"I Feel Pretty"

(c) 1956

Did the song originally have the words "Pretty and witty and gay"?

or

"pretty and witty and bright"?

Methinks it was 'gay' until the bigoted PC folk came in to change things.

But "pretty witty and bright" is more PC 90's, smart girls, who aren't lesbians...

but just looking at those shoes on 20/20 hurt my feet!

me if Adam Sandler sings "bright" or "gay", but I am thinking it is still "gay".

Please see this link: http://www.geocities.com/Broadway/Stage/8479/westlyrics.htm#I_Feel_Pretty

or here, the Official West Side Story site: http://www.westsidestory.com/site/level2/lyrics/pretty.html

If I could find SOndheim's site again, I know it would have it too...but some sites, as it turns out, have erroneous lyrics!

ON edit: Sarah Vaughan says "bright" in concert in 1963, too.

They say it's "gay"; but I don't recall those lyrics from the movie at all...
????????????????????????????

It's a mystery!

The next line is "and I pity any girl that isn't me tonight". Now... does gay rhyme with tonight?

http://www.geocities.com/Broadway/Stage/8479/westlyrics.htm#I_Feel_Pretty

Burn a little brighter now.

I mean why would anyone object to the word back then? Wasn't gay a word used in many lyrics?
Dunno, but I don't think PC was an issue then...

EOM

It was meant to rhyme with the word today. Perhaps bright was used in a subsequent verse?:shrug:

On Edit: You're right, according to the official West Side Story site, though I suppose they could have changed it to be PC. The word used here is bright, meant to rhyme with tonight. I read Natalie Wood's biography and one thing I remember is that she did and actually expected to do the singing, but she was dubbed at the last minute. It was a great disappointment for her.:-(

I FEEL PRETTY
MARIA
I feel pretty,
Oh, so pretty,
I feel pretty and witty and bright!
And I pity
Any girl who isn't me tonight.

I feel charming,
Oh, so charming
It's alarming how charming I feel!
And so pretty
That I hardly can believe I'm real.

See the pretty girl in that mirror there:
Who can that attractive girl be?
Such a pretty face,
Such a pretty dress,
Such a pretty smile,
Such a pretty me!

I feel stunning
And entrancing,
Feel like running and dancing for joy,
For I'm loved
By a pretty wonderful boy!

My mother used to sing it all the time.

Don't ask. Send flowers.

I grew up with the recording, which used bright. Then we bought a piano/vocal book with the following:

I feel pretty
Oh so pretty
I feel pretty and witty and gay
And I pity
Any girl who isn't me today.

I was shocked! I suspect these were the lyrics written for the stage version; and that they were altered for the movie. I don't understand why, though. To the best of my knowledge, the movie was made well before the word "gay" meant "homosexual"...outside the gay community, at least.

Please correct me if I'm wrong.

I suspect these were the lyrics written for the stage version; and that they were altered for the movie. I don't understand why, though. To the best of my knowledge, the movie was made well before the word "gay" meant "homosexual"...outside the gay community, at least.


If they decided to switch that word tonight/today when they moved between the stage and movie versions, than logically they would have to change the rhyming word bright/gay.

Did the day/night change have to do with the lighting or something?

or maybe the daylight settings were changed for the movie. Or maybe Sondheim felt the use of the word gay was becoming arcane by the time the movie was made.

It changes with the different verses. Once it's gay (rhymes with way) and bright (rhymes with tonight). So both *gay* and *bright* are correct!