An accomplished musician, David Yazbek has released four rock albums to date which highlight his unique perspective and wry sense of humor. He has also written many songs and background music for children's television shows, especially those produced for Disney's cable television channel. He also co-wrote the theme song to the Emmy award winning PBS-TV series Where in The World Is Carmen Sandiego? with songwriter Sean Altman, a high school friend who led the show's featured vocal group Rockapella.
Yazbek has produced tracks for the band XTC, and its lead singer Andy Partridge has collaborated on Yazbek's solo albums. He also has written for or produced recordings by Spacehog, Tito Puente, The Persuasions, Queen, and Sarah Saturday. XTC also contributed a track to the "Carmen Sandiego" soundtrack album, which Yazbek produced.
In 2000, Broadway director Jack O'Brien approached composer-lyricist Adam Guettel to write the music and lyrics for a musical based on the hit movie The Full Monty. Guettel declined, but recommended Yazbek, with whom he had played in a band. Yazbek took the job, collaborating with librettist Terrence McNally. The show was a success, although it was overshadowed that year by Mel Brooks' musical The Producers. The Full Monty ran for two years before closing, and for his work Yazbek was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Original Score and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics, and won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music. In 2002 he was a contributing lyricist for the musical Bombay Dreams.
Yazbek wrote the music and lyrics to the musical adaptation of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, which opened on Broadway in 2005, featuring John Lithgow, Norbert Leo Butz, Sherie Rene Scott, Joanna Gleason, and Gregory Jbara. Yazbek was again nominated for the 2005 Tony Award for Best Original Score, and Drama Desk Awards for Outstanding Music and Outstanding Lyrics.
What Was A Woman To Do
David Yazbek Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And haunted moon
A man no woman could refuse.
Bold and assertive with a
Furtive air of mystery.
Magically long of lash,
Tragically short of cash.
An aura of nobility.
I wore these Ferragamo shoes.
This was at last, I knew, my
Rendezvous with History.
What was a woman,
What was a woman to do?
And when he smiled he lit the night
With grance and confidence.
His teeth were clean and straight and
white just like a picket fence.
I couldn't look directly at them-
They were that intense.
What was a woman,
What was a woman to do?'
I never realized how long
My hear had been ignored.
He said my name and it rang out just
Like some major chord.
If music be he food of love,
He ate my Smorgasbord.
What was a woman-
WOMAN #1
What was a woman-
WOMAN # 2
What was a woman to do?
WOMEN
Last night I met a prince
And suddenly my life has changed-
I have a purpose and a cause
(to help my dreamy royal boyfiend.)
MURIEL
He's off rebelling,
And i'm kveling here,
But never mind.
WOMAN #2
He's just so- ooo!
WOMAN #3
So suave it makes you mental
MURIEL
So goddamn continental
WOMEN
Who'd guess that I would be the only
one to whom he'd turn-
This man of brio
And panache
MURIEL
He gave me romance and the feeling
I was young again.
WOMAN#1
I gave him hope and strength and
WOMEN
A check made out to cash.
USHERETTE
He had the most amazing eyes
That I had ever seen.
He came in with a ticket
For the Second Mezzanine.
I ripped it up and put him right down
there in J-13.
MURIEL
Miss? If you don't mind...
USHERETTE
What was a woman-
WOMEN
What was a woman-
MURIEL
What was a woman to do?
The lyrics of the song “What Was a Woman to Do” by David Yazbek tell a story of a woman who meets a man under a pale moon. The man has an air of mystery, is bold, and assertive. He is someone any woman could find hard to refuse. As the singer is enchanted by this man, she realizes that this is her rendezvous with history. She reflects on her circumstances and questions what a woman is supposed to do when she is in a situation like hers. She cannot help but fall for this man's charms, though she knows she may regret it later. As the women in the song all come together, sharing their experiences of finding a man and being swept off their feet, they all question what they are to do in these situations as they are all caught up in the moment.
The song is a satirical take on the romanticization of the media and how women are expected to react to certain situations. The lyrics present different stereotypes of women, as they all seem to be drawn to the man and can't help but swoon over him. It highlights the absurdity of the notion that all women must swoon over a particular figure, that will ultimately be a dangerous one. Although it may be a cynical view, the message is clear: the first step in changing gender roles and societal expectations is to challenge them.
Line by Line Meaning
Last night I met a man beneath a pale
And haunted moon
A man no woman could refuse.
I met a dashing man under the moonlight who had a charm that could not be ignored by any woman.
Bold and assertive with a
Furtive air of mystery.
Magically long of lash,
Tragically short of cash.
He had an air of confidence and intrigue about him, with mesmerizing looks, but unfortunately he was not wealthy.
As he approached he wore
An aura of nobility.
I wore these Ferragamo shoes.
This was at last, I knew, my
Rendezvous with History.
What was a woman,
What was a woman to do?
He had an air of royalty as he approached, and I felt special with my expensive shoes. This felt like a momentous event for me, so I was unsure of how to act or react.
And when he smiled he lit the night
With grance and confidence.
His teeth were clean and straight and
white just like a picket fence.
I couldn't look directly at them-
They were that intense.
What was a woman,
What was a woman to do?'
His smile was charming and his teeth were beautiful, to the point where I could not look directly at them. I was unsure how to respond to such irresistible charm.
I never realized how long
My hear had been ignored.
He said my name and it rang out just
Like some major chord.
If music be he food of love,
He ate my Smorgasbord.
What was a woman-
I did not realize how long it had been since someone had paid attention to me. When he said my name, it felt like a beautiful symphony. He was able to woo me with ease as though he had feasted on a banquet of my affections.
WOMAN #1
What was a woman-
WOMAN # 2
What was a woman to do?
The women are echoing the same sentiment of not knowing what to do in the face of such charm and allure.
WOMEN
Last night I met a prince
And suddenly my life has changed-
I have a purpose and a cause
(to help my dreamy royal boyfiend.)
The women have met someone who seems like royalty, and are excited to have a purpose by supporting their new romantic interest regardless of how unrealistic it may be.
MURIEL
He's off rebelling,
And i'm kveling here,
But never mind.
Muriel expresses an internal conflict over her beau's unwillingness to conform, yet seems to brush it off nonchalantly.
WOMAN #2
He's just so- ooo!
WOMAN #3
So suave it makes you mental
MURIEL
So goddamn continental
WOMEN
Who'd guess that I would be the only
one to whom he'd turn-
This man of brio
And panache
MURIEL
He gave me romance and the feeling
I was young again.
WOMAN#1
I gave him hope and strength and
WOMEN
A check made out to cash.
The women express their adoration and willingness to please their new love interest, regardless of seeming unrealistic. Muriel revels in being with someone she sees as continental and exudes a younger feeling from the romance.
USHERETTE
He had the most amazing eyes
That I had ever seen.
He came in with a ticket
For the Second Mezzanine.
I ripped it up and put him right down
there in J-13.
MURIEL
Miss? If you don't mind...
USHERETTE
What was a woman-
WOMEN
What was a woman-
MURIEL
What was a woman to do?
The usherette expresses her devotion to the man by going against protocol to give him a better seat, while Muriel may be annoyed with the interruption of the song to ask a question. All women express their continuing internal struggle with understanding what to do in the face of such charming love interests.
Writer(s): David Yazbek
Contributed by Hudson W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.