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Musical: Caroline, or Change
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WASHING MACHINE Nineteen-fourty-three you marry… CAROLINE Handsome boy, a navy man. He go off to fight Japan. WASHING MACHINE You stay home… CAROLINE Give birth to Larry. Then three years of lonely waiting. Fearful prayers. Anticipating. WASHING MACHINE Nineteen-fourty-five the Navy send you home your handsome man. RADIO Life is sunny, life is gravy. CAROLINE Thank you, Jesus, thank you Navy! He is home now, every limb is beauty, lovely, like a tree. Falling deep in love with him. RADIO The handsome Navy man! Falling deep in love with him, long and tall and sweet and slim. CAROLINE AND RADIO Even now your hand can summon how his neck, his belly feel, shoulders, what his breath was like. Hands burn then with happy fire, every inch of you desire. Longing set your skin aflame. CAROLINE Nurse the baby, sing his name. RADIO Sing his name! Sing his name! WASHING MACHINE and RADIO Back in nineteen-fourty-seven CAROLINE Ain’t no work for negro men. WASHING MACHINE You’s both hanging on to heaven. CAROLINE Emmie come… WASHING MACHINE and RADIO Shipyard close. CAROLINE ‘mmonia factory almost hire him. RADIO Only white mens in that union. CAROLINE He get drunk, he scared, he angry, feeling hopeless, I suppose… WASHING MACHINE He hit you. CAROLINE Just once. WASHING MACHINE He break your nose. CAROLINE Larry is a gentle baby. Emmie fussy, never sleeps. He gets drunk. He broke my nose. RADIO Even now your face can summon. CAROLINE What his punch feel like, the pain, RADIO Pain is white, remember pain? Pain is white, that is its color, bright as sunshine. Nighttime follow. Bitterness you drink and swallow. CAROLINE God whose eye is on the sparrow, please make Emmie go to bed. Folk’ll stare tomorrow. Jesus, please fix up my swollen head. Please a job so he stop drinking. Please, he don’t like digging sewers. WASHING MACHINE No one likes that diggin sewers… CAROLINE Please give me a mop and bucket. Please, a white folks house to tend. Please some money, feed the babies, choke his throat when he drink liquor, make my sis help with my babies, let him see he mess with me after I have spent the day putting white folks’ clothes away, tell him God, if he ever ever ever hit me again… RADIO Larry, Emmie, Jackie, Joe… WASHING MACHINE Other men find work. CAROLINE He don’t. RADIO Change come fast and change comes slow. WASHING MACHINE Other men leave drink… CAROLINE ..he can’t. WASHING MACHINE Ahead of time you’re getting old. Care beatin down on you. Then one day… CAROLINE AND WASHING MACHINE Then one day… CAROLINE One bad day… he hit again. WASHING MACHINE You beat him black and blue. Then he disappear from view… RADIO And even now your hand can summon CAROLINE What it like to beat his face in. What his back feel like, his kiss. WASHING MACHINE Even now, your scar hand miss CAROLINE The handsome boy, the Navy man. CAROLINE, WASHING MACHINE, RADIO Sorrow bleed you. CAROLINE Where is he? Where is he? Where is he? WASHING MACHINE AND RADIO You are sixteen sixteen sixteen sixteen sixteen… ROSE Caroline? CAROLINE …sixteen feet beneath the sea. [Thanks to Michael for lyrics] Back to main page: Caroline, or Change Lyrics
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