- Composer: Richard Rodgers
- Period: Modern (1910-1949)
Review
Rodgers and Hammerstein accounted for at least nine hit musicals and are widely regarded as the most successful composer/lyricist team in Broadway history. Three musicals are generally regarded as their finest -- Oklahoma!, Carousel, and South Pacific. The latter of this trio certainly had its crop of popular songs, including "Some Enchanted Evening," "There Is Nothin' Like a Dame," and "I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair." But even its lesser numbers are minor classics, like this love song, "Younger than Springtime."In the story it is sung by American Lieutenant Joe Cable to a young island girl, Liat, whom he is romancing. The heart of the song's lush melody emerges at the refrain with its first seven notes, sung to the words "Younger than Springtime, are you." The music here is almost instantly memorable, as the theme soars onward, with Rodgers' magical, almost fairy tale sense of romance gushing forth, matched by Hammerstein's love-struck lyrics. While the love affair between Cable and Liat ultimately collapses, it glows warmly, even passionately, in this beautiful song. Listeners with a preference for love songs in the finest tradition of the Broadway musical theater -- a tradition Rodgers and Hammerstein helped shape -- will find this a most attractive number. ~ All Music Guide
