When I Fall in Love ...

"When I Fall in Love" is Lizzy's power ballad and has a unique history. When we initially began the transformation of the show from an operetta into musical theater form, Elizabeth Bennet originally sang a prop song called "The Wind and the Willow". It was an English Art Song that told the story of "Pride and Prejudice" through the metaphor. It went something like this:

"Early in morning one summer day ...
a little bird yearning to fly beyond to a place they call far away
took wing and flew into the sky ...
Flying up over the trees, she fancied a friend in the breeze ..."

The bird was Elizabeth Bennet, the wind - Wickham, and the willow - Darcy ... It is a well-crafted song, but not a power ballad. This is why it was so necessary for us to write her one. Power ballads tell us a lot about a character. The power ballad sings the soul of a character ... And this was our challenge in writing one: What does Elizabeth Bennet really want? The novel never really tells us and we have to figure it out for ourselves as we read ... and the answer is a little bit different for everyone.

What Lindsay and I think is that Elizabeth Bennet wanted happiness ... for the man she married to believe in her, to be bound by love and still be free. These are the themes we highlight in the lyrics as we interweave the original melody of "The Wind and the Willow" between the verses. In fact, the original English Art song serves as one of the melodic threads that helps to piece the show together.

The lyrics to the song are below and can be heard at our website. www.pride-prejudice-musical.com. Laura Osnes sings with Donna Lynne Champlin. They sound FANTASTIC!


"When I Fall in Love" begins with Jane Austen singing:

HAPPINESS CANNOT BE GUARANTEED.
LOVE DOESN’T ALWAYS ENDURE.
WHEN A GIRL MARRIES, SHE TAKES A CHANCE.
SHE HOPES TO BE HAPPY;
SHE MAY NOT BE HAPPY.
THERE’S NO WAY OF KNOWING FOR SURE.

ELIZABETH
THE CHANCE TO BE HAPPY IS SMALL,
SO WHY DO WE MARRY AT ALL?

... and thus begins the interaction of Jane Austen with her characters ...

AUSTEN
WITHOUT A CONNECTION
THERE IS NO PROTECTION
WHEN OLD AGE AND TROUBLES BEFALL,
SO WE GAMBLE ON MARRIAGE AND HAPPINESS,
AS LONG AS A MAN CAN PROVIDE.

ELIZABETH
IF HAPPINESS CANNOT BE GUARANTEED,
WHEN I GET MARRIED –
IF I GET MARRIED –
I WILL LET LOVE BE MY GUIDE.

WHEN I FALL IN LOVE,
WILL I KNOW IT FROM THE START?
IF I’M CAPTURED BY HIS SPELL,
HOW WILL I BEGIN TO TELL
WHEN I FALL IN LOVE?

IF I FALL IN LOVE,
WHAT WILL LOVE IMPART?
WILL IT CHANGE ME? CAN I BE
BOUND BY LOVE AND STILL BE FREE
WHEN I FALL IN LOVE?

WE MUST SHARE A SIMILAR MIND.
HIS CHARACTER – STRONG AND REFINED.
AND HIS REPUTATION –
WHATEVER HIS STATION –
IS GENEROUS, THOUGHTFUL AND KIND.

WHEN I FALL IN LOVE,
FATE WILL PLAY ITS PART.
WHAT WILL BE MY DESTINY?
PLEASE, LET THE MAN BELIEVE IN ME!

WHEN I FALL IN LOVE,
I WILL GIVE MY HEART.
WHAT WILL BE? I CANNOT GUESS.
WHAT I WANT IS HAPPINESS
WHEN I FALL –
– IF I FALL –
– WHEN I FALL IN LOVE.