WAR the musical

WAR the musical. The music was recorded in 2005/2007. It based on the book by Robert Fitterman published through Subpress Books and designed by Dirk Rowntree. Videos for each song were shot in Berlin ( Mitte, Pankow, Reinikendorf ) in 2007.

Robert Fitterman: words, voice
ambientfunk: music, hammond organ j-400, guitar, harp
Klaus Killisch: album art, videos, editing

Booklet with lyrics

Released on streaming services in 2024.

WAR the musical can be listened on Bandcamp, Spotify….

Preface (1830, 1930, 2003)

The time prescribed by our nation’s foreign affairs, a certain economic condition of our city’s street sellers, and an ongoing exchange with a scenery painter from one of the fine European capitals, were the reasons why I recently took pause at an oversized volume of Hollywood Musicals on Avenue of the Americas.  On this particularly gray day, marked by the American invasion in Persia—as I would later detail in my memoirs—I was struck by how the American subjects have, throughout the ages, regarding attitudes and manners, delighted their understanding of war through entertainment.  As these elements aligned themselves in my orbit, I began my libretto: WAR, THE MUSICAL. 

For this diversion I have written: an overture, 9 songs as scenes in verse, and, finally, the libretto itself.  Commencing with only the titles of nine 1930’s Hollywood Musicals, I was then led to borrow from a variety of personal confessions and amusements which substitute for the more traditional canzonettas, arias, and, indeed, musical composition itself.  For, I must confess, to this date no composer has stepped forward to orchestrate my libretto, and I have been unable to persuade the Metropolitan Opera to mount it.

In spite of all the zeal and care on my part to create an original musical comedy, the libretto, instead, is an unoriginal tragic love story, faithfully painting the diverse passions that are aroused in that parallel universe known as media.  The libretto loosely recounts the tale of 2 young lovers, Robert and Rachel, who meet as servers in an American Family restaurant (perhaps Applebee’s), open a dotcom enterprise, make money, travel to foreign lands, suffer the dotcom demise, join the armed forces, and perish in the war.  It is my sincere hope that this public of such refined taste and acute perception will excuse this purloined spectacle of a personal nature that is, in fact, not my own person.

WAR the musical

01 I‘d love to take orders from you   3:15   
02 Don‘t give up the ship   3:00   
03 Going to heaven on a mule   1:48
04 We‘re in the money   2:08    
05 Why do I dream those dreams   3:15    
06 Girlfriend of the whirling dervish   2:46

I’d love to take orders from you

Hi, I’d like to extend a warm 
Welcome to you and the folks in your department
That’s like asking if there’s only five people who’ve given 
The orders for these terrible atrocities
The surfers I talk to right now would not be capable of small talk
The seeing is believing thing doesn’t really work here 
Because there are plenty of us working out there silently
He said I’d get paid for this
But I still haven’t seen 
One penny

Booklet with all lyrics