Jeannie's Packin' Up Lyrics – Brigadoon

Song Overview

A brisk bustle of a number, “Jeannie’s Packin’ Up” is the women’s chorus snapshot that shows Brigadoon at work - ribbons, hose, slippers, and whispering neighbors - as Jean MacLaren readies for her wedding. On record, it’s a one-and-a-half-minute flurry that resets the stage after Meg’s comic turn and before Charlie’s serenade. In the 1957 studio cast album overseen by Goddard Lieberson, it lands like the hinge of Act I: the town’s gossip set to a bright, skipping meter, the plot quietly sliding toward vows and trouble.

Review and Highlights

Quick summary

• Act I ensemble for the village women as Jean packs for marriage - a comic bustle that sets up Charlie’s doorway song.
• Music by Frederick Loewe, lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner; in the 1957 studio cast, the track is billed to the “Girls” ensemble.
• Placed between “The Love of My Life” and “Come to Me, Bend to Me,” it pivots the tone from Meg’s mischief to courtly tenderness.
• Recorded for the high-fidelity 1957 studio cast album produced by Goddard Lieberson, with Lehman Engel conducting.
• Omitted in both the 1954 film and the 1966 television version, but present on stage, in the 1957 studio cast, and on later studio sets.

Creation History

By 1957, Columbia’s Masterworks division - with Lieberson at the helm - was re-recording Golden Age scores in modern stereo (or near-stereo) clarity, often with marquee singers and full-length song lists that earlier, space-limited cast albums had trimmed. Brigadoon was a perfect candidate: the 1947 shellac set captured the show’s spirit but not the complete score. Lieberson’s remake brought Shirley Jones, Jack Cassidy, Susan Johnson, and Frank Porretta into the studio under conductor Lehman Engel and restored the flow of Act I, including short ensemble cues like “Jeannie’s Packin’ Up.” The idea was simple: preserve theater pacing, not just hit tunes. The result is a brisk montage of village life that moves the day along and hands the spotlight to Charlie’s serenade right after.

Highlights in the writing

It’s a miniature - two dozen bars of rhythmic talk-sing that spins lists into music. Loewe keeps the harmony light, mostly diatonic with quick cadences and a skipping, quasi-folk rhythm. The arrangement invites antiphonal chatter: sectional answers, little echoes on “packin’ up” and “movin’ out,” and a wink of breathless alliteration on the laundry list (“Hankies for her nose...”). The women sound like a community inventorying one of their own. On the 1957 studio cast, the chorus articulates consonants with a smile, fronting the beat enough to sound busy but never rushed. According to the album notes, Lieberson and Engel favored clean diction and a clear acoustic - you can hear it here.

Key takeaways

• Short form, big function: it’s the housework chorus that turns plot gears.
• Folk tint in Broadway grammar: bright triple or duple-feel lilt, call-and-response textures.
• Tonally, it bridges comic energy to romantic hush by clearing the stage for Charlie’s entrance.
• On disc, it preserves the show’s lived-in texture - the part of musical storytelling that albums sometimes skip.

Song Meaning and Annotations

Plot

We’re at the MacLaren home. Jean is getting ready for her wedding to Charlie Dalrymple. Tradition keeps bride and groom apart until the ceremony, so the women do the talking - and the packing - for her. This little chorus is the village at work: efficient, nosy, affectionate. The moment ends as Charlie arrives to sign the family Bible, leading to his soft-voiced song outside her door.

Song Meaning

On the surface, it’s comic business. Underneath, it’s about community. Brigadoon is a town sustained by covenant; its rituals matter. The women’s chorus steps into that ritual with lists and rhyme, making domestic order the engine of the day. The humor - why did Jeannie never freeze? - doubles as character sketch: Jean travels light emotionally, perhaps, but not practically. The number catches the village’s feminine center in motion and lets the show exhale after Meg’s saucy solo before handing intimacy to Charlie.

Annotations

“Jeannie’s packin’ up - Jeannie’s movin’ out… Pack all her clothes - tonight away she goes”

Two short motives alternate: the public headline (“packin’ up”) and the practical instruction (“pack all her clothes”). Musically, the phrase structure works like work-song calls - the group sets its own tempo, a useful staging cue when suitcases, ribbons, and props are flying.

“What with all the clothes - all the these and those - why do ye suppose - Jeannie never froze?”

That crafty internal rhyme runs like patter. Directors often stage this with a conveyor-belt gag - garment to garment to folded pile - which underlines the number’s “machine” feel. Language-wise, Lerner keeps the Scots shading (“ye,” the clipped endings) just enough to color the lines without turning them into dialect comedy.

“Hankies for her nose - ribbons for her bows - cotton for her hose - slippers for her toes”

A shopping list turned into scansion drills. It’s the most memorable passage and the one audiences tend to hum on exit. Because the harmony stays simple under it, the joke lives in rhythm and articulation, not surprise chords. The finish - an elided “Tonight away she—” - hands the baton to the next entrance cleanly.

Genre and rhythm

Call it a folk-tinted Broadway bustle. The pulse sits in a bright swing that can feel like quick triple or light duple with pickup - conductors shave the difference based on staging business. Either way, the groove favors consonant-forward delivery and crisp cutoffs so the joke lands and the handoff to the next scene is clean.

Emotional arc

Start in motion, stay in motion. There’s no big swell here - the point is to keep the scene alive and push events toward the wedding ritual and the serenade at the door. The emotional color is cheerful competence with a sprinkle of curiosity. You feel a town turning a page.

Historical touchpoints

The number shows how Lerner and Loewe used domestic life to texture their worlds - not everything is a set piece or a love duet. It also showcases the studio-cast philosophy of the 1950s: record the connective tissue, not just the standards. According to the Masterworks notes, Lieberson’s mission was to create definitive, modern-sounding documents of classic scores - you hear that in the clarity and pacing of this track.

Key Facts

• Artist: 1957 Studio Cast of Brigadoon, Goddard Lieberson
• Featured: Girls ensemble (women of the company)
• Composer: Frederick Loewe
• Lyricist: Alan Jay Lerner
• Producer: Goddard Lieberson (studio cast album); orchestra and chorus directed by Lehman Engel
• Release Date: 1957 studio cast LP issue
• Genre: Broadway - ensemble bustle
• Instruments: Theater orchestra with strings, winds, brass, percussion
• Label: Columbia Masterworks
• Mood: Joyful, communal, quick-witted
• Length: About 1:30 - 2:05 across editions
• Track #: 7 on the 1957 studio cast album
• Language: English with light Scots color
• Album: Brigadoon (1957 Studio Cast Recording)
• Music style: Patter-chorus with folk inflection
• Poetic meter: Accentual rhyming quatrains with internal rhyme and list patterns

Canonical Entities & Relations

• Alan Jay Lerner - wrote lyrics for - Brigadoon.
• Frederick Loewe - composed score for - Brigadoon.
• Goddard Lieberson - produced - 1957 studio cast album of Brigadoon.
• Lehman Engel - conducted - orchestra and chorus for the 1957 studio cast.
• Girls ensemble - performed - “Jeannie’s Packin’ Up” on the 1957 studio cast recording.
• Shirley Jones, Jack Cassidy, Susan Johnson, Frank Porretta - starred - as principal vocalists on the 1957 studio cast album.
• IBDB - lists - “Jeannie’s Packin’ Up” as an Act I number sung by the Girls in the original Broadway production.
• New York City Center - clarifies - scene placement at the MacLaren home in study materials.

Questions and Answers

Where does “Jeannie’s Packin’ Up” sit in Act I?

Right after Meg’s “The Love of My Life” and just before Charlie’s “Come to Me, Bend to Me.” It’s the women bustling in Jean’s room while tradition keeps the bride and groom apart.

Who sings it on the 1957 studio cast?

The Girls ensemble - a chorus of village women. The principals sit out and enter immediately after for the serenade and romance material.

Is the number on all recordings and adaptations?

No. It’s in stage versions and studio-cast recordings like 1957, but it was cut from the 1954 film and did not appear in the 1966 television version either.

What dramatic job does the song do?

It moves time forward and shows community. Think of it as the show’s domestic montage - packing, teasing, keeping superstition intact - so the next song can bloom in hush.

What does the text style tell us?

List-based rhyme, internal rhymes, and light dialect. It reads like community chatter set to a skipping beat - efficient and warm, not satirical.

How long should it take?

Most recordings sit between 1:30 and 2:00. Stagings may stretch or compress based on business with props and entrances.

Did Lieberson change anything for the 1957 album?

The aim was restoration and clarity rather than change - recording the full flow of Act I, with clean chorus diction and crisp pacing, in higher-fidelity sound than the 1947 shellac set allowed.

Why omit it on screen?

Films and TV versions often trim connective ensemble songs to make room for plot or marquee solos. This one, charming as it is, functions as scene grease - first to go when minutes get tight.

Is there a standard key?

Publishers and accompaniment services commonly issue it in G major for women’s chorus, with transpositions available. Stage music directors adjust to suit company blend.

How should the tempo feel?

Brisk and buoyant. Enough lift to keep the patter sparkling, never so fast that diction smears. If you can’t hear every list item, you’re pushing.

What pairs with it in a concert suite?

Often followed by “Come to Me, Bend to Me,” or paired with “Down on MacConnachy Square” for a town-life medley.

Awards and Chart Positions

This specific track did not generate singles-chart action. Still, two context milestones matter: the show’s 1947 awards, and the 1957 album’s role in modernizing how classic scores were documented on LP.

How to Sing Jeannie’s Packin’ Up

Think quick hands and quicker consonants. It’s a women’s chorus bustle - your job is to sound like a tidy, affectionate whirlwind. The comedy sits in clarity, not speed.

• Vocal forces: women’s ensemble (often split Soprano I/II and Alto I/II, with optional divisi)
• Typical key: commonly issued in G major for chorus parts, with other keys available from licensed publishers and accompaniment services
• Tempo: brisk allegretto - productions land anywhere in a broad window depending on staging business; prioritize intelligibility over metronomic speed
• Style: patter-chorus with folk lilt; bright vowels and crisp cutoffs

Step-by-step

1. Tempo feel: Establish a light lift into each phrase. If choreography includes prop handing or folding, cue breaths on movement - the scene should sound like it looks.
2. Diction: Lead with consonants. Keep final s and z perfectly together, especially on “clothes,” “those,” and “hose.” Dialect touches stay light - clarity first.
3. Breathing: Stagger breaths in each section so patter never collapses. The big list (“Hankies... Ribbons... Cotton... Slippers...”) needs subdivision plans across the line.
4. Flow and rhythm: Ride the natural stress of the text. The rhyme scheme does the heavy lifting - don’t hammer beats 1 and 3; let the syllables bounce.
5. Accents: Land the joke words - “froze,” “toes” - with a smile in the tone, not a punch in the volume. Think camera close-up, not town crier.
6. Ensemble handoffs: Balance sections so question-and-answer entries read like friendly interruption rather than overlap. The cleanest cutoffs win.
7. Mic craft: If amplified, pull ambient level down during list sections to keep consonants from smearing; resist heavy reverb which muddies patter.
8. Pitfalls: Rushing the ends of lines, overdoing dialect, and losing the downbeat during prop business. If the words blur, the humor vanishes.

Practice materials

• 1957 studio cast track for pacing, text clarity, and orchestral balance.
• Licensed piano-vocal and choral charts in G and neighboring keys for ensemble rehearsals.
• Accompaniment tracks tailored for choral splits to drill antiphonal entrances.

Additional Info

Track placement across versions. Stage lists and archival databases consistently slot “Jeannie’s Packin’ Up” in Act I between Meg’s song and Charlie’s serenade. The 1957 studio cast follows that flow, as do later studio sets and concert versions. City Center’s study guide even pins the scene at the MacLaren home, clarifying the door-between-lovers setup that drives the next song.

Who’s on the 1957 album. Lieberson’s studio cast features Shirley Jones as Fiona, Jack Cassidy as Tommy, Susan Johnson as Meg, and Frank Porretta as Charlie, with Lehman Engel conducting. The “Girls” ensemble delivers this track; on reissues and digital services it sometimes appears under various “Brigadoon Ensemble” attributions, but the source is the same Columbia Masterworks session.

Why it matters on record. According to Masterworks’ album notes, the 1957 project aimed to fix the earlier era’s recording limits by preserving more connective tissue. “Jeannie’s Packin’ Up” is exactly that - connective tissue that makes Act I feel lived-in. Without it, the show can lurch from Meg’s mischief to Charlie’s hush a little too fast. With it, the day breathes.

Adaptation quirks. Movie and TV versions trimmed plenty. The 1954 film cut several stage numbers for pace and tone. The 1966 ABC telecast restored some items that the film dropped but still left this number out - a common fate for short ensemble choruses when screen time is tight.

Sources: Masterworks Broadway; IBDB; Ovrtur; New York City Center Study Guide; CastAlbums.org; Spotify; Apple Music; Discogs; AllMusic; Amazon Music.