Easter Parade

These days, there are many things can lasso and tie me up me that would never even have caused me to twitch back in my twenties or thirties. Take Irving Berlin for instance. Back in the day, I wouldn’t have thanked you for any mention of him. I knew some of his songs, as everybody does (whether they know it or not) but, beyond that his name evoked ‘old stuff’ and ‘out of date stuff’ and thus held no interest for a young Turk like me.

Times change. We change.

These days, I’m not an Irving Berlin fanatic or anything close to that. But his songwriting talent amazes me, his songs grab me periodically, and I find a large measure truth and authenticity in his work.

It’s Easter and that means that the film 'Easter Parade' is doing the rounds of the TV channels. Oddly enough, I don’t think you’ll find it easily on your television today but I’ve seen it appear three times in the last week and if we still had TCM I’m sure there would have been a couple more. Like ‘White Christmas’ before it, ‘Easter Parade’ seems to have now slipped into my consciousness. It is a part of my Easter weekend and if I don’t see at least some of it, I feel that I have missed out.

With ‘Easter Parade’ it is certain elements of the film that grab me, rather than the overall thing. Certain moments and set pieces make it special. For me, the musical number ‘A Couple of Swells’ is quite close to perfection. ‘A Fella with an Umbrella’ is one of those myriads of songs that Mum used to sing so it holds a place. ‘Drum Crazy’ is great showcase for Astaire and for how effortlessly wonderful he was. Steppin’ Out is iconic and jaw dropping in places. And ‘The Girl on the Magazine Cover’ seems naughty no matter how you dress it up.

But the part that gets me the most comes right at the end. Judy Garland decides to go and get Fred on her own terms. She sends him chocolates and an easter bunny and a hat. Then she calls and serenades him as he tries on his now garlanded top hat. The song she sings swells and sway and then easily grows into being Easter Parade. “With your Easter bonnet with all the ribbons on it, you’ll be the grandest fella in the Easter Parade…” Why is it a magical moment, for me at least? I can’t really say. But it is. It’s a bit clunky and old-fashioned and kitsch but I just think it’s great.

I think it’s best not to overthink why it is that something hits home in a nice way. Best just to go with the flow and find that something sweet and charming. To lay it out on a steel table and cut into it too deep might mean that the magic might drain away and be lost. There’s no question that it is largely due to sentimentality. These songs that were old when I was young still prevail. My Mum sang them as a young woman, just as Judy and Fred sang them in their time. And their times are all past now. Add to that that this year’s 5^th Avenue Easter Parade will happen later this morning and my younger son now lives there. Will he walk the Avenue? I doubt it. But it was unthinkable even last year that such a level of proximity could ever occur.

The world is a surprising and a fragile place and I guess we’d best take warmth and nostalgia from wherever we may happen upon it. Even if it is only a dated musical film on a late night channel or a clip on a YouTube link.

Have a Happy Easter.