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The Man That Got Away


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I have a particular fondness for show tune lyrics. I have often pondered what it must feel like to get really attached to a particular escort only to be brought up short by the knowledge (imposed from without or otherwise) that, to him, you may be nice and fun to be with, but nothing deeper or more.

 

Judy Garland's version of "The Man That Got Away" captures this angst perfectly, I think. See what you think:

 

 

The night is bitter,

The stars have lost their glitter,

The winds grow colder

And suddenly you're older,

And all because of the man that got away.

No more his eager call,

The writing's on the wall,

The dreams you dreamed have all

Gone astray.

 

The man that won you

Has gone off and undone you.

That great beginning

Has seen the final inning.

Don't know what happened.

 

It's all a crazy game!

No more that all-time thrill,

For you've been through the mill,

And never a new love will

Be the same.

 

Good riddance, good-bye!

Ev'ry trick of his you're on to.

But, fools will be fools,

And where's he gone to?

The road gets rougher,

It's lonelier and tougher.

With hope you burn up,

Tomorrow he may turn up.

 

There's just no letup the live-long night and day!

Ever since this world began

There is nothing sadder than

A one-man (wo)man looking for

The man that got away,

The man that got away.

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I think it happens to a lot of clients. Many times we try and convince ourselves that we understand that it is just a hire, but I think many of us fantasize about being the escorts lover, and do that whole 'what if' game in our head. I personally feel that you have to balance your life, and make this only a small part of what you do sexually. Last year for the first time, I began branching out and changing things up. I went out more, met new people, and developed new friendships, and I stopped making hiring my focus on my sexual desires. One day I just turned around and found myself infinitely happier. Who knew, that all these years my energy was going in the wrong direction.

 

Not saying this is for everyone of course. I realize I've been doing this longer than most, but at some point you reach "burn out."

 

Love the lyrics. One of the great all time classics. Thanks for putting the lyrics to the song with your post. Very appropriate. I'll probably be humming the words for the the next few days. ;)

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I posted this clip of Judy Garland singing this song just a few weeks ago as a joke reply to some thread...or something....

 

here it is again for this thread....great staging for just a TV variety show, eh?....go to full screen and crank the volume!

 

 

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Funny. It also happens to me in my professional life working with various company reps. Can't tell you how many times I've been hurt when what I thought was a personal friendship got turned off the moment the person was no longer my rep. One needs to learn to separate business from personal.

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Hey Bob,

Truer words were never spoken. This happens to me a lot too in my professional life. Fortunately, I had an excellent mentor when I first started out in my career, and he provided a lot of tips and guidance in my first few years. I got so that I was able to enjoy those "friends" but realized that they were only professional colleagues who would disappear some day. But, with that perspective, I truly enjoyed the experiences and have never looked back.

DD

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Hey Bob,

Truer words were never spoken. This happens to me a lot too in my professional life. Fortunately, I had an excellent mentor when I first started out in my career, and he provided a lot of tips and guidance in my first few years. I got so that I was able to enjoy those "friends" but realized that they were only professional colleagues who would disappear some day. But, with that perspective, I truly enjoyed the experiences and have never looked back.

DD

 

I sent you a pm....

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I posted this clip of Judy Garland singing this song just a few weeks ago as a joke reply to some thread...or something....

 

here it is again for this thread....great staging for just a TV variety show, eh?....go to full screen and crank the volume!

 

 

I saw Judy Garland perform in October 1961 at Boston Garden. That version of "The Man That Got Away" was part of a special Garland taped two-three months later with Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin. Later she did a weekly variety show, but this was a one-time only special, thus the setting. That said, her voice was in great shape in the video your posted. Thanks so much.

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Wow...Could have started this post myself - So MUST reply! My favorite guy found himself a new BF a couple of months ago. This has happened before, things got quiet for a year or so, then that relationship fell apart and the guy called again to let me know he was again available. This time, he assured me that the quiet time would not happen, but that he would not be available until he let his new relationship develop as it would. Still heard from him occasionally by text. Well, in the last two weeks, no response to my texts or emails...Here we go again. Have stopped trying to contact him, as he obviously is in a position where he doesn't want to communicate with me. The only thing you can do is accept it and move on. Hope that his relationship will fall apart again? Not hardly. Nice guy - deserves someone to love him and that he can love back. Miss seeing him? You bet.

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This is so sad a thread that I have to go back and watch the Ben Cohen video again to make me smile.

 

Love the song, but really, this is just too "let's gather 'round at the wrinkle room bar and cry into our beers" about the fleetingness of youth and the unfairness of life in general. All true but today I want to smile and feel upbeat.

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This is so sad a thread that I have to go back and watch the Ben Cohen video again to make me smile.

 

Love the song, but really, this is just too "let's gather 'round at the wrinkle room bar and cry into our beers" about the fleetingness of youth and the unfairness of life in general. All true but today I want to smile and feel upbeat.

 

lol...you do have a point, however speaking only for myself, I am just acknowledging one of the many truths about life. The argument would be what one chooses to do with this aspect of life. For me I steer clear of 'wrinkle rooms'...I have no desire to listen to some guy on a piano, playing for the tips in his jar, crying over the keys, singing about what might have been, with a room full of guys in there short pants, flowered shirts, white belts and white shoes all holding hands and singing along about 'days gone by'...For some it brings comfort, remember those days when everything was a little simpler, a little easier, perhaps when they first fell in love, I get that. It just isn't for me...No sir, not this cowboy. Life is too grand...The glass is always half full. ;)

 

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OK, against my better judgment I watched the video mentioned above and there is no denying that it is spectacular. The voice is powerful and reaches across time to grab you (although I wasn't sure if she was going to get to the pitch center on one of those early notes, but no matter). Remember, folks, there was a time when this stuff was on network TV. Does anything like this ever get aired any more?

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lol...you do have a point, however speaking only for myself, I am just acknowledging one of the many truths about life. The argument would be what one chooses to do with this aspect of life. For me I steer clear of 'wrinkle rooms'...I have no desire to listen to some guy on a piano, playing for the tips in his jar, crying over the keys, singing about what might have been, with a room full of guys in there short pants, flowered shirts, white belts and white shoes all holding hands and singing along about 'days gone by'...No sir, not this cowboy. The glass is always full. ;)

 

I see both sides of your point and I agree, but sometimes you just have to give in and accept that the positive spin you may wish to create just isn't always air-tight. I salute you for keeping up your spirits (and mine with your many fine posts here).

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The Garland version that inspired my original post was her first from 1954's "A Star Is Born"' date=' but I almost like azdr's find better because (yes) she's older and a bit battered (by reality, by life?).[/quote']

 

True.

 

When that special was taped in late 1961, Garland was in the midst of yet another comeback. Her 2-record album, 'Judy at Carnegie Hall' topped the best seller list for several months that fall. I was a freshman in college in '61 when I saw her at Boston Garden (mentioned above), totally unaware of who she was, beyond "The Wizard of Oz" and her hit album.

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I have a particular fondness for show tune lyrics. I have often pondered what it must feel like to get really attached to a particular escort only to be brought up short by the knowledge (imposed from without or otherwise) that, to him, you may be nice and fun to be with, but nothing deeper or more.

 

This brings to mind another song for me - one I've gotten to know well over the last year or so. It's by a contemporary theatre composer and lyricist - the names may not be household names, but they do wonderful work. The composer is Doug Cohen (best known for his off-Broadway musical No Way To Treat A Lady, which is a really wonderful piece) and the lyricist is Dan Elish (an author who also collaborated with composer Jason Robert Brown on the broadway musical 13). The song is called "It's Only A First Date," from a musical in development called Nine Wives (based on Elish's novel of the same name). The lyrics to this song have that same longing for something intangible...and the music also has that bittersweet feeling to me that underscores that emotion. There's also a wonderful sense of humor here which, if anything, just makes the song even more bittersweet.

 

A performance of the song can be found here:

 

The lyrics:

 

Maybe you will never know his favorite band at Woodstock,

His favorite film by Hitchcock,

The books he's read,

His touch in bed.

You may never wake up to his homemade cheese frittata.

There's not a lot of things you can claim...

'Cause it's only a first date,

It's far from a lifetime.

No investment, so there's no return.

You can laugh at his jokes

But you won't meet his folks

'Cause it's only a first date...

 

Maybe we will never ride the rapids in a kayak,

Or bicycle through Nyack

Share a view,

A Netflix queue.

Maybe we will never get to see who wins at ping pong,

Or someday have a song of our own...

'Cause it's only a first date,

A few hours that flew by,

Though it felt as if there might be more to come.

No real memories shared,

Don't pretend that he cared...

 

Don't be fooled by the stars that lit the sky,

Or was it the light in his eyes?

By now it should come as no surprise

That life doesn't go as planned.

Still, it was good to hold his hand, and,

 

Maybe you'll forget how reassuring were his kisses.

It's easy to dismiss the whole night...

'Cause it's only a hors d'oeuvre,

It's hardly an entree,

But it kind of dulls the hunger for awhile.

You'll forget by next week,

But remember his smile...

For it's only a dance,

It's only a meal,

It's only a guy,

So come on get real.

There's no chance in hell that he feels what you feel...

‘Cause it's only a first date,

Nothing more.

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True.

 

When that special was taped in late 1961, Garland was in the midst of yet another comeback. Her 2-record album, 'Judy at Carnegie Hall' topped the best seller list for several months that fall. I was a freshman in college in '61 when I saw her at Boston Garden (mentioned above), totally unaware of who she was, beyond "The Wizard of Oz" and her hit album.

 

Wow, you're old. :p

 

It's a great song, and it has a history almost as storied as the singers who've made it their own. It was cut from the Broadway show it was written for, then cut from another show that tried to include it and also cut from a revival of the first show, and by the time they tried to include it in another show it was rejected because by then it was too well known!

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Yes, thanks bostonman for the new (to me) song and clip. While I loved the performance - she really puts the song across with a minimum of tricks - I didn't care for the voice - it made me want to hear Garland (if she were still alive) do it. Then too, the ethos of the lyric seems much younger to me: this is a song for people who don't have a lot of mileage on them yet, whereas the one that got away just seems to capture the experience of a more mature person. The second clip doesn't have the amazingly compelling tune with its hook that "The Man That Got Away" so clearly has either (for me.) But I DID like the song.

 

Also, am I imagining this, but I seem to remember that Harold Arlen was gay. If so, the lyric is even more poignant to me. Was he?

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Shallow kitten's reaction: That flat ironed hair is not flattering and will not help her land any second dates. (Of course, the actress may well be married for all I know.)

 

The lyrics to this song have that same longing for something intangible...and the music also has that bittersweet feeling to me that underscores that emotion. There's also a wonderful sense of humor here which, if anything, just makes the song even more bittersweet.

 

A performance of the song can be found here:

 

The lyrics:

 

Maybe you will never know his favorite band at Woodstock,

His favorite film by Hitchcock,

The books he's read,

His touch in bed.

You may never wake up to his homemade cheese frittata.

There's not a lot of things you can claim...

'Cause it's only a first date,

It's far from a lifetime.

No investment, so there's no return.

You can laugh at his jokes

But you won't meet his folks

'Cause it's only a first date...

 

Maybe we will never ride the rapids in a kayak,

Or bicycle through Nyack

Share a view,

A Netflix queue.

Maybe we will never get to see who wins at ping pong,

Or someday have a song of our own...

'Cause it's only a first date,

A few hours that flew by,

Though it felt as if there might be more to come.

No real memories shared,

Don't pretend that he cared...

 

Don't be fooled by the stars that lit the sky,

Or was it the light in his eyes?

By now it should come as no surprise

That life doesn't go as planned.

Still, it was good to hold his hand, and,

 

Maybe you'll forget how reassuring were his kisses.

It's easy to dismiss the whole night...

'Cause it's only a hors d'oeuvre,

It's hardly an entree,

But it kind of dulls the hunger for awhile.

You'll forget by next week,

But remember his smile...

For it's only a dance,

It's only a meal,

It's only a guy,

So come on get real.

There's no chance in hell that he feels what you feel...

‘Cause it's only a first date,

Nothing more.

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Ha Ha, Sarah, not Judy - right.

 

Judy or her studio at least, knew how to do her hair--even with the less sophisticated technology available then. She even looks good with dirt (or whatever that is) on her face. You know, I didn't realize she was that beautiful. Women who become gay icons, like Lady Gaga, usually have a less conventional look.

 

[video=youtube;Mz57-4su_kY]

 

http://ilarge.listal.com/image/1205561/936full-judy-garland.jpg

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Judy or her studio at least, knew how to do her hair--even with the less sophisticated technology available then. She even looks good with dirt (or whatever that is) on her face. You know, I didn't realize she was that beautiful. Women who become gay icons, like Lady Gaga, usually have a less conventional look.

 

[video=youtube;Mz57-4su_kY]

 

 

The video of Judy Garland singing "America The Beautiful" is from her weekly CBS variety show. Every episode was eventually released on DVD. I believe she applied the clown make-up herself on stage and then sang "A Couple Of Swells" or "Be A Clown" before singing "America The Beatiful." Since it was Judy's show, there were people whom she paid to make sure everything went well. But, I agree that she was attractive, just not Lana Turner-Elizabeth Taylor attractive.

 

Your observation about gay icons having unattractive looks is really interesting and correct. Lucille Ball was beautiful when young, not so much later in life. And Lucy is a minor gay icon.

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The video of Judy Garland singing "America The Beautiful" is from her weekly CBS variety show. Every episode was eventually released on DVD. I believe she applied the clown make-up herself on stage and then sang "A Couple Of Swells" or "Be A Clown" before singing "America The Beatiful." Since it was Judy's show, there were people whom she paid to make sure everything went well. But, I agree that she was attractive, just not Lana Turner-Elizabeth Taylor attractive.

 

Your observation about gay icons having unattractive looks is really interesting and correct. Lucille Ball was beautiful when young, not so much later in life. And Lucy is a minor gay icon.

 

Thanks for the info on Judy's show. Hmm, wonder who the market for that DVD would be! ;)

 

I don't think most gay icons are unattractive. After all, very few people can get into Hollywood or the music businesse in the first place unless their looks are above average. But as you said, they are not conventionally beautiful the way, say, Lana Turner would be. Lady Gaga and Bette Midler is probably average looking, but not unattractive. Lucy Ball was definitely pretty in her heyday, but I didn't know she was a gay icon.

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