Please, Make it STOP!

Iowa Stubborn
Music: Meredith Willson
Lyrics: Meredith Willson


Townspeople:
Oh, there's nothing halfway
About the Iowa way to treat you,
When we greet you
Which we may not do at all.
There's an Iowa kind of special
Chip-on-the-shoulder attitude.
We've never been without.
That we recall.
We can be cold
As a falling thermometer in December
If you ask about our weather in July.
And we're so by God stubborn
We could stand touchin' noses
For a week at a time
And never see eye-to-eye.
But what the heck, you're welcome,
Join us at the picnic.
You can eat your fill
Of all the food you bring yourself.
You ought to give Iowa a try.
Provided you are contrary,
We can be cold
As a falling thermometer in December
If you ask about our weather in July.
And we're so by God stubborn
We can stand touchin' noses
For a week at a time
And never see eye-to-eye.
But we'll give you our shirt
And a back to go with it
If your crops should happen to die.

Farmer:
So, what the heck, you're welcome,
Glad to have you with us.

Farmer and Wife:
Even though we may not ever mention it again.

Townspeople:
You ought to give Iowa
Hawkeye Iowa
Dubuque, Des Moines, Davenport, Marshalltown,
Mason City, Keokuk, Ames,
Clear Lake
Ought to give Iowa a try!

This song has been stuck in my head ALL DAY LONG! The 5th grade classes are doing reasearch on the 50 states. I was helping one of them find information on Iowa on the internet this morning and ever since then, for the past 9 hours, this blasted song has been replaying itself over and over and over and over again in my head.

I blame my mother. If she were not involved in the theater, I would not have been exposed to the world of musical theater. I would not have been forced to run lines or practice songs. I would not have been able to get a close-up look at how shows are put together. I would have learned nothing about the rehearsal process, set design, costume design, hair and make-up, orchestra, lights, or even what it's like to be an usher.

My mom was in her element when she was on stage. Seeing her happy made me happy. I never tired of watching her performances. I knew the lines of all the characters and if one of them ad-libbed, they could count on me calling them on it. I could sing along with the chorus and principles from beginning to end.

Music was always a big part of our lives, but musical theater breathed new life into us. Getting a new script or a new score was like Christmas. True, they weren't my scripts or scores but it was exciting to me, just the same. Waiting to see which part my mom would play was excruciating. Getting to go to rehearsals was exciting. Watching opening night was exhilerating.

I always went to as many performances as I could. If mom ran out of passes, I'd volunteer to be an usher or watch from backstage. I never got tired of it.

Even if I wasn't in California, I was still involved. She'd call me after rehearsals and tell me how things went. If she couldn't master a song, I'd play it over the phone till she got it right. I was sent programs and photos. I even bought the movie versions of all the musicals she took part in, except Flower Drum Song. They include The Music Man, Singin' in the Rain, Gypsy, On the Town, The Pajama Game, Pippin, Annie, and Flower Drum Song.

My mom hasn't been involved with the theater for the past few years. I don't know if she does, but I sure miss it. It gave us something to talk about. Something exciting and happy. Lately, it's been all about my sister's pissy moods and my mom's RA (I can't remember what the proper name is...but it's painful and she refers to it as RA. No, it's not Rheumatoid Arthritis).