"You'll Never Walk Alone"

Leave it to Richard Rodgers to write a song with each new line beginning on the next scale degree (do, then re, the mi and so on) and turn it into a smash hit. "You'll Never Walk Alone" has been covered by everyone from Elvis to Alicia Keys. It makes appearances in graduations and is even the anthem to football clubs in England. It originally took to the stage in Rodgers and Hammerstein's production of Carousel, opening at the Majestic Theater in 1945 for a total of 890 performances and then a revival in 1994 and a movie in 1956. It was a period show, set in New England between 1873-1888.

The plot is complicated, so let's bring it down to the bare bones: Nettie, Julie, and Billy. Billy is rough around the edges, capable of love but also capable of a darker side. Julie falls for Billy, and though he has physically struck her, Julie marries Billy. Billy is a decent man but makes many poor choices, gambling and getting mixed up with the wrong people. When Julie gives Billy the news that she is pregnant, Billy feels the pressure of providing financially for his future child. He is talked into robbing a store owner, and when the robbery goes wrong and he is cornered by the police. Billy stabs himself with a knife and dies. Julie, unaware of Billy's activities, arrives in time for Billy to say his final words.

As the townsfolk leave the scene, the weight of being a pregnant single mother in the late 1800's begins to press down on Julie. Nettie, her cousin, has heard the news and comes to her side. Billy and Julie have been living with Nettie and Nettie is more of a mother-type figure to Julie. As Julie begins to crumble Nettie reminds her of a gift with an inscription. She coaxes Julie to say the words, but as Julie says them they become painful. The song is taken over by Nettie and the words become a comfort, a reminder that you must keep your head up, and believe in yourself. Storms will toss, the world will turn, but you must stay upright, keep hope and people will stay with you.

[Nettie]
When you walk through a storm
Keep your chin up high
And don't be afraid of the dark.
At he end of the storm
Is a golden sky
And the sweet silver song of a lark.

Walk on through the wind,
Walk on through the rain,
Tho' your dreams be tossed and blown.Walk on, walk on
With hope in your heart
And you'll never walk alone,
You'll never walk alone.

The incomparable Shirley Jones and Claramae Turner in the 1956 movie...


I wasn't kidding about the Football Club Anthem...here's Liverpool: