Cabaret (Cabaret song)


"Cabaret" is the title song from the 1966 musical of the same name. It is sung by the character Sally Bowles. The music was composed by John Kander and the lyrics by Fred Ebb.

Background

In the musical, the song is performed by the character Sally Bowles in a night club setting in Nazi Germany in 1931. Her lover has told her that he is taking her back to America so that they can raise their baby together in safety. Sally protests as she thinks their life in Berlin is wonderful and she states politics have nothing to do with them or their affairs. After a heated row, Sally goes on stage singing “Cabaret”, thus confirming her decision to live in carefree ignorance of the impending problems in Germany.
The version of the song used in the musical includes a verse beginning:

"I used to have a girlfriend known as Elsie

With whom I shared

Four sordid rooms in Chelsea..."
The verse goes on to describe her friend's prostitution, alcoholism and early death. Usually this is omitted in other commercial recordings of the song.

Synopsis

A review by Robert Feldberg on NorthJersey.com explains Michelle Williams' interpretation of the song in the 2014 Broadway revival in relation to the musical's plot:

Critical reception

wrote that the 1972 film "contains some definitive Minnelli performances, particularly her rendition of the title song".

Reviews of the 2014 Broadway revival included: The Guardian described the song as "the hardest scene in the show, so shopworn as to have long ago collapsed into kitsch". Broadway World wrote Michelle Williams' "version of the title song has a wrenching, dead-eyed quality that hauntingly undercuts its light lyrics." It has been described as "stirring", "devastating", and "jaunty".

Notable recordings