MovieChat Forums > Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954) Discussion > Does anyone think the song Lonesome Pole...

Does anyone think the song Lonesome Polecat is a bit...er, peculiar?

posted 13 years ago by kkennedy_65
27 replies | jump to latest

I have this movie on the DVR...got it the other day off TCM. I was watching it yesterday, and my 14 year old daughter came in and sat down with me to watch it. She hasn’t seen it since she was around 3, so she didn't remember any of it. She really liked the movie and was watching it with much enjoyment until the song Lonesome Polecat came on. She watched in silence, and then asked me to rewind that part. After the song was over, she said, "Ewwww, can't make no vows to a herd of cows? A man can't sleep when he sleeps with sheep? What the HECK was going on at this farm?" I busted out laughing, because the lyrics are a bit odd...but I found it amusing coming from a girl who keeps begging me to let her watch Jersey Shore because all her friends are. (I say no.) I'm sure she'd see and hear MUCH worse from that show...LOL. I told her that I didn’t think the brothers were sleeping with their sheep in any sort of bad way…but I had to admit to myself that the lyrics could seem a bit…peculiar.

[–] mojo2004 13 years ago

Not really. They're snowed in for the winter and the only companions besides their brothers are the farm animals.

"Where were you born? At home. I wanted to be near my mother."

[–] mail-2978 10 years ago

No-one would have thought it peculiar back in 1954. It was a much more gentle day and age and we didn't find 'When he sleeps with sheep,' peculiar either.

[–] beverlym-76105 8 years ago

That's the answer. "Sleeping" has a different meaning to the kids, now.

[–] PillowRock 13 years ago

she said, "Ewwww, can't make no vows to a herd of cows? A man can't sleep when he sleeps with sheep? What the HECK was going on at this farm?"

Nothing is going on on that farm, and *that* is precisely the point of that lyric.

They're snowed in for the winter. The men have been banned from the house. They have to spend all of their time (aside from when doing outdoor chores) in the barn. All of the livestock also must be kept in the barn. They can't put the animals out of the barn just because the men are there; the animals would freeze and the loss of all of the animals would be the death of the farm.

They are being forced to spend all of their time with the cows and sheep. They are stating in the song that the cows do not provide companionship, and that sharing the barn with sheep does not provide any relief of tension that would allow them to get to sleep.

In short, your daughter got it exactly backwards. But, hey, she's 14; she's got plenty of time to learn. ;-)

[–] MIchiganJFrogg 13 years ago

It also does not fit with the tone of the movie at all. All the other songs are upbeat and energetic, and this slow dragging mournful song seems so out of place. We love this movie and watch it about once a year, but usually skip over this scene. I know in other movies songs or scenes that don't fit in have been added just to make it long enough. I have often wondered if this was stuck in as filler to lengthen the movie.

[–] debrabenge_79 13 years ago

I think it fits in just fine. The guys are all put out of the house, where the ladies are-where they want to be... I can see them being a bit mournful and put out...

[–] przgzr 10 years ago

Exactly. It explains the motives of the brothers that led to latter events.

And I think that old movie authors could never stop whirling in their graves if they knew how modern audience "explained" their work, and what they "found" in the plots and dialogs.

[–] pikrodafni 8 years ago

Except that they sing this song before they kidnap the girls.

[–] paenglund 13 years ago

For that particular moment in the movie, I think it fits perfectly. The guys are unhappy because their kidnapping the girls had the opposite effect than they wanted and they're regretting their actions and are more lonesome than ever. Actually this song has always been one of my favorites from the show because of it's choreography - so clever, love it!

[–] yooneeque 13 years ago

Actually, I think they sang this song BEFORE the kidnapping. After Adam noticed his brothers' depression, he encouraged them to "do something", which led to the "Sobbin Women" song and the kidnapping. I think the guys sang "Lonesome Polecat" b/c they had cabin fever from the winter and were perhaps jealous of their older married brother. I loved Caleb in the song, even if his voice was dubbed.

[–] SilverCreedWolf 13 years ago

"Lonesome Polecat" does indeed take place BEFORE the kidnapping. However, they're not singing it because they're jealous of Adam's marriage, though I'm sure witnessing it only made them feel all the more worse.

They're lamenting the fact that they've all fallen for the young women in the town, but they can't be with them because of the barn raising fight and because of the distance.

I actually like the song, both musically and lyrically. Has a lilting quality to it.

JOE TYRIA
http://www.youtube.com/user/SilverCreedWolf

[–] yooneeque 13 years ago

I do agree that the brothers were grieving for those specific girls, but I also think that seeing Adam with a loving, beautiful wife made them want the same comfort, security, and stability for themselves. I think the brothers were smitten with both the specific girls and with the general idea of marriage.

It's interesting how the lyrics in both "Lonesome Polecat" and "June Bride" seem to address more general ideas of marriage and love, without focusing on the specific brothers or girls. Caleb, for example, does not sing of Ruth's beauty or personality; he sings instead of wanting a life partner, a wife. And the girls do not sing specifically of the Pontipee brothers; they sing of weddings in general. I wholeheartedly believe that all of the brothers and brides truly fell in love, but I think the whole basic idea of marriage also appealed to everyone.

[–] dmnemaine 13 years ago

"The whole basic idea of marriage also appealed to everyone".

That also fits with the time period for the film. 19th Century Americans were groomed from childhoood for marriage. Marriage was the ultimate life fulfillment.

[–] beverlym-76105 8 years ago

Great call!

[–] beverlym-76105 8 years ago

This may be my favorite song. The way the guys work together and swing the hatchets is amazing. I believe that I heard one of the guys say that this was done in an uninterrupted take. That makes it even more beautiful. I think it's Caleb who is the most amazing dancer in this one.

[–] marktayloruk 12 years ago

Your daughter has my sympathies.I haveno time for spoilsport parents who won't let their kids watch popular programmes.

[–] Toasted_Peaches 12 years ago

Your daughter has my sympathies.I haveno time for spoilsport parents who won't let their kids watch popular programmes.

And your progeny have my sympathies, being raised by someone that won't care if they fill thier brains with rubbish, because it's popular.

I was lucky enough to grow up with one of "the meanest mothers in the world".
http://www.my-tgif.com/meanestmom.htm

~*~ Melba ~*~

[–] gribfritz2 10 years ago

What progeny? I bet he sleeps with the sheep and makes vows to cows himself. That's why he's so offended.

[–] marktayloruk 10 years ago

I have no progeny.Neither do it visit my lusts on sheep,cows,or any other animals!

[–] richard.fuller1 12 years ago

You never heard the phrase, "gets up with the chickens"?

Do you think the person is really sleeping with the chickens?

Thinking like this will eventually give way to the logic 'I sleep with my pillow' then I am ejaculating on the pillow, getting horny with it. Whatever wording you want to use.

Did she have any problem seeing the brothers bedding down in the barn after they kidnapped the brides? Animals were in there too.

[–] curlew-2 11 years ago

I don't know about "peculiar", but the scene with one of the brothers blithely swinging the axe around always gives me the willies. I keep telling myself that's not a real axe (hoping, actually).

"I'm not reckless . . . I'm skillful!"

[–] Bklyn4ever 10 years ago

The song lyrics quite intentionally play into the age-old jokes and clichés about farmers and ranchers who "get it on" with their livestock.

Of course there have been jokes about this since the Middle Ages at least, based on the fact that occasionally IT DOES HAPPEN.

If one has a slightly dirty mind (the only kind worth having), then the song is amusing in its allusion to agricultural bestiality. Remember, it was written by a city slicker. It represents a twist on the mournful ballad with this comic double-entendre. Or, if you are not given to naughty thoughts, you can enjoy it simply as a mournful ballad (but in that case it IS a bit boring and slow).

[–] lliles 10 years ago

The songs in general are teh weakest part of this movie. There isn't one that's truly memorable IMHO, even though I like the movie a lot. Lonesome Polecat and Spring, spring, spring are downright cringe-worthy.

But the dancing is fantastic, and easily makes up for the songs.

[–] beverlym-76105 8 years ago

I love the songs! (But I'm old.) 👵

[–] utilitysinger 8 years ago

Haha! Me too!

For all the moaning about how odd Lonesome Polecat is, no one seems to object to the women dancing, in the loft, in their underwear, in the dead of winter. Would've been mighty cold, I would think.

But you aren't supposed to worry about that. Theater---whether live or cinematic---encourages and even forces you to suspend disbelief. Enjoy it for what it is, there's no reason to analyze it for what it isn't.

[–] bud842 10 years ago

I don't have a problem with the song lyrics, I just find it amazing that the entire film - including this particular number - was shot twice, once in CinemaScope and once in normal ratio, so that all theaters could screen it. And... the wood-chopping part in the Lonesome Polecat scene was filmed in a single take! Makes me wonder how long it took and how many takes they had to film to get it right for both versions.

That's about three and a half minutes of continuous camera movement, focus and choreography.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLcVhPrZFPI

[–] beverlym-76105 8 years ago

I heard that too! I watch it in amazement and think about how they must have cheered after they got everything done, perfectly. It's exciting!