Musical musings

I know many writers who write to music. I even know writers who choose specific songs to go with each character or even each chapter or scene of their books. In general, I am not such a writer myself. I can’t write to music or TV or any other background distractions. (Well, maybe my cats, but that’s about it.) Aside from medieval poetry, to which any musical accompaniments has failed to survive to the present day, there are no actual musical connections to my medieval novels . . . with one exception, and it’s not a medieval one.

There is a song that is bound in my heart to my current work-in-progress, The Lady and the Minstrel. It has been some time since I sang it, but I came across it recently as I was unpacking some music books in my new house. The song is Anywhere I Wander, by Frank Loesser, and was sung by Danny Kaye in the movie musical, Hans Christian Anderson in 1952. I grew up watching this movie as a little girl with my dad—it was one of our favorites—and in my house, whenever we found a musical we liked, we went to a music store and bought the sheet music (or book of sheet music) to the movie, then came home and sang and played it endlessly on the piano.

I learned this song long before I wrote my first draft of The Lady and the Minstrel (many, many years ago), but while writing that first draft, this song took on a new meaning to me—or rather, I should say, to my characters, my hero in particular. I think it is the theme in the song of wandering, since my hero was a wandering minstrel, coupled with the sad nature of the lyrics. The third verse became particularly poignant to me as it came to encapsulate a dark moment towards the end of the book where my hero sends my heroine away with another man. I promise my story has a happy ending, but for awhile towards the end, things do look very bleak.

These are the words to the song. They could easily be sung by my hero, Robert the Minstrel, about his lady love, Marguerite.

Anywhere I Wander

by Frank Loesser

Her arms were warm as they welcomed me,

Her eyes were fire bright,

And then I knew that my path must be

Through the ever haunted night,

For anywhere I wander,

Anywhere I roam,

Till I’m in the arms of my darling again

My heart will find no home.

Anywhere I wander,

Anywhere I roam.

Her voice was oh such a soft caress,

Of love it gently told,

And in her smile was a tenderness

I may never more behold.

But anywhere I wander,

Anywhere I roam,

 Till I’m in the arms of my darling again

 My heart will find no home.

Anywhere I wander,

Anywhere I roam.

Her tears were silver as morning dew

As she bade me goodbye,

And every tear was a promise true

That her love would never die.

So anywhere I wander,

Anywhere I roam,

Till I’m in the arms of my darling again

My heart will find no home.

Anywhere I wander.

Anywhere I roam.

I’ve been unable to find a performance of this song that includes all three verses, but here is one by Danny Kaye with verses 1 & 2 and one by Ed Ames that includes verses 1 & 3.