Compare the Solo Songs “maria” from West Side Story and “i Cain’t Say No” from Oklahoma

Compare the Solo Songs “maria” from West Side Story and “i Cain’t Say No” from Oklahoma

Compare the solo songs “Maria” from West Side Story and “I Cain’t Say No” from Oklahoma

I’m going to talk about the song “Maria” and “I Cain’t Say No!” and how they’re contrast. “Maria” is a song sung by the make lead Tony who is singing about his love for Puerto Rican native, Maria, a woman he just met at the dance. “I Cain’t Say No!”  is sung by the female lead’s best friend Ado Annie who is saying about how she can’t say no to men. The song is used as comic relief in the musical.

The song “Maria” has a very symmetrical structure: the introduction, chorus which is split into sections A A1 B, chorus repeated for a 2nd time and then the song finishes with the coda. The simple structure of the song shows that their love is pure and simple. The song starts in A flat major but soon changes to C major at the start of the chorus. However, in the B section of the chorus, there are uses of the B minor chord which is the diminished 7th chord, making the music sound ominous. The melody in “Maria” is conjunct and diatonic as mostly the notes are mostly based on C major which is the key of the piece. However, there is the occasional accidental like the F# when the word “Maria” is sung which doesn’t fit the key of the piece. The song is also syllabic for example when Tony sings the word “Maria” using the notes C F# and G. The interval of C and F# is an augmented 4th also known as the devil’s chord. This mysterious interval suggests a sense of danger but it is soon resolved to the heroic perfect 5th (G). The diverse rhythms in “Maria” create a tense feel to the song. For example, the free swirling triplets which are repeated throughout the song hugely contrast with the dotted bass line making the song have a tense feeling. Also, in the chorus, Tony is accompanied by a driving bass which is full of dotted rhythms creating a Latin American style. As Maria is from South America, the conflict between the two melodies could suggest that the relationship shouldn’t happen. Also, the continuous Latin American style bass line conveys that Maria is always on his mind.