"Soliloquy" is a 1945 song composed by Richard
Rodgers, with lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, written for their 1945 musical
Carousel, where it was introduced by John Raitt.
The now jobless carousel barker Billy Bigelow, the antihero
of the musical, sings this seven-and-a-half minute song just after he has
learned he is about to become a father. In it, he happily daydreams over what
it would be like to be a father to a boy, but midway through the song, he is
horrified and disappointed to realize that it could turn out to be a girl. The
song immediately becomes more tender, as he begins to like the idea. At song's
end, he considers that a girl needs the very best a father can offer, and
decides to get money to provide for her. It is this idea that spurs him on to
help his criminal pal Jigger Craigin in committing a robbery, an act which
ultimately leads to personal disaster for Billy.
Frank Sinatra had recently become a father when he recorded
"Soliloquy" for the first time on May 28, 1946. With the time
limitation of about 3:30 on a 10" 78-rpm record his 7:57 long recording
was released on Columbia's Masterwork label (the classical division) as two
sides of a 12" record.
The song is extremely unusual in that it requires the singer
to sing solo (and occasionally speak) for a full seven-and-a-half minutes, in
the manner of an operatic aria, without the benefit of an accompanying choral
group "taking up the slack", as is usually the case in long musical
numbers (e.g. Ol' Man River). The lengthy song Glitter and Be Gay, from Leonard
Bernstein's Candide, makes a similar requirement of the soprano performing it.
