Wicked Little Town

Infobox Song
Name = Wicked Little Town


Artist = John Cameron Mitchell
Album = Hedwig and the Angry Inch Original Cast Album
Released = 1999
track_no = 7
Recorded =
Genre = Rock
Cast recording
Length = 3:39
Writer = Stephen Trask
Label = Atlantic
Producer =
prev = "Wig in a Box"
prev_no = 6
next = "The Long Grift"
next_no = 8

History and Background Information

Wicked Little Town is a song from the off-Broadway musical, "Hedwig and the Angry Inch" and the subsequent film adaptation. Composed by Stephen Trask, the song is a poetic reflection on the doomed love between two of the characters, Hedwig and Tommy Gnosis.Or|date=June 2008Fact|date=June 2008

The original song is basically about a person who falls in love with someone in a wicked town that seems to be impossible to escape.Or|date=June 2008Fact|date=June 2008 In the story of "Hedwig and the Angry Inch", Hedwig first sings it as a love song to Tommy. In the film Hedwig sings a low-fi version of the song to Tommy when they meet in a donut shop, and a full, rock ballad reprise version was created for later in the film for Tommy to sing to Hedwig. Now a rock icon with his career imploding after his relationship with Hedwig was revealed, Tommy sings that he is sorry for how much he has hurt Hedwig, that he never understood she was "more than a woman or a man" and that now he finally sees how much he took from her by stealing her songs.Or|date=June 2008Fact|date=June 2008 He also tells her that her ideas about soulmates and cosmic destiny are preventing her from moving on ("Maybe there's nothing up in the sky but air...") and then, wishing her well, he slips away into the darkness, leaving Hedwig in tears.Or|date=June 2008Fact|date=June 2008

It is notable that a line in the song, "If you've got no other choice, you know you can follow my voice" is literally played out in the story, as Hedwig stalks Tommy around the country from concert to concert, "following his voice." It could also be said that Tommy followed Hedwig's voice, given his hero worship of her, his taking on the Tommy Gnosis persona she devised, and his theft of her songs.Or|date=June 2008Fact|date=June 2008

Covers

The Hi-Fi Version (sung by Tommy Gnosis)

Ben Jelen in his album "Give It All Away"

The Lo-Fi Version (sung by Hedwig)

Soft Charisma in the album "Life Inside The Robot Man [ [http://www.softcharisma.com/discography/album-info/Life+Inside+The+Robot+Man/ Life Inside The Robot Man - Album Information - Soft Charisma Official Website ] ] "

References