Hugh Jackman singing Soliloquy from Carousel

Hugh Jackman singing Soliloquy
Rodgers and Hammerstein's classic,
Carousel in Concert
6/6/02 Carnegie Hall, NYC
Billy
I wonder what he'll think of me
I guess he'll call me the "old man"
I guess he'll think I can lick
Ev'ry other feller's father
Well, I can!
I bet that he'll turn out to be
The spittin' image of his dad
But he'll have more common sense
Than his puddin-headed father ever had
I'll teach him to wrestle
And dive through a wave
When we go in the mornin's for our swim
His mother can teach him
The way to behave
But she won't make a sissy out o' him
Not him! Not my boy! Not Bill!
Bill... My boy Bill
I will see that he is named after me, I will.
My boy, Bill! He'll be tall
And tough as a tree, will Bill!
Like a tree he'll grow
With his head held high
And his feet planted firm on the ground
And you won't see nobody dare to try
To boss or toss him around!
No pot-bellied, baggy-eyed bully
Will boss him around.
I don't give a hang what he does
As long as he does what he likes!
He can sit on his tail
Or work on a rail
With a hammer, hammering spikes!
He can ferry a boat on a river
Or peddle a pack on his back
Or work up and down
The streets of a town
With a whip and a horse and a hack.
He can haul a scow along a canal
Run a cow around a corral
Or maybe bark for a carousel
Of course it takes talent to do that well.
Aha-ha-ha-ha!
He might be a champ of the heavyweights,
Or a feller that sells you glue,
Or President of the United States,
That'd be all right, too
His mother would like that
But he wouldn't be President if he didn't wanna be!
Not Bill!
My boy, Bill! He'll be tall
And as tough as a tree, will Bill
Like a tree he'll grow
With his head held high
And his feet planted firm on the ground
And you won't see nobody dare to try
To boss him or toss him around!
No fat-bottomed, flabby-faced,
Pot-bellied, baggy-eyed bully
Will boss him around.
And I'm hanged if he'll marry his boss' daughter
A skinny-lipped virgin with blood like water
Who'll give him a peck
And call it a kiss
And look in his eyes through a lorgnette...
Hey, why am I talkin' on like this?
My kid ain't even been born, yet!
I can see him when he's seventeen or so,
And startin' to go with a girl
I can give him lots of pointers, very sound
On the way to get 'round any girl
I can tell him ...
Wait a minute!
Could it be?
What the hell!
What if he is a girl?
What would I do with her?
What could I do for her?
A bum with no money!
You can have fun with a son
But you gotta be a father to a girl
She mightn't be so bad at that
A kid with ribbons in her hair!
A kind o' sweett and petite
Little tin-type of her mother!
What a pair!
My little girl
Pink and white
As peaches and cream is she
My little girl
Is half again as bright
As girls are meant to be!
Dozens of boys pursue her
Many a likely lad does what he can to woo her
From her faithful dad
She has a few
Pink and white young fellers of two or three
But my little girl
Gets hungry ev'ry night and she comes home to me!
I-I got to get ready before she comes!
I got to make certain that she
Won't be dragged up in slums
With a lot o' bums like me
She's got to be sheltered
In a fair hand dressed
In the best that money can buy!
I never knew how to get money,
But, I'll try, I'll try! I'll try!
I'll go out and make it or steal it
Or take it or die!

[@lulamidgeable]

Main thing about Jackman regardless of what you think about the actual quality of his voice is that he is such a good actor that it barely matters. He's got more natural stage presence than he knows what to do with and he's beautifully expressive.

[@ellesbelles64]

What a text painter- incredible expression. He breathes such life into the song, and does so with just one shot to get it right in this concert! Makes an audience laugh with one of the saddest classic broadway musicals. Gordon Macrae and John Raitt were of course much more classically trained, with their beautiful operatic tone and I love them to bits, but each shines in their own way. I also think Billy Bigelow is the last character that requires killer tone, just an actor who knows how to work as hard as Hugh does here- such an exhausting 7-8 minutes to sing through with full energy, and still shine in those last few notes the way he does. Beautiful job to Mr. Jackman, what a multifaceted talent he is.

[@tamarexxe]

I was amazed at the power of his voice. I am in love with him all at once. He was great as Curly in Oklahoma and to compare his voice to Gordon MacRae is just unfair. NOBODY had a voice like M MacRae and never will, but that doesn't mean that Hugh Jackman is not an incredible singer, because he has one of the most amazing voices I have ever heard. Bravo Hugh Jackman you are amazing. And he actually danced the dream sequence in Oklahoma!

[@lisannevw1]

loved the whole performance, but especially from 4:50 and on. The change in atmosphere in his voice when he sings about his possible daughter is so striking. Very lush voice there as well.

[@allenjones3130]

The "Soliloquy" from CAROUSEL is one of the most demanding monologues ever written for a musical play. Gordon MacRae's recording of this number for the film is outstanding, and John Raitt and Hugh Jackman delivered superb performances.

[@KasualBeast]

Awesome performance and his voice was fine.People need to put away their inner troll and just appreciate it for what it is instead of making comparison's.Each performance offers you something different than the other.Loved this.Add to the fact this wasn't exactly a great recording of the audio or video so great job.

[@TheJohnpandy]

Jay L. Sadly, trolls now have keyboards. Jxxx

[@ThatsJustMyBabyDaddy]

He did that!

[@radiogaga777]

He mentions this exact concert during his current World Tour. Very nice story he tells about his Dad flying in from Australia to see him there :)

[@francoaragosta4285]

Cetainly LOOKS the part, and acts it well enough even though he's a bit more scruffy than any of the other "Billiys". But NO ONE has EVER performed this with the DEPTH, magnficent VOICE, CONVICTION and splendid characterization that NATHAN GUNN achieved in the Live from Lincoln Center production seven years ago.

[@jackoconnell9428]

I love Gunn’s rendition but he holds no candle to the originator, John Raitt ;)

[@Branes51]

In answer to the comment that Jackman doesn't have Gordon MacRae's texture, it's because MacRae was trained in operatic tenor singing not Broadway. For an earlier transition, listen to Robert Goulet's version of "If I loved you." and then listen to Mario Lanza and you'll see the difference in style.Today's singing styles are more based on pop singing and less operatic than those of the times of Rodger's and Hammerstein although singers like Ramin Karimloo seem to be able to do both quite well.

[@justme_66]

true and isn't Hugh Jackman a natural baritone, not tenor, maybe that too.

[@KajiVocals]

@@justme_66 Hugh is most definitely a natural tenor!!

[@dougbarker3019]

@@KajiVocals And MacRae was a baritone, not a tenor.

[@KajiVocals]

@@dougbarker3019 I did not call MacRae a tenor. I called Hugh Jackman a tenor.

[@chrishot10]

I'm so bored of all these comments on contemporary vs past stars. Hugh Jackman is not a singer, he does not have an operatic voice BUT he has charisma to burn, he is unique because of his innate charm, preternatural beauty, endless stamina, admirable self-confidence and his ability to command the stage whether he stars in a musical, a cop drama or hosts the Oscars/Tonys. He's proved that he's a natural-born stage star, a true showman with extraordinary confident raptor with his audience.

[@DC-vv5ii]

Shhhh! Serious emoting in progress!

[@irischaves9925]

I love Hugh jackman sou muito sua fã

[@zuhalyilmaz6624]

love it...

[@lazaruss2940]

Nice job, Hugh!

[@MattyHuss]

Little formal voice training? Hugh graduated from WAAPA, Australia's most prestigious musical theatre institution!

[@dougbarker3019]

But that's music theatre singing which doesn't require much of a technique except for using a microphone.

[@Nacho-Mamma]

I would love to see this entire production.

[@Chriswren9]

YOU SAID IT!!!!

[@egazeba]

Without any doubts! :)

[@gregganderson5458]

Damn good. I like it. He is in character through the entire piece, it is very believable. I really like it when Jackman sings.

[@allieree]

Thanks for posting this. I am fan of Mr. Jackman--in all of his roles. What a talented. Is there anything beyond his phenomenal talent? I doubt it.

[@Susan8115]

sobs, tears

[@sacredlunatic]

They are absolutely correct, the FILM lyrics are the bastardized ones. The stage lyrics are Honest and Perfect because of it.

[@dianaaljadeff2983]

Hugh Jackman is a baritenor like was John Raitt who introduced the role on Broadway in 1945.Its a voice between atenor and a baritone. A baritone Gordon Mc Rae made the movie and only baritones and.bass baritones started to sing the role .In.later years baritenors like Steven Pasquale and baritones like Nathan Gunn and Joshua Henry sang the role. So its good to hear a singer like Hugh Jackman whose voice is near John Raitt s one singing and performing the Billy Soliloquy.

[@xaruiz]

He started making the fists at the end and my mind saw claws extending...

[@BitchyQueen69]

I LOVE

[@Altivelzian]

I agree about Mandy Patinkin. I took part in a radio broadcast for BBC Radio 2 of Carousel with him and he was fantastic! his Curley is on the edge - dangerous to know. I think that characterisation is how it should be - Hugh is too nice! It's like Peter Grimes (Britten opera); Jon Vickers was qunitessential - a Grimes that you felt sorry for but who you knew was simply too dangerous to himself and others to remain alive. Mandy as Curley is the same.

[@granbranfan]

It's great that Hugh Jackman is singing this beautiful song from the 1956 movie. He will draw the much needed attention of the younger generations to this amazing musical.

[@JoshuaJeremiah]

His acting is good. His singing isn't horrible, but it certainly is NOT perfect, great, the best, incredible, or any of the other hyperbolic descriptions on this page. He is a good actor that can sing. This piece (and role) requires a GREAT singer and a good actor. If you put the acting first you will end up with singing like Johnny Depp in Sweeney Todd... and if you think he sang really well... then God have mercy on the future of Musical Theater.

[@thia912002]

Tell that to the Tony's and the Academy Awards.He kicked ass there.

[@mmcharacter1]

@nancypo1 He can hold the long notes all you have to do to find that out is watch other clips of him singing. i think the reason he didn't is because they were trying to rush the song and they didn't give him enough time to do it properly. (just my opinion)

[@AtLastOnTheGround]

OH MY GOD That end note is EARGASMIC!!! If I were in the audience and had the luck of viewing this live and actually feeling that enormous, fantastic voice resonate in the theater, I might have fainted.

[@lolaneneq9263]

soothing

[@flannerymonaghan-morris1317]

I believe that he was in talks a few years ago to be billy in a new movie version of carousel.

[@Lauren_aida]

Wow, awesome!

[@CrazyJaney92]

The rendition of this song by Mr Jackman in his one man show in Toronto was wonderful: standing ovation at every show ( I attended 4 of them). Hugh's voice is more powerful then ever now. What a blast for the Frenchie I am, who had never heard about Billy Bigelow before this video on youtube.

[@alisonlanger]

I love this man so so much! What a talent

[@cards0486]

How I'd love to have this entire performance on DVD.

[@mmcharacter1]

considering that this is a concert version of the musical and they probably had only a limited time to do each song, they managed to cram a 9minute song into under 7minutes hugh did a great job considering all that.

[@WinterBornActual]

i think that you are correct in your analysis, but I would add that there is virtually no one amongst his contemporaries with a voice and presence like Hugh's and none of them has his breadth of talent

[@seeWhitelight]

great!!!hes a great actor and a good singer!!!WOW

[@rigulur]

Frm the ragged face and shirt I sooner would've guessed this was a man that fell off a pirate ship and was just suddenly tossed the lyric script.

[@CrazyJaney92]

Hugh Jackman will be a great Jean Valjean in the movie from the musical "Les Misérables" because he can play anything and he has such a great voice.....He is the only choice for the movie producers because he is bankable. That's it !!!! CQFD like we say in French.

[@Staymewithflagons]

You can't say Jackman doesn't have something we rarely see today...charm.

[@chrishot10]

I meant, 'extraordinarily confident rapport with his audience'. I type really fast and I make mistakes, sorry.

[@braender22]

If you want to hear it sung phenominal, check out Chris Pinnella. He has it all over Hugh Jackman, and I do love Hugh Jackman.

[@egazeba]

No, It's works for me

[@Altivelzian]

I have to add tho that I love Hugh in so much that he does - simply the most gorgeous man alive.

[@chrishot10]

Btw, Klenotka, this is martha s. from ozalots... ;-)

[@Klenotka]

Hey :-D

[@52lvlv]

I'm watching this in the aftermath of seeing Hugh in 'Les Mis.' THIS was a 'good' voice. He worked his hot ass off to make it BETTER for Les Mis, and it's now a GREAT voice. He's had a movie deal for "Carousel" on the back burner for several years now, and I'm SO glad he didn't do it while his voice was still what you just listened to, because NOW he's ready to be the ultimate Billy.

[@BruceLeefromthegrave]

soliloquey

[@bernicesheridan8558]

Gordon Mac cray John relight Robert Glouglet in that order❤

[@dougbarker3019]

There can be many different ways of legitimately interpreting a huge piece like this. Jackman is not my favourite but I think his interpretation is very successful, given the approach he takes.

[@Chriswren9]

I have just posted that very thing!

[@stevevandien310]

Can he get his voice out of his nose? Add a modicum of richness to his sound?

[@frenchaccount1]

Saw his one man show last week and he sang this! It was magical!

[@paulbasileo3857]

He just doesn't have it. Gordon MacRae was the best and still is! No comparison for vocal power and range. Mr. Jackman sings through his nose!

[@RPenta]

@lalalandbby Jackman has many marks on KZbin: he cannot hang with the masters Gordon MacRae and John Raitt.

[@stevevandien310]

Jackman's thin, brassy sound grows hard on the ears. A first-rate voice teacher could help him develop a warmer, more beautiful sound. But that is unlikely, given that millions of listeners who grew up on the shrieking and yelling in rock at its worst love Jackman, despite his sound😨

[@domsbabygrl]

Negative - check out Anthony Warlow's version. Heaven.

[@RPenta]

@chrishot10 You have it exactly backwards, this role calls for a great pop baritone and why Jackman is good as a singer, he is not great as another commenter said. Unfortunately for Jackman, this role has been sung by men like Robert Goulet, John Raitt, and of course Gordon McRae--as a singer, Jackman cannot hang with them.

[@fujunction]

He's a very healthy singer

[@Klenotka]

I misread that comment and because Bartley´s name was attached, I automatically presumed a bad comment. I apologize for that ;-) I need to read more carefully next time ;-)

[@ShuffleBallChange]

Hugh....where has THIS voice gone? Unfortunately he's spent too much time recently working on average movies... I loved him so much more on the stage....

[@HanBOHobbit]

I love Hugh's version... But I also am in love with Mandy Patinkin's version too. :D

[@Erpamm]

Joshua Jeremiah. I agree that he isn't the best but acting is always more important than singing. If it weren't, they would be pop singers. Justifying the text is the most important thing an actor can do and Hugh did it. If you can get someone to justify the text while having the greatest voice than that's clearly a better choice. But Hugh did it all and I"m very impressed with him.

[@rosacotton]

A nice performance though I felt something was lacking; not sure if it was his delivery or how he was miked. John Raitt and Gordon MacRae did this dramatic song best.

[@jesstea6375]

And I misspelled MacRae...sorry!

[@fingletoad]

Wow, I had no idea Hugh could sing! I love this! "My boy Bill" thanks!!

[@chrishot10]

What a big voice Hugh Jackman possesses! Listen to him on 5.56' till the end! What a singing! Especially on 6.33'! MY GOD!!! And then there are people who believe that this man has no talent! I wish Hugh will at last star in a big screen adaptation of Carousel. Now that he turned down that 3d "Cleo", CAROUSEL is the perfect musical for this brilliant performer to star in. If he does, well I think the Oscar monination for Best Leading Man will be more than a sure thing...

[@justme_66]

What is the context of this concert. I like it, but it's not in play form? Just curious what was going on?

[@persebra]

He is a poor carnival barker who beats his young wife. his wife has told him she is pregnant. He is thinking about his future child.

[@B.H.56]

did someone record this with a cell phone? Horrible sound quality.

[@aburny]

i love warlow's version but this is good to i guess

[@MuzzyBarker]

@chrishot10 WTF?? Sweeney Todd isn't that difficult a part? Have you heard the complete musical (minus all of the songs and parts of songs that they cut from the movie for convenience)? A good Sweeney takes much more than "a decent dinger", a fact undermined by Depp's half-assed attempt at lending his voice to Sondheim.

[@jessied44]

Love him singing this, but the sound quality isn't very good. Would love to have a truly clean copy.

[@caseym5004]

I adore Hugh Jackman, and love this video, but I gotta say the best Soliloquy is still the original one, sung by John Raitt. You can see a video of it on youtube where Raitt goes up on the "die" and it's one of the best performances I've ever heard.

[@AtLastOnTheGround]

I agree, 'Carousel' is far from my favorite show, but Hugh is just amazing! That last note gave me goosebumps.

[@Staymewithflagons]

I studied voice in the 1970s...my Dad who played this part in the 60's already noticed a shift in the voice coaching my generation was getting...like acting...singing was becoming more natural...both syles can be beautiful...but one must be careful not to become TOO natural...breath control is important.

[@aavauxhall]

He'd be an outstanding billy on film or stage

[@chrishot10]

;-)

[@jockejocke1]

Is this him or playback?

[@SarahB1863]

I like Jackman, but when I heard he was in talks to play Jean Valjean in the movie version of "Les Miserables" I checked out this video because there's a lot of vocal similarities between Valjean and Billy Bigelow. And I gotta say...Jackman can't cut it. His Bigelow sounds too cheery and nice-guy; Billy is a rough-and-tumble carnival barker, NOT a nice guy! Valjean is the same way - if Jackman can't sing Bigelow, no way can he sing Valjean. Simple as that.

[@nancypo1]

Too bad they didn't have better mikes and amplification. A little to fast at the end, he probably just doesn't have the strength to hold the LONGGGGGGGGGGGG notes. Or have the depth of Gordon MacRae... Love Hughie though :) Great in Oklahoma on PBS...

[@chrishot10]

As for this performance, Ben Brantley of The New York Times wrote for Jackman: ''Certain people, no matter what their size, seem to turn into giants when they set foot onstage. The Australian actor Hugh Jackman, as it happens, is a tall man. But that doesn't account for his towering presence on Thursday night at Carnegie Hall.'' I totally agree with him.

[@TheCampie1]

Jean Valjean, what are you doing?

[@Nacho-Mamma]

I have read dozens of negative comments about Hugh Jackman's performance here. When you start comparing one performer to another, you take away from the performance itself. To say that Gordon MacRae was better is completely misleading. He lip synced to a backtrack that he was able to stop & start again in order to correct his performance during filming. The fact is Gordon MacRae found performing on stage, LIVE, to be more difficult & and was never comfortable or at his best on stage. That is why he made movies. He was able to correct his mistakes. Also, because MacRae made the movie, he is the most well known for this role. BUT, there were dozens who performed this masterpiece on stage for years before the movie was ever made, and Gordon MacRae wasn't one of them! This piece is one of Rogers & Hammerstein's most difficult songs written, and Hugh Jackman's performance was simply amazing! If you could do better, then tell me something. Where is your TONY, or Broadway star? I didn't think so!

[@danettesills]

I performed as Carrie Pipperidge at Madonna High School in 1975. One of my favorite memories, as I didn't pursue an acting career, went into journalism and family. However, I think Jackman would bring an honest, sexy energy to the role. Hey, who else has done a dynamic performance of Carousel in the recent past? Good for him. About time. I'm looking forward to it.

[@hpfan]

Behold -- The perfect man.

[@Hyramess]

Not quite. That would be a tie between Sir Thomas Allen and Nathan Gunn.

[@vinjohns3375]

He's no Gordon MacRae...!

[@georgetheodoremulryan]

+A Cappella Trudbol (Julien Neel) apart from going to Drama school twice...?

[@katehamilton3391]

In some ways Gordon MacRae is no Hugh Jackman. Though I agree Gordon owned this role a long time before Hugh came along. When i was a little girl i was going to marry Gordon haha

[@nonaostrander1934]

Thank God!

[@Nacho-Mamma]

True. But, Gordon MacRae was no Hugh Jackman either. When you try comparing one performer to another, you completely take away from the beauty of the performance. There are very few performers who can pull off one of Rogers & Hammerstein's most difficult songs written for the theater. In a movie, you can stop & start again, and you're lip syncing to a pre recorded backtrack, which you can also stop & start over again. BUT, to perform LIVE & and on stage, it's an entirely different matter, and something MacRae wasn't the best at. So, bottom line. Hugh Jackman's performance was amazing. And if you could do any better, then where is your Broadway show?

[@davisgaston]

my god...he tried.

[@LazlosPlane]

Man, he REALLY wants that money.

[@chrishot10]

Plus, he's a HUGE movie star, one of the biggest superstars in the industry today. As for those Broadway stars you mentioned, I bet the majority of people have never even heard of their names, except perhaps for McRae but even he was far from a big Hollywood star (he wasn't a star at all actually) despite the fact he did some films in USA. In other words, just face the fact that Jackman is UNIQUE. You doubt that? Give me names then, names that have a career equal to Hugh Jackman's.

[@ekirkie]

he is going to be a remake of carousel..

[@MrSkylark1]

LISTEN to GORDON MACRAE who KNEW HOW TO SING

[@joyandlady]

He says "bastard" instead of "bully" (3 min)... you don't try to improve upon Hammerstein's lyrics, okay? That, combined with his styled rendition of this song, makes me cling to MacRae's version even more.

[@declanalexander2100]

joyandlady actually the original broadway score says 'bastard' I know cause I'm in Carousel at the moment

[@chrishot10]

He's done it. In the acclaimed 1998 revival of Oklahoma on West End. And he earned an Olivier Award nomination. And is considered as one of the best 'Curlys' ever. He's a great singer and by far a greater actor than those two you mentioned. There are many videos featuring Jackman as Curly in that production on youtube. Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin, The Surrey With The Fringe On The Top, Pore Jud Is Daid, People Will Say We're In Love. And he does everything but 'failing miserably' with them.

[@RPenta]

@SchwarzBass You must be taking hits on the Iron Sheik's crack pipe--Jackman cannot carry Keel's, Raitts or especially MacRae's jock strap when it comes to singing. It never ceases to amaze me what insanity gets posted on videos of singers or musicians--beyond crazy. I can't wait for someone to post comments on art like, "Michaelangelo wasn't so great Joe Bacciagaloop was just as good. "

[@wayneear]

He did a great job on a very difficult song.