How to Handle a Woman Lyrics – Camelot

Song Overview

Personal Review

I first encountered “How to Handle a Woman” on scratchy vinyl in my parents’ living-room; Harris’s brogue floated through cigarette haze while the film played on late-night TV. Decades later, the lyrics still feel like Arthur’s midnight confession—half complaint, half sermon—wrapped in Frederick Loewe’s wistful waltz. There’s no bombast here, only weary strings, a muted horn sigh, and Harris speaking-singing as though hoping no one in the Round Table antechamber is eavesdropping. You sense the king’s crown weighs a ton.

This Broadway-to-Hollywood transfer often gets eclipsed by the showier “If Ever I Would Leave You,” yet the quiet craft of “How to Handle a Woman” sneaks up on listeners. It is, in effect, the heart-check that foreshadows Camelot’s unraveling. Sonny Burke’s film mix places Harris front-and-center; the mic captures every aspirate, every catch in the throat when Arthur recalls Merlin’s advice: love her, merely love her. Simple counsel, impossible quest. The older I get, the truer it rings.

Song Meaning and Annotations

Set midway through Camelot, the number functions as Arthur’s reflective soliloquy. Dramatically, he grapples with Guenevere’s mercurial spirit, yet beneath the marital angst lies a broader lament about unattainable ideals. Written in 6/8, the melody lilts like a lullaby, undercut by minor inflections that betray doubt. Loewe’s orchestration paints warm cellos against harp arpeggios—courtly, yes, but tinged with homesickness.

The opening spoken verse—“Blast you, Merlin! This is all your fault!”—plunges us into self-reproach. Harris declaims more than he sings, invoking the musical’s device of speech-song to mirror inner dialogue. When the chorus arrives, the line lengthens, vowels broaden, and Arthur surrenders to Merlin’s memory:

“The way to handle a woman
Is to love her, simply love her”

Those seven syllables on “sim-ply love her” ascend stepwise, then descend gently—musical embodiment of acceptance followed by resignation. The emotional arc thus shifts from exasperation to tender humility.

Historically, the Lerner & Loewe partnership—fresh off My Fair Lady—drew on courtly legend to critique contemporary gender politics. In 1960, second-wave feminism was stirring; Lerner’s lyric almost anticipates the coming debates, couching them in medieval metaphor. Arthur’s solution seems both enlightened and naïve: love as panacea.

Instrumentation deserves a nod: muted trombone answers Arthur’s questions like an amused counselor, while flutes flutter when he ponders “Do I flatter her?” Subtle, but telling. And when Harris sustains the final “love her,” the orchestra drops to pianissimo, spotlighting vulnerability before resolving on a major chord—hopeful, if fragile.

Verse Highlights

Verse 1

The king berates Merlin, lamenting incomplete tutelage. Rhythm is largely recitative—free, conversational—mirroring Arthur’s scattered thoughts.

Chorus

Switches to a rolling triple meter, opening the harmonic palette. The upward leap on “handle” symbolizes Arthur reaching for clarity, only to alight softly back on “woman.”

Tags: Show-Tune, Ballad, Broadway, Soundtrack, Medieval-Pop

Song Credits

• Featured: Richard Harris (King Arthur)
• Producer: Sonny Burke
• Composer: Frederick Loewe
• Lyricist: Alan Jay Lerner
• Release Date (single): 1967, Warner Bros. – Seven Arts 7? 45 RPM
• Genre: Show-Tune / Orchestral Ballad
• Instruments: Harp, cello section, French horn, muted trombone, oboe, string ensemble
• Label: Warner Bros. Records
• Mood: Reflective, Tender
• Length: 4 min 10 sec
• Track #: 8
• Language: English
• Album: Camelot (Original Motion Picture Sound Track)
• Music Style: Waltz-time Soliloquy
• Poetic Meter: Predominantly iambic trimeter with trochaic pivots
• Copyright: © 1967 Alan Jay Lerner & Frederick Loewe / Warner Bros. Records

Songs Exploring Similar Themes

While Arthur frets, Tevye in “Do You Love Me?” (Fiddler on the Roof) puzzles over spousal affection amid tradition. Both men seek reassurance, yet Tevye frames it as a practical audit—milking cows, raising kids—whereas Arthur poses a philosophical riddle. Musically, Bock’s klezmer inflections contrast Loewe’s courtly waltz, but each song lands on the same revelation: love is action, not strategy.

Shift eastward to “Some Enchanted Evening” from South Pacific. Emile’s baritone coils around romance like perfume, not interrogation. Where Arthur asks how, Emile asserts when you find her, never let go. Rodgers’ sweeping melody sells certainty; Loewe offers shrugging wonder.

Meanwhile, in pop territory, Paul McCartney’s “Maybe I’m Amazed” shares Arthur’s mixture of awe and dependence. McCartney belts gratitude over gospel-rock piano, but the lyrical crux—I’m amazed at the way you love me—echoes Merlin’s prescription verbatim, albeit with late-‘60s swagger.

Questions and Answers

Was the song released as a stand-alone single?

Yes—Warner Bros. issued a 7? in 1967 backed with “I Wonder What the King Is Doing Tonight.”

Did “How to Handle a Woman” chart on Billboard?

No separate single placement is documented, but the Camelot soundtrack album peaked at #11 on the Billboard Top LPs.

Has the piece appeared in modern cinema?

A snippet—sung by Ciarán Hinds—features in Kenneth Branagh’s 2021 film Belfast.

Who else has covered the song?

Notable renditions include Percy Faith’s lush 1960 instrumental, Hugo Montenegro’s 1961 orchestral take, and Colm Wilkinson’s 1995 studio cast recording.

Is the Broadway version different from the film?

Richard Burton debuted the number on stage in 1960, singing a semitone lower and with sparser orchestration. Harris’s film rendition adds harp glissandi and a broader dynamic swell.

Awards and Chart Positions

The Camelot soundtrack secured Gold status in 1968 and went Platinum in 1986. The film itself clinched three Academy Awards—Best Score, Production Design, and Costume Design—and nabbed Richard Harris a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy. On Broadway, the original 1960 cast album spent 87 weeks atop Billboard’s monaural LP chart, finishing as the best-selling U.S. album of 1961.

How to Sing?

The melody spans B?2 to F4 for speaking lines, then stretches to G4 in the sung chorus—comfortable baritone turf. Keep the lilt by feeling two big beats per measure despite 6/8 notation. Approach consonants with care; the comic interrogatives—flatter, threaten, cajole—must remain crisp without choking resonance. Breath marks arrive naturally after each rhetorical question. Aim for legato on “love her,” soft palate lifted, vibrato modest; Arthur is confiding, not orating. Tempo hovers near 58 BPM, so resist dragging the rubato.

Fan and Media Reactions

“Harris talks the first half like a Shakespeare soliloquy, then lands that last ‘love her’ and my heart caves in.” ClassicFM YouTube comment (2024)

“Proof a love song doesn’t need high notes—just honesty and a horn section.” @BroadwayVinyl on X (2023)

“When Ciarán Hinds hummed it in Belfast, my gran whispered every word next to me.” Viewer letter, Irish Times

“Burton originated it, but Harris humanized it. That cracked final consonant says more than any vibrato.” Podcast MusicalTalk Episode 317

“Still the most tender moment in a three-hour epic stuffed with pageantry.” Criterion essay by Shonni Enelow