Money! Money! Money! - Music and The Fictive Dream -

Our task this week was to take a musical work from within another work. I'm taking a musical work from within another work, which was created after the original work. The song Money, Money, Money originally sung by ABBA, from the movie "Mamma Mia!", was made after the Broadway stage show "Mamma Mia!". This is one of my favorite songs from one of my favorite musicals; any one of my family members would confirm I had this film on constantly (maybe one too many times!). Let's talk about it!

   

BIO INFO

To take a closer look at my music choice today, we need to go a little further back in time and examine its origins. The song Money, Money, Money was originally released in 1976, written by Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson. It was sung by their group consisting of Bjorn, Benny, Agnetha, and Anni-Frid (ABBA).  Here's a cute little piece of pedantic information, their group name is an acronym of all the first letters of each group member's name! Money, Money, Money became an international hit the year it was released, hitting the top of the charts in many places across Europe and Australia. It did not have the traction it was projected to have in the UK and the US, however. Not only did it not achieve its anticipated popularity, but the song struggled to stay on the charts at all (in the UK and US), if you can believe that. In the 1990s, ABBA's songs became part of producer Judy Cramer's new idea for a show. Cramer had the idea to create a story around ABBA's hit songs Dancing Queen (1976) and, more specifically, The Winner Takes It All (1980). Through fortuitous overlapping job opportunities, she got to meet and pitch her idea to 2 members of ABBA, Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson. Cautious agreements were made, and the writing of Mama Mia, the next big Jukebox Musical, began! Newsflash! It was a raging success all around, just as Cramer knew it would be. It lived on to be performed and enjoyed for twelve years before it moved to Broadway, where it accrued its title as the 8th longest running show in the history of Broadway. After all of this recognition of the stage performance, a film version of the popular show was quickly approaching in its future. The film made its big debut, for a second time now, on the silver screen in July of 2008. The film had a completely star studded cast; Meryl Streep as Donna Sheridan, Amanda Seifreid as Sophie Sheridan, Pierce Brosnan as Sam Carmichael, Colin Firth as Harry Bright, Stellan Skarsgard as Bill Anderson, the list goes on! The film's version of Money, Money, Money is what I am going to be writing about today! 

                                            MONEY MONEY MONEY! - Film Verson

                                                                                                         *  This song and scene focus on Donna Sheridan and her two lifelong best friends visiting her at her beautiful, but rundown, hotel on a Greek island. The song shows Donna "working all night, working all day" but wishing and dreaming about that easy, free life; a stark difference from her reality as a hardworking, stubborn woman, determined to make it all work herself and herself alone.

                                                      BONUS - ABBA ORIGINAL 

 

                                                 *  I wanted to link the original to pay tribute!

The Nitty Gritty - The Songs' Purpose

In the film, the song is used as a way to give you a peek into Donna's mind. She's an over worked hotel owner, and her 2 friends are the only things that make her slow down long enough to stop and realize just how tired she really is. The film itself focuses on her daughter's (Sophie) road to finding her biological father through her mother's (Donna) past, but this particular song isn't part of that story line. It is part of Donna's struggles, her hardships, what she has to fix, and what she has to maintain; staring down the barrel of her daughter getting married soon and leaving the island to start her new life. It gives insight to the 2 sides of the story, Sophie's exciting but unsure future with her husband, and finally finding her dad and Donna's new reality of being left alone on the island, struggling to keep the hotel running. Money Money Moneys' lyrics talk about envying a place in life you do not possess, dreaming of another reality while working so hard you let your real life pass you by, being unsatisfied with "the cards you were dealt". It supports the timeless mindset that the grass may be greener on the other side. This song is a testament to all individuals who have not had it easy in life. A part of the song is very entertaining and is meant to be catchy and partially humorous, but has a very large thread of truth running through it. "Always sunny, in a rich man's world" rings pretty true, unfortunately. I can think of plenty of times I've fantasized about bigger and better things for myself, if you say you haven't, are you really being honest?

What Do I Think?

This work is truly one of my favorite songs in this musical and of ABBAs catalog. ABBAS original music video and the scene in the film are so fun and have a rebellious undertone to them; being free and adventurous, spending money where you want, when you want, and on what you want is my more surface-level view of the song, but the lyrics hold much more meaning at the core of it. It adds another great layer to Donna's character in the film; she's a relatable figure. She's the breadwinner, she takes care of the house and home, but is that what she wished for the rest of her life? Is working until she's too old to keep going her life dream? This song lets us know, as the audience, that the answer to that is no. No one's dream is to take care of it all, forever, alone. The image of her driving the yacht, wearing the luxurious flowing outfit, people there to tend to her every whim, basking in the sun on the deck of the boat out at sea; it puts substance behind the fantasies many people have thought up themselves. While it shows what those daydreams might look like for a lot of us, its also shows a much shallower view of what your life in the "high life" could be. So maybe, just like Donna realizes later in the movie, there is so much more to a "rich life" than just having money. 

I love that the song was written in a minor key! It fits perfectly with the rest of the film's soundtrack. The minor key helps it maintain that slightly melancholic feel behind the lyrics of the song, even through the irresistibly catchy melody. The brightness of the piano, the driving guitar, and the syncopated marimba all layer quite well together in the song, making it feel like such a fun little number that you are guaranteed to hum to yourself involuntarily. Throughout the song, at different points, both the piano and the guitar mirror the rhythm and pitch of Streep's singing of the lyrics. It makes the vocals sound full and bold, while adding a playful complexity mixed in with the rest of the melody. All around so so enjoyable!

This film, this song, ABBA in general, have been a staple in my much younger and, now, my older life. Musicals like this are part of why I love music so much, why I studied and practiced it for many years. While I could never perform, sing, and act on a stage or on a screen, its a true inspiration! I hope you loved this week's music choice. I know I did. Bye for now!

    

                                                                        REFERENCES

“Guest Column: Judy Craymer on the Origins of “Mamma Mia!” - Denver Center for the Performing Arts.”https://www.denvercenter.org/news-center/guest-column-judy-craymer-on-the-origins-of-mamma-mia/

Sexton, Paul. ““Money, Money, Money”: ABBA’s International Smash Hits US Market.” UDiscover Music, 22 Oct. 2022, https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/abba-money-money-money-song/

“Show History.” Music Theatre International, 2012, https://www.mtishows.com/show-history/1757

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