A few years ago, my then-co-director at draahhhma camp insisted we include the song, “You’re Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile” from that perky piece of rot, “Annie.”
“Kids love that song!” she said.
I winced. It is true, but shouldn’t be. I sighed, knowing I couldn’t nix everything, even if for the good of everyone involved.
“Okay.” Groaning, head in hands, I muttered, “Just this once.”
So, one day at camp, Co-Director, who was also choreographer, was teaching the moves to the kids. I was working a scene in another room with our leads. When I returned, the room was simply gushing with lyrics of soppy positivity.
I rolled my eyes, but instantly rolled them back to center when I saw this: A stage crammed with kids, all waving their hands under their noses, as if shooing away some vile stench. While doing this bit of choreography, they boomed these words:
Your clothes may be Beau Brummell-y
They stand out a mile
But, brother, you’re never fully dressed without a smile!
What was I seeing? I called Co-Director over.
“Um, I’m not really clear on the hand-wave-under-the-nose move.”
“Oh,” she said, smiling, “that means something stinks.”
“Well …. uh, I know what it means. I don’t understand its relevance to these lyrics.”
(Tippy-Toe, Tracey. Stay calm, old girl. Don’t jump yet.)
“Oh,” she said, even brighter, “‘Beau Brummelly’ means ‘smelly.'”
Aaaaaahhhhh!
I was falling, shrieking, into the lowest level of hell. And turns out, they sing there. And do you know what they sing there? “ANNIE,” “ANNIE,” ALL THE TIME!!!!!
“Where did you hear that?” I was choking.
“Well,” she said, “when I did ‘Annie’ years ago at (a certain schlocky Christian theatre for which I have nothing but contempt), they told us that ‘Beau Brummelly’ means ‘smelly.'”
Ah, Christians. Doing their best in the arts again. Look. Being under grace is not a license for slack-assery. And truly, didn’t Paul say something similar? Shall we continue in artistic sin so that grace may abound? By no means!
I was having a private, Charlie Brown moment: I can’t stand it. I just can’t stand it.
Out of the corner of my eye, I could see that gaggle of kids onstage perfecting the hand-wave-under-the-nose move.
That was it. Something had to be said. “Art” and my own perpetual snobbery demanded it.
“Ah. No. No.”
“It doesn’t?”
“No.”
“So what does it mean?” she asked, not smiling now.
I took a breath and explained that Beau Brummell was a real person who lived in England around 1800-ish; that he was known for his fastidious appearance and sense of style; that he was considered a “dandy.”
“Oh. Hmm. Wow. Kinda the opposite of smelly, I guess.”
I nodded.
I can’t stand it. I just can’t stand it.
That’s frustrating for a variety of reasons.
1) The entire point of the song is that it doesn’t matter how WELL you are dressed – you still need a smile (ie, it doesn’t matter how much money you have, what matters is that you’re happy). Making the clothes-wearers all smelly defeats the purpose utterly.
2) Somewhere, at some time, somebody didn’t know what “Beau Brummell-y” meant, and faked it. Badly. To give that person the benefit of the doubt, he/she (ze?) tried to derive the meaning from context, and failed. To deny that person the benefit of the doubt, ze is stupid and a liar.
-M@
Well, yeah. Clearly, “Beau Brummell-y” suggests someone’s name. Somewhere along the line, someone needed to do a Google search and find out who the heck Beau Brummell was! My Co-Director was just a kid when she was told the “meaning.” Why would she question it? Someone was ignorant, which I can understand, and then lazy about it, which I can’t.
I am in complete sympathy with you.
slack-assery — nice!