"Rock Island" The Music Man (opening scene)

[@thekinginyellow7029]

The requirements for a man to date my daughter: 1. Does he have a job? 2. He got any habits? 3. DOES HE KNOW THE TERRITORY!?!?

[@looneywoman]

Maybe he shouldn't be *too* eager to "know the territory," if you know what I mean! 😈

[@suspicioususer]

4. What's his line?

[@looneywoman]

@@suspicioususer "He's a fake! and he doesn't know the territory!"

[@aresbishop5636]

What does he talk?

[@looneywoman]

@@aresbishop5636 -- Where does he get it?

[@boccs9925]

What I always loved about this song is how it establishes Hill as almost impossible, like a hero from an urban legend, just absolutely setting him up on a pedastal so high that surely it's impossible that he'd meet the hype. Then you actually see Hill work and realize that if anything this song *sold him short*.

[@chloepainter4064]

Yeah it’s a great introduction, sets the tone perfectly!

[@spikespa5208]

Wish they had let this scene run a minute or two longer.

[@steveperry1344]

you said it. hill????????

[@CaruthersHodge]

Your comment is so well expressed and neatly captures a method of technique by which we are lead into the story with focus on the central figure before we meet him. Exasperation for them or particularly for the anvil salesmen, and charisma and delight for us. It's the first instance of Meredith Willson's genius and the unfolding product doesn't disappoint.

[@nedcurfman3486]

BUT he doesn’t know the territory

[@RConnickJr]

This song is one thing you really have to appreciate about The Music Man. With this song, every production of this show lets you know almost immediately whether or not it's going to absolutely suck.

[@itamarbar9580]

It's a true test of everyone! The music department and the actors, roles both big and small.

[@alexhart9267]

This song is the very definition of, "Less is more"

[@cmapez]

I feel like this production sucked then.

[@kenaldri4923]

I wouldnt know why. Nobody sings. Everyone is a guy - no women. The guy who really carries the picture, Robert Preston, hardly appears at all. Not sure what this tells you then.

[@kenaldri4923]

@@cmapez everyone nailed it and the entire movie was awesome from start to finish.

[@copernicus633]

For my my money, this is one of the best moments in the history of film musicals. The changing commerce of turn of the century America is charmingly encapsulated in the rap like chants of the salesmen. This film has so many dimensions-romance, comedy, cultural commentary of a changing America.

[@gregorymoore2877]

And this is a condensed version for the movie. The original stage version has a whole verse about each of the things that are said to be gone.

[@ingold1470]

For sure! Particularly the rise of marketing as a profession that manufactures demand for a product through psychological tricks, rather than mapping & then supplying existing demand. Harold Hill representing the former, the "Ya gotta know the territory!" guy the former.

[@kenaldri4982]

This opening shows you how much depth The Music Man had. I mean, Robert Preston just sits there through the entire song and never shows his face. Yet he dominates the movie otherwise. So clearly, the movie was a lot more than just a vehicle for Preston. It had a great ensemble cast and you really can't find any weak characters. Hollywood at its very best.

[@razor6552]

Good old Buddy Hackett!

[@morefiction3264]

Even Ronnie Howard was in it.

[@jimobrien3535]

True ... but remember that Robert Preston had performed the role of Harold Hill ,,, about 700 times ... on Broadway ... and when Warner wanted some one else for the movie role (Frank Sinatra and Cary Grant were considered) ... Meredeth Willson said "Either Robert Preston gets the part ... or you don't get my movie." Interestingly though ... in the movie ... Harold Hill never did anything wrong ... and he never broke any law. He promised them instruments, uniforms, and instruction booklets ... and he delivered on that promise. He promised to form a boys band ... and he did. He did everything he said he would do ... and never broke a single law ... and yet they arrested him ... held him against his will ... and threatened to tar and feather him.

[@jasonkreider8954]

​@@jimobrien3535he lied about his credentials

[@jimobrien3535]

@@jasonkreider8954 he did lie about being from the gold medal class of aught five ... but that is not a crime

[@paul12345611]

Imagine sitting in the theatre in 1957 and this is what the happens when the curtain raises. I can only imagine the reaction at seeing something so completely different for the opening of a big Broadway musical. Completely Brilliant!

[@donaldcarletonjr.9047]

Kind of an early (if totally whitebread) firm of rap/ hiphop!

[@darthnihilus511]

I played Charlie Cowell in our high school production of this play. All of our actors that were in the opening scene on the train were responsible for pushing the train prop of stage when it was finished. On our opening night as we were pushing the train off stage, we accidentally hit the fire alarm.😂 We had to evacuate the entire auditorium and everybody had to stand outside, waiting to go back in and we had to start the play over again😂😂. Some of the actors were still in mid costume and make up at the time and had to stand outside half dressed 😂😂

[@LogoMan7777]

It was 1962

[@lawrenceclemens8494]

It doesn't get more brilliant than this - Meredith Wilson, the cast, the direction, set, photography, and the editing. An exquisite example of the American musical in film.

[@funkycpa]

And the choreography!!!

[@oceanmango]

My teacher made us memorize this whole song and reenact it in my 7th grade music class. Four years later and basically everyone in my school still remembers the lyrics lmao

[@General_1928]

I'm in 7th grade and we are doing that now actually 😭

[@donaldnesbitt3761]

I played the role of the Music Man in the 5th or 6th grade in 1965 (I think) and remember my lines even to today and I'm 68 years old. Also remember how our music teacher and school skirted the part in which I was supposed to kiss Marion. Back then in the 60's even in NYC white and black intimacy perceived or otherwise was frowned upon. All in all it was a great lifetime experience and hopefully will see it on Broadway this year.

[@ddthewolf]

That's awesome!

[@jamesdelong5509]

Same shit with me

[@HajoonFF6123]

Lol, I have to as well. My music teacher is cool.

[@myndwork]

Holly shit, this thing is a masterpiece. Perfect directing, editing and acting. Great shots too. Great scene.

[@dnasty312]

Great use of *Technirama* 🙌

[@MalescoM]

Jackman absolutely nailed reciting this number.

[@theofficialterencefletcher6358]

took a while, but me too.

[@looneywoman]

So excited that he'll be playing Harold Hill!!! He'll hit it out of the park imo!!!

[@CarolinaMouse]

Now that' a man who definitely knows the territory!

[@bromodragone8405]

Jackman? Hugh Jackman?

[@kuliimjulischreiben]

I just saw a clip of this, he was so cool!

[@sabbagels]

So the line "seegarettes illegal in this state" prompted me to look up the history of Iowa's cigarette ban. It was the first state to ever pass such a ban in 1897, and many other states including Indiana, Michigan, and Washington followed suit. I wasn't able to figure out when it was overturned. I learned something from a musical today.

[@themadmanchannel9036]

It appears as though it was repealed in 1921.

[@CaruthersHodge]

The Music Man is in fact excellent social history. All those rapid clever lyrics in a number of songs actually do say something. It's one of the many joys of the show.

[@feanenatreides]

My great uncle played one of the traveling salesmen in the original broadway cast. Sadly he died around the time I was born, I wish I could have heard some of his stories about Broadway!

[@chloepainter4064]

Woah, that’s so cool! I love the music man, saw a live production once visiting my grandma in California as a kid. Do you know if there are recordings of the original broadway production? I don’t actually know how old this play is.

[@barbarossa1234]

That’s awesome. My mum played the soundtrack from as far back as I remember. By the time I saw it onstage for the first time as an 8th grader (the local high school, annual musical) I knew all the music by heart. My mum saw it in the 50s, original cast.

[@user-zf3fc9tn5k]

One of the best openings ever.

[@haroldfarthington7492]

George Baum I agree :)

[@beckyann8389]

Yeah, it's quite catchy

[@davidsmiley6552]

Opening. Nite. February next year. Broadway Here I Come. Winter Garden theater cant wait jack it up Hugh Jackman till then

[@d.jensen5153]

Exposition with a spoonful of sugar.

[@lilliedoubleyou3865]

And THAT, boys and girls, is how you open a musical.

[@robertd.carver6240]

You can also open a musical with a lone farm-woman on stage churning butter silently and a male voice singing from off-stage. They just don't write 'em like they yoosta!

[@free_siobhan]

Robert D. Carver oh shut up

[@redsamurai809]

@@free_siobhan tf

[@BlinkOfAnEye1331]

Amelia Doubleyou I’m singing this in my school prouduction of Musicman Jr

[@davidlaurence216]

You can also open with 3 guys arguing about horses

[@tsreyb]

"What's the matter with credit?" "It's old fashioned!" That's a big LOL in 2009!

[@suzannejensen275]

Well it seems like it's nothing but credit now in 2020. Very seldom do see someone pay with cash it's either credit or debit card or even just use the app on you phone. I almost freaked out to see a teen actually paid with cash then threw the change in the trash can saying he didn't want to carry it around in his pocket. You can tell he definitely didn't have to work for that money or he wouldn't have thrown the change in the trash. He could've left it on the counter or put it in the charity box by the register. He definitely didn't have a father like the one at the ice cream shop he yelled at his kids for leaving $0.06 on the table saying don't you appreciate the value of money and how hard I had to work for it. WOW I was in shock to see that kind of reaction over such a small about. Specialist say the average person within three months of losing a job would be bankrupt because they're so far in debt and have nothing to fall back on. Also if you only pay the minimum payment on a credit card it takes an advantage of 25 years to pay it off.

[@sylph8005]

Old is new

[@Jaded.]

I love how this is still a top comment and it’s 12 years old, good job

[@gianna526]

still a big LOL in 2022!

[@pokeydokey8226]

2024 gang

[@EXRazeBurn]

2:06 Saying that line, on a sound stage that's bouncing that much about 2 inches from another actor's face... I don't care if that was the guy's only part in the musical, give that guy an award. NOW.

[@misteridiot]

The sound stage isn't bouncing, *each actor is making themselves bounce*, it's such a delightful visual gag.

[@christinacody5845]

Saying that line at all it award-worthy itself. As someone who once memorized the entire song, that is ALWAYS the hardest line to say. I puts the "Picky People" warmup to shame.

[@StarWarriorCentral]

When I was a kid, I thought the train's shaking was making him speak gibberish at that line! 😂 Something like "He's just a bang-beat, brecker-neckin, brip-bluh, cracker-breckin', every time a bullseye salesman!"

[@rainlori]

Probably miming their own dialogue to playback, recorded previously?

[@replyhere590]

@@rainlori I think even doing that convincingly for that soliloquy would be hard.

[@dianalee3059]

I had the honor of meeting Mr. Willson once when I was called to go to his house to help present the idea of a program similar to Side By Side By Sondheim only with Willson’s works. I sang, among many other things, My White Knight and told him it was the song I always sang for auditions. He was in the throes of Alzheimer’s then but still so sweetly said to me, “Well I’ve never heard it sung better!” I cherish the memories of that afternoon.. unfortunately the production never got off the ground. But we had a wonderful afternoon, singing his songs to him.

[@TheMuseumofmusic]

"[After] Meredith Willson's startling use of rap for the opening number in The Music Man ... I would have expected more songwriters to pick up on it, including myself. But not until rap became omnipresently popular did I try to make it work: I imitated it in a passage for the Witch to sing during the opening number of Into the Woods. But I was never able to find another appropriate use for the technique, or perhaps I didn't have the imagination to." -Stephen Sondheim

[@TheMuseumofmusic]

The Witch's Chant was the first rap song I ever listened to, during a lifetime of listening to classical (into which category I place Sondheim). The quote above led me here.

[@beansforsalewahoo]

Getting Married Today from Company was great, though!

[@Person1865]

Lin-Manuel Miranda had that imagination.

[@josephsauris4949]

@@beansforsalewahoo That was melodic rap, a/k/a trap!

[@pcyr9999]

@@Person1865lol WELL after it became mainstream. It doesn't really require imagination at that point. That was Sondheim's point, that Meredith Wilson innovated, Sondheim did not (and on a grand scale, neither did Lin Manuel Miranda).

[@antonk6359]

Wow. The world depicted in this film is over 100 years old now.

[@matthew8153]

Now we can order hookers from little devises in our hands. How low this world has fallen.

[@j.a.bettig772]

@@matthew8153 this is the dumbest comment I’ve read all day, if anything prostitution was easier to engage in back then

[@Jrock420blam]

@@matthew8153 low? sounds like the world is much improved. a guy like you can finally get laid

[@jbank8447]

@@matthew8153 That's disgusting. Where?

[@dylang1138]

@@jbank8447 hahahahaha

[@Barbwireamulet777]

👏 Don't 👏 claim 👏 to 👏 know 👏 rap 👏 if 👏 you 👏 don't 👏 know 👏 this 👏 bop 👏

[@steffirana8002]

what do u mean

[@rainb0wart870]

Whaddya talk?

[@die-brot-frau]

Whaddya talk Whaddya talk Whaddya talk

[@rainb0wart870]

Hammy Boi11 where d’ya get it?

[@gibbsm]

puts 8 Mile to shame!

[@SocktheWorm]

Gentlemen, you intrigue me! I'll have to give Iowa a try.

[@paradigm9061]

I don't believe I dropped it.

[@negagator3456]

@@paradigm9061 I don't believe I dropped it

[@hengineer]

"I don't believe I caught your name"

[@elichaitman3294]

@@hengineer "Don't believe I told you"

[@juliadarling8868]

At 1:53 you can see Prof. Hill turn his head slightly and glance suspiciously at the guy who said his name. It's a cool detail that you don't even notice until you know that it's him.

[@irdk6845]

I've seen this countless times and never noticed that..... just makes me love this song even more!!

[@MamaBearBrock]

I never noticed and I grew up on this!

[@dnasty312]

The beauty of a Cinemascope 🙌🏼

[@dahlia58]

I always catch something different every time I watch the movie. It's fun to read the trivia on IMDb

[@officerbanjo4916]

👏Don't👏claim👏to👏know👏the👏territory👏unless👏you👏actually👏know👏the👏territory👏

[@JoeyGDude]

Says any good indie wrestler.

[@jerrykitich3318]

That comes with the territory

[@philipmancera2505]

@@jerrykitich3318 (Chug Chug Chug Chug Chug Chug) 🚂🛤(WHISTLING)

[@briansounalath]

Periodt.

[@Fuall-666]

River city ioway

[@rachelwrenn4139]

but he dOESN'T KNOW THE TERRITORY

[@stephenm8725]

#burn

[@cynthiabruno2810]

Whadda ya talk? whadda ya talk?

[@AWesome9749]

Cynthia Bruno where do ya get it?

[@cybertail]

But when the man dances, certainly boys, what else? The piper pays him!

[@bataco1014]

Yes sir. Yess sirr. Yesssss ssiiiiiirrrrrrr.

[@mikelo204]

The first musical I ever saw on broadway. Also the second play I was ever in as a child. This still brings so many memories back. My all time favorite play!

[@brandonedmondson2161]

they cut off the best scene when Harold Hill leaves the train.

[@dnasty312]

"Don't believe I dropped it."

[@williamsnyder5616]

@@dnasty312 Sorry, but you did. Because Harold gets off the train at the end with his suitcase showing: Prof. Harold Hill.

[@spikespa5208]

Could have let this run another minute.

[@drmubpepper]

@@williamsnyder5616 No tha--that's the line...

[@CaptKundalini]

Hill: "Gentlemen, you intrigue me. I'm going to have to give Iowa a try." Charlie: "Don't believe I caught your name." Professor Harold Hill: "Don't believe I dropped it." (As his suitcase reveals his name, he jumps off the train just as it starts going leaving behind a train car full of very angry Traveling Salesmen)

[@TheJoe999Man]

113 PEOPLE DON'T KNOW THE TERRITORY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@derricawright8810]

Lol

[@ashycashy9763]

NOW IT'S A 119 PEOPLE!

[@looneywoman]

Make that 130!

[@AfroRig]

@@looneywoman all 130 dislikes are Black guys.

[@joyunicycle]

*Dislikers:* Look what do ya talk? Look what do ya talk? Look what do ya talk? Look what do ya talk?

[@DerpyPossum]

Can i just say that i absolutely love it when songs incorporate steam locomotive beats! :)

[@jamie5092]

i love you

[@DerpyPossum]

@@jamie5092 …sorry what!

[@Mediaright]

Try "Blue Train" by ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION

[@tomoyboy]

The only other one I know to do it is "on the railroad" by the longest Johns, Do you have more reccomendations??

[@martinepstein9826]

In case anyone was wondering, he says "Credit is no good for a notion salesman" Notions: small, useful articles, as needles, thread, etc., sold in a store (collinsdictionary)

[@kenkarsonn]

Omg thank you for clarifying. All this time I thought he said “ocean salesman” and I never gave it a second thought 😅

[@chiaradarville4853]

One of my favorite scenes in this musical! This is performances is pure genius!❤

[@ihavememesyouwannaseethem]

I watched this in 5th grade and it was amazing! I'm now in 8th grade and it's still a great movie!

[@ImNotJoshPotter]

i have memes, you wanna see them? This is an adorable comment. Stay golden...

[@maxschrader3884]

how is 10th grade

[@kmatthews1867]

Max channel random I’m curious too. Our little music man fan should be driving soon and deciding on colleges!

[@TungstenArm]

i have memes, you wanna see them? How’s Junior year going?

[@suzannejensen275]

Well are you a senior this year getting ready to graduate high school this year? Wow how time flies. I hope you still like this musical. I keep getting people to watch this and tell them they had rap back in 1957 when this was a Broadway play and the movie premiered in 1962.

[@willieholmes1483]

I would DEFINITELY be the “Doesn’t-know-the-territory” man. That’s about all I’d be able to remember from this number!

[@rightinthedome9973]

Whataya talk, whataya talk, whataya talk

[@meine.wenigkeit]

OMG this song has been in my head for at least 10 years and the only lyrics I had in my had were "big bass drum and the piccolo" and I finally found it ahhh I'm so relieved!

[@linengray]

One of my favourite musicals. Along with the My Fair Lady and The Unsinkable Molly Brown. I am glad my mother brought me up on musicals.

[@sylviaturner9063]

My mother did too! I didn't like My Fair Lady as much, because I didn't like Henry Higgins.

[@jpaccardi395]

I'm so excited I'm the "yes sir" guy in my play

[@DodderingOldMan]

I wish they still made films like this...

[@gregorymoore2877]

I hear you. And sadly even if they remake this exact movie, they still find ways to mess it up. Thankfully the 1960 film version still exists.

[@matthew8153]

@@gregorymoore2877 They did remake the movie staring Matt Broderick.

[@gregorymoore2877]

@@matthew8153 I know. That's how I know they'll mess it up. 😉

[@pablogamingjamester8136]

The guy who asked have you ever heard of hill He's roasted the shit out of that salesman

[@risingrobinprodutions]

Proof that rap was cool before it was invented.

[@sce2aux464]

Ryuichi Takumi And then it was invented and a "c" was added to it.

[@TheThreatenedSwan]

+SCE2AUX2 oh man, oh man oh man

[@angelicajohnson3760]

+SCE2AUX2 yes sir, yes sir

[@risingrobinprodutions]

***** for the record, I never said that this meant white people invented rap. I was only saying that this meant rap was cool to do before it was made popular in the late 1900's.

[@thomasalvarez6456]

Ahh could o`l fashioned blame the white man.

[@pyramlinum9514]

The Stupendium sneaked some references to this into his new song AD INFINITUM, which is about a character from Toby Fox's game Deltarune Chapter 2 who is the literal personification of advertising. I'm glad I decided to look up the references, this was cool to find and it's really neat that he hid some of the lines from it here!

[@RichardRingo1]

One of the greatest opening scenes of a musical of all time!

[@DodderingOldMan]

This is what happens when everyone on a train has a stroke at the same time.

[@KLGChaos]

The Whatdayatalk? guy was having a seizure as well.

[@mbabitt]

I've watched a few versions of this scene on KZbin, and by far this is the most emotional of them. I have this movie on tape, and it's pure awesomeness.

[@Tomasina1616]

We did this my senior year in high school and I LOVED doing it!! And that was a gazzillion years ago and I still practice--I love this opening scene!

[@judyderi2614]

This is rap music i can understand and appreciate more than any rap music today!

[@PrimetimeD]

Love this musical. Starts off with such a clever and well-done number.

[@crazygibby]

Someone named Grace Spelman on twitter did a video to this while quarantined and now I’m watching the original...thanks lady. Now I’m going watch this whole damn musical.

[@Jess3674]

I think this is the first official rap song.

[@thepresidentofkekistan9342]

LOL! I thought the same thing too :D

[@stargatefansg1]

Check out the Version from LL Cool J at the 2014 Tonys ^_^

[@WytZox1]

Indeed further proof that white folks invented rap. ☺ Tho before this 1 there was Kookie, Kookie Lend Me Your Comb and before that there were square dance callers. ☺

[@daisybtoes]

WytZox1 Actually, this is related to rap, but it is called patter. Patter was perfected by Gilbert & Sullivan in such "musicals" as Pirates of Penzance, Ruddigore, The Mikado, and others. Go listen to The Nightmare Song from Iolanthe.

[@lambikins]

Daisy Brambletoes Thanks for the information, Daisy. I'll be sure to look up those musicals and the "Nightmare Song", too. :D

[@JWetzMMA]

So awesome. This is such a great combination of acting, singing and also dancing.

[@Abtastix]

Wattya talk wattya talk wattya talk?

[@DM2GamingChannel]

WHERDYA GET IT?

[@squirel4386]

+Bad Roblox Wattya talk

[@aspenswims2916]

Wattya talk

[@thenaziinberlin1141]

+Mev Wetzker you can talk talk talk bicker bicker

[@sebastianp2253]

Look wattya talk wattya talk

[@Robbie06261995]

Brighton, IL (which is near St Louis) up to Iowa in only one musical number. Now that's high speed rail.

[@parkerstromquist2849]

I have listened to this 10 times and I still cannot tell if I love it or hate it

[@davidderitis9068]

If you listened more than once YOU LOVE IT !! ;)

[@razor6552]

You love it

[@jerrykitich3318]

Just remember, cigarettes are illegal in this state.

[@a.c.b09]

I had to learn this with my class in our Year 9 music class... in 2007. Today, I randomly get the lyrics stuck in my head and I haven't listened to this since 2007! Had to come and find this again. Amazing what our brains retain 😂😍

[@RobbsHomemadeLife]

the first rap song.

[@wlh227]

Generally accepted that this was the first rap song...

[@mattanderson6336]

And they all stayed in time with the motion of the train.

[@slaptheconsole9301]

That was the main idea for this song. It's called a "Patter Song". That means that the lyrics are spoken instead of sung. A good musical to listen to with Patter Songs would be "My Fair Lady". But yes, the rhythm of the train signified the temp of the song, therefore, when the train sped up, so did the lyrics, and the same when the train slowed to a halt. So yes, I guess you could say that Patter Songs help create rap.

[@mattanderson6336]

+SlapTheConsole 'Why can't a woman be more like a man'

[@slaptheconsole9301]

'Why can't the English learn to speak?!'

[@Falinzin]

Respect the people that put this on every year. This song is seriously hard to learn and awesome to watch.

[@justinquaylepate1358]

The last time I had seen this movie was in the spring of 1989 and this was always my favorite scene and still is

[@bourst]

As Hugh Jackman pointed out on last night's Tony Awards performance, this is an original version of rap.

[@robtberardi]

Whoa... this comment aged well! Was the Broadway revival with Jackman already planned?

[@ninjavszombies8209]

@@robtberardi probably not but one of Hugh Jackman's first musicals was the music man

[@iPodUplink]

0:47

[@fjtappedout4623]

Jailbreak Nation 0:47

[@haasebahn]

BRUMMPPPP

[@WonderfulAkari]

I want a modern rapper to do a cover

[@TheThreatenedSwan]

jay-z

[@shaylene2000]

+WonderfulAkari Hugh Jackman rapped it, haha!

[@ginabudman4679]

WonderfulAkari Kanye will be Professor Harold 😂

[@ginabudman4679]

Evi1M4chine I was joking and I apologize if I made you upset

[@williamstevens8177]

LL Cool J did at the 2014 Tonys

[@emilyrln]

Absolutely love this musical!

[@deborahpaley21]

My favorite musical.

[@slender_0434]

Put this to 2x and watch it. It's gold.

[@michaelhemsley1470]

Reading through the comments I noticed a few of you mentioned when you first saw the movie, stage production or were a participant. I saw "The Music Man" with Preston in a movie theater in 1962. Loved it then and still do! I'm going to go lie down now.😢

[@nathanapplegate5374]

This is a true rap talk

[@armanigracia]

Truu

[@AKAdaJoker14]

You wanna hear true rap listen to the story of oj

[@Salena905]

Gilbert and Sullivan modern major general song was earlier, but this is all brilliant.

[@usukandidont]

Star Trek version of this musical: Oh ya got Tribbles my friend, right here in River City.

[@faronkay6545]

Wrong song, my dude

[@Salena905]

😁😁😁👏👏👏

[@looneywoman]

🤣🤣🤣

[@JJohnston4Life]

Robert Preston was a beast in this movie. I wish we the clip would've lasted longer. xD

[@janielpredagraceffa6968]

WHADDYA TALK WHADDYA TALK WHADDYA TALK WHADDYA TALK WHADDYA TALK WHADDYA TALK??

[@LogoMan7777]

He's a music man!

[@Enterprise-D666]

​@@LogoMan7777 he's a what?

[@LogoMan7777]

@@Enterprise-D666 He's a what? He's a music man and he sells clarinets To the kids in the town with the big trombones And the rat-a-tat drums, big brass bass, big brass bass And the piccolo, the piccolo with uniforms, too With a shiny gold braid on the coat and a big red stripe runnin'...

[@Enterprise-D666]

@@LogoMan7777 Well I don't know much about bands but I do know that you can't make a living selling big trombones. No sir! Mandolin picks perhaps, and here and there a Jew's harp.

[@LogoMan7777]

@@Enterprise-D666 No, the fellow sells bands, Boys' bands I don't know how he does it but he lives like a king And he dallies and he gathers and he plucks and he shines And when the man dances, certainly, boys, what else? The piper pays him! Yes sir, yes sir, yessss sir, yesssss sir When the man dances, certainly, boys, what else? The piper pays him!

[@ericmeier9107]

Ever meet a fellow by the name of Hill?

[@antonk6359]

Hill?

[@fhsfiddleboy09]

Hill?

[@theprofessor4875]

Hill?

[@senoritasophs13]

Hill?

[@Coryrat]

Hill?

[@Shindai]

What a fantastic scene, flawless timing, good stuff

[@WilliamFord972]

This and "Trouble": rapping before it was cool.

[@matthewmiller6068]

With a capital T that rhymes with P?

[@allison9615]

Matthew Miller And rhymes with pool?

[@elizabethsmith7224]

Allison Barrett * Stands for pool

[@ignorecorporatenews]

you're an idiot. this is not fukking rap. oh, and rap sucks btw.

[@megelizabeth9492]

Trouble is more of a patter song tbh.

[@stephenspencer4672]

Rhythmic speech that isn't actuality singing is a form of rap. Its been around for manys years. Meridith Wilson employed this for this number.😊❤

[@magnusm4]

Love how the song starts like a normal rant in tune with the train and goes faster as the train takes up pace. Fun way to easy in to the song.

[@KiraJenLove]

We did this play as a high school musical in 1986. Everyone did an excellent job!

[@pacoramirez7363]

I love how this ignores that Brighton, IL is a least a couple hours' train ride away from Iowa and that there's a giant-ass river between Iowa and Illinois.

[@MrLeeder88]

It's because they didn't know the territory 🤣

[@petedanderson5581]

I remember seeing this back in the 3rd grade and it’s stayed in my top 5 favorite movies the whole time

[@allioto32]

Living in Rock Island makes this song even better :)

[@Brian-or1yp]

I first saw this in 7th grade by a substitute teacher who played it that week in school. I'm 52 and have to watch it til the end every time I come across it. BTW, Max Showalter (one of the salesmen in this opening scene) also played one of the grandfathers in "16 Candles".

[@Baribrotzer]

Here's something especially ironic: Meredith Willson - who wrote "The Music Man" - despised rock 'n roll. Along with Frank Sinatra and quite a few other figures from the Big Band era, he considered it the destruction of all that was good about popular music, and described it as "garbage.... a creeping paralysis." And yet he invented rap!

[@AKAdaJoker14]

Baribrotzer relax. It’s rhyming words, people do that a lot. It’s musical speak friend

[@ingold1470]

There was something similar called "Patter" which was popular in the 1890s, so Meredith could have been parodying that.

[@threegreencharms]

Aye dis shit bumpin doe ferreal

[@elle7933]

My high school did this production and the guy who said the line at 2:06 stopped in the middle and said “wait I messed up, can we do it again?” Everyone was so confused

[@KamiMalzahn]

Was it during rehearsals or one of the performance nights?

[@lloydbotway5930]

Masterful lyric writing. Willson was a genius.

[@PrincessLydia]

I performed this song by myself when I was in elementary school. To be honest, I didn't know half of what I was talking about! LOL! :)

[@tracer740]

You honest little thing, you! lol

[@beansforsalewahoo]

Do you know the territory now? :D

[@isaiahsimmons4414]

This has to be the most engaging conversation I've ever seen😂

[@pkguy3]

The train conductor Percy Helton one of the most recognizable character actors. He seemed to be in everything

[@billsblots]

classic. a great story and production start to finish.

[@blazzered2]

I wish people still dressed like this.

[@peggyemerson4708]

John Mulaney does...

[@fartmaster684]

I mean people do dress like rhis now, vintage fashion is growing agian

[@giantleprechaun2350]

Yeah. I wonder why old men don’t wear hats like that anymore

[@anaussie213]

@@giantleprechaun2350 people stopped wearing hats in the 50s when cars became widespread.

[@Its_SuzieBun]

Brings back fond memories of doing Music Man this last winter at my High School

[@misteridiot]

Oh my gawsh they're manually bouncing at uneven intervals. This is utterly delightful to watch a s well as listen to.

[@coryflys]

Nothing but pure fire. 🔥🔥🔥

[@JohnnyDominicGarcia]

Look whaddyya talk?Whaddyya talk?Whaddyya talk?Whaddyya talk?!

[@edreid7872]

Max Showalter, the one that this sequence, is one of my favorite character actors....last seen in Sixteen Candles with Molly Ringwald..

[@sherribrtn]

Can't wait to see this musical on Broadway with Hugh Jackman in 2020!! EPIC merging of Wolverine, PT Barnum into Harold Hill!!

[@drewk8603]

How was it?

[@clairecoen5007]

My school's doing this show in March and I'm honestly so excited for this number

[@Chocobo0Scribe]

It is downright impossible to listen to this without bobbing your head to the beat.

[@FINNEGANAGENNIF]

The first (and best) rap song ever!

[@Unregistered.HyperCam.2]

This musical takes place in the 1910s. This song mentions how salesmen don't have to actually change, they just "gotta know the territory." A century later, the song is more accurate than ever.

[@Anime_theatre_lover]

I’m auditioning for the music man in like a week and I love this song 😭 Edit: they just casted it. I got in the tap ensemble!!!!

[@karlpiepenburg3157]

The train crosses over from Illinois to Iowa, yet I see no river or river bridge through the window of the coach.

[@trickyfeet]

And while you were looking out the window, you missed one of the greatest songs in musical film history!

[@Loco4Locomotives]

I'm pretty sure they crossed the Mississippi River at 01:11.

[@txrat0]

This guy doesn't know the territory

[@johnnydangerous5971]

I remember having to watch this back in 7th grade “What Do You Talk,What Do You Talk” CLASSIC!!!

[@lachlandoesthings1976]

same im watching it rn in 6th and i cant get that out of my head

[@wehoscott]

I agree! Move over "Hamilton," this rap song hit Broadway in 1960 and the silver screen in 1962! It turns out that, for all his criticism by many critics for being "corny," Meredith Wilson was a forerunner! He did something at least 18 years ahead of its time (i.e. 18 years before Rapture and Rappers Delight).

[@kw9355]

what's really cool about this is that it's not actually rap, it's patter--broadway patter kind of evolved alongside rap and involves the same speed and really similar rhyming and wordplay, and both require really incredible skill to write and perform, but they're both from entirely different genres! hamilton was the first musical to combine rap and patter but patter's got a great & long history on broadway.

[@Nika989]

You could go back further to Judy Garland. When she did Interview with a Lady in Zeigfeld Follies.

[@katehu7194]

K W patter? Cute term :)

[@beansforsalewahoo]

"Hamilton, move over, your new competition's in town!"

[@steveperry1344]

i know the whole musical by heart, back in the 60's my mom would blast the music man album on her record player to get us up and going for school and we'd all end up singing and marching around the house.