it clear what I mean when I talk about the depiction of the Moroccans being a bit racist, I'm not saying the operetta is bad or that Harbach, Mandel and Hammerstein were necessarily racist as such, it's just that the mighty-whitey, foreign saviour plot has a lot of unfortunate implications. Especially when it's implied that the foreigner is better than the locals at doing what the locals do, and that the White woman is attracted to the man she believes is non-White because he's exotic and "savage". And that "the natives" take multiple partners because it's "their way".

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Soft as a Pigeon Lights? (Romberg)
From: MorwenEdhelwen1
Date: 15 May 12 - 11:01 PM

refresh. Is anyone else interested in discussing the operetta?

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Soft as a Pigeon Lights? (Romberg)
From: MorwenEdhelwen1
Date: 16 May 12 - 05:42 AM

refresh

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Soft as a Pigeon Lights? (Romberg)
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 16 May 12 - 11:01 AM

I agree with your Morwen. However, to discuss it fairly, I'd have to watch the entire movie, and that's just not feasible at this time.

I do think that Azuri would be a dangerous character to have in your life or your family no matter what race she was. Let's just say she didn't get where she is by being tender, scrupulous and compassionate.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Soft as a Pigeon Lights? (Romberg)
From: MorwenEdhelwen1
Date: 16 May 12 - 06:08 PM

Yeah, leeneia. Basically, she's a 'dragon lady." And Hammerstein and Harbach made every single Muslim male character oversexed- they support polygamy because they want to have lots of partners, not because of necessity. Ewww! But the music's great.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Soft as a Pigeon Lights? (Romberg)
From: MorwenEdhelwen1
Date: 17 May 12 - 05:54 AM

ETA: And the lyrics! What earworms!

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Soft as a Pigeon Lights? (Romberg)
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 17 May 12 - 08:41 AM

"Dragon lady!" The perfect term for her. It sounds threatening without actually specifying anything about her.

I'm glad you like the music. With traditioal music, I find it's often helpful to focus on the melody and to "lose" bad lyrics or political ramifications. Sometimes I can do it, sometimes I can't. As you say, lyrics can sometimes be real earworms.

I'm off now to help a friend who has had surgery. Good luck with your 'Desert Song' project.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Soft as a Pigeon Lights? (Romberg)
From: JJ
Date: 18 May 12 - 08:24 AM

"The Desert Song" (1926) was inspired by the 1925 uprising of the Riff in Morocco -- one of the few musicals even vaguely connected to current events. (See "Bye Bye Birdie.")

The idea of the "barbaric but noble" desert son of Islam had been around for centuries (anyone for Mozart?) but had been given a recent boost by the 1921 Valentino silent, "The Sheik."

And lest we think the trope of the Helpless Natives Led By Renegade White Man is over and done with, look at "Avatar."

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Soft as a Pigeon Lights? (Romberg)
From: MorwenEdhelwen1
Date: 18 May 12 - 08:31 AM

I knew that about the Riff uprising, JJ. Actually, Abd-el Krim had been fighting his campaign against France since at least 1920. But the campaign news really started to take off around the time the operetta premiered, when he was exiled.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Soft as a Pigeon Lights? (Romberg)
From: MorwenEdhelwen1
Date: 19 May 12 - 12:18 AM

Could someone with the score from the operetta and who can read music tell me what the lowest note in the song is? (I haven't been able to find sheet music for this song.)

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Soft as a Pigeon Lights? (Romberg)
From: MorwenEdhelwen1
Date: 19 May 12 - 11:53 PM

Refresh.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Soft as a Pigeon Lights? (Romberg)
From: MorwenEdhelwen1
Date: 20 May 12 - 12:56 AM

What are the lowest and highest notes of this song?

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Soft as a Pigeon Lights? (Romberg)
From: MorwenEdhelwen1
Date: 20 May 12 - 07:39 PM

Anyone know?

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Soft as a Pigeon Lights? (Romberg)
From: MorwenEdhelwen1
Date: 21 May 12 - 05:39 AM

Can anyone help me with the notes?

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Soft as a Pigeon Lights? (Romberg)
From: MorwenEdhelwen1
Date: 22 May 12 - 12:27 AM

Refresh.