You Said a Mouthful

James Michener, when writers would ask him the secret of success as a novelist, often advised "[b]e sure your first novel is read by Rodgers and Hammerstein.''

Migdalor Guy's recent post on the roots of prejudice reminded me of that quote today.

Speaking of the lullabies his own mother's sang him as a child, MG says:

But there's one song whose message she always stressed. It's from Rodgers and Hammerstein's "South Pacific."

Lieutenant Cable has fallen in love with Liat, a half-breed Tonkinese beauty. His response to the concern of others about "what will the neighbors think" is this song, with some of Oscar Hammerstein's best lyrics:

You've got to be taught to hate and fear
You've got to be taught from year to year
It's got to be drummed in your dear little ear
You've got to be carefully taught.

You've got to be taught to be afraid
Of people whose eyes are oddly made
And people whose skin is a diff'rent shade
You've got to be carefully taught.

You've got to be taught before it's too late
Before you are six or seven or eight
To hate all the people your relatives hate
You've got to be carefully taught!
You've got to be carefully taught!

Check it out.