Analyzing Song Lyrics:

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1.
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Read the script:

When Did I Fall in Love is a song from Fiorello! (lyrics by Sheldon Harnick and music by Jerry
Bock). It is sung by Thea. Thea meets the protagonist of the play, Fiorello, in an unused store in
the midst of a strike she is taking part in. Through their initial conversation, the audience learns
that she was born in Trieste, an Italian city now being ground under the heel of the Imperialistic
Austrian invader. By the end of the conversation, she asks him if he could take her to dinner to
which he agrees. Later in the play, Fiorello is off to the army, before he leaves Thea stresses to
him that she will be waiting for him when he comes back, to which he tells her that he is going
to marry her when he returns. Then Fiorello is off and the play then flashes forward 10 years.
Fiorello is married to Thea and is getting ready for a campaign rally before Thea sings this song
about how much she is in love with him. During the scene and the song, Thea is ill, but her
sickness worsens and she dies. After her death, Fiorello remarries to his secretary, Maria, who
has liked him for many years.

2. Explore the moment of the song:

Who are you talking to?
At this point of the scene, everyone else has left the stage, therefore this song becomes
very self-reflective, as I am talking to myself through the various questions I ask (When
did I fall in love?, When did I first begin to feel this way?).
Where
are you going?

At this point, I am not going anywhere in particular. This song takes place in the
LaGuardia house.
What has just happened?
I just spent to morning helping Fiorello get ready for his campaigns rally. Right before
this song I just watched him exit and have started to put the cornet in its case.
What
do you want?

I want to know when I actually fell in love Fiorello.

What
do you want to get? What is your objective?

I am looking for answers to when I fell in love and ask myself various question to be able
to understand what happened.
What is at stake?
Nothing too crucial is at stake, I am just interested to get answers to my questions.
What will happened if you dont get what you want?
If I do not get what I want by the end of the song, I will still be asking myself these
questions and wouldnt have received answers.
How
is the character changed by the end of the song?

By the end of the song, I have decided that the small little details dont matter because at
the end of the day I am where I want to be, his love, his wife until the end of my life.
3. Specific Lyric questions:
Define words or phrases unfamiliar to you:
Sir Galahad: Arthurian legend, a knight of King Arthurs round table.
Willies Knight: automobile produced between 1914 and 1933.
Cornet: brass instrument very similar to a trumpet.

 Note any rhyme schemes which stand out to you and discuss what the writer may be
suggesting the actor by the rhyme:
When did respect first become affection?
When did affection suddenly soar?
What a strange and beautiful touch that I love him so much,
when I didnt before.

Though a majority of the song involves a rhyme scheme, I found this particular rhyming
section interesting because of the two words that rhyme (soar and before). I thought it
was interesting because in the context of that phrase they are very contrasting. My
affection soaring is unlike what was happening before, the juxtaposition of the two is
very interesting.