I was discussing "Ladies Who Lunch" with a friend the other day, and he was saying that the song leads to Bobby needing to change. I then said that I had always assumed that Joanne's proposition led to the change in Bobby, to which my friend replied that "Ladies" acted as a prelude of sorts to the proposition. I thought this was a very interesting take and wanted to see what you all thought of it. Does the song act as a prelude to Bobby's change, or something totally different?

The song is Joanne's internal monolouge bobby doesnt hear it.

This seems completely wrong. The whole show is about Bobby. If anything, some of the songs, like You Could Drive a Person Crazy are in _his_ head. As far as I'm concerned, he must hear it because, to him, it shows how drunk she really is.

As for the lyrics... I'm directing the show soon and I've been listening to it a lot trying to interpret it. Something interesting happens around "And here's to the girls who just watch"... it appears to change from being Joanne criticising herself to criticising Bobby. Bobby has been (or will be, I can't remember the exact order) criticised for 'watching'. It goes on to talk about depression (which Bobby himself admits he's been feeling) as well as a criticism of the tendency to make jests and drink a lot (Scotch in this case, which is Whiskey, just as Bourbon is which is referred to in the first scene, so it seems to refer to him again). The final verse seems to be a damning of people who zoom about all the time without stopping for life and that these people don't look forward to anything except dying.

I don't think I've over-analysed this. I'd welcome any thoughts about this.

--
Mike

I love the song but somehow it doesn't fit with the rest of the score. I can see it is Joanne's dissatisfaction with her life, but is has nothing to do with Bobby, he isn't even there - and the rest of Company is so much about his self-centredness and his internal monologues and issues. I wouldn't like to do without it though and I think Joanne is probably the strongest character in the show.

Agreed on all points, particularly that it doesn't fit with the score. Musically, the show is soft rock and basic show tempos, but 'Ladies' is a bossa nova, which is the farthest from rock that you can get. Plus, the more times the show is revived, the more intense a rhythm the song takes on.

Um. How is Bobby not there? They are drinking together! As for it not fitting with the rest of the show... Side by Side is swing, Drive a Person is 40s style, theres a whole load of non rock ballads and I dont know what Barcelona is but it isnt rock or pop. I still say the song is partly about Bobby or at least contains a message for him.

I think in some ways "Ladies Who Lunch" highlights the similarities between Joanne and Bobby. The "Here's to the girls who just watch" verse is definitely about Joanne's own self-revulsion, but I think Bobby hears it and starts to apply it to himself, setting the scene for Bobby's epiphany.

Good point, well made
As an aside... Bobby's epiphany... in the style of Sweeney's epiphany. Oh, the fun to be had with THAT lyric.