In Real Life I

dating site songs for soprano and piano 

Written: 2016
Duration: ca. 21'
Instrumentation: soprano and piano
Lyrics: David Cote
Commissioned by the
Austin Chamber Ensemble, Martha Mortensen Ahern,
Artistic Director, in Honor of its 35th Season

World Premiere (Piano/vocal Version): Austin Chamber Ensemble, Mela Dailey, soprano, Westlake United Methodist Church, February 12, 2016.
Word Premiere (Chamber Version): American Modern Ensemble, Marnie Breckenridge, soprano, Merkin Hall, April 27, 2017.
PublisherBill Holab Music

View Piano/vocal Score | Buy Piano/vocal Score

Formerly entitled In Real Life.

Also available as a version for chamber ensemble.
In Real Life II for baritone and chamber ensemble and baritone and piano also available. (In Real Life II consists of different songs than In Real Life I.)
Extraordinary, a duet for soprano, baritone, and chamber ensemble, or soprano, baritone, and piano is also available as a companion piece to In Real Life I and/or In Real Life II, or as a stand-alone work.

PROGRAM NOTE

Forty million Americans do it: join a dating site hoping to find true love in digital space. In Real Life I is a song cycle for soprano and chamber ensemble or piano that explores the humor and heartbreak of this modern ritual. Five women fill out their dating-site profiles, opening a window into their worlds. The first song is “A Regular Woman,” in which a lady outlines the exact sort of man she’s looking for with comical specificity, perfect for today’s on-demand culture. “Late Bloomer” is a sweet and wistful portrait of a woman who learns in her 40s that her romantic tastes have changed radically. Next, in “Anastasia,” we hear from a Russian looking for a husband—with all the broken English that entails. With “Collateral,” the mood turns dark, as a war widow contemplates returning to the dating pool. Finally, “Rewind” is a nostalgic anthem by a 35-year-old whose divorce has made her feel like an awkward teen again. Can she learn something from her younger self? Funny and sad yet full of hope, In Real Life I is about reality, fantasy, and second chances.

Program note © 2016 David Cote. Reprinted with permission.

  • I. A Regular Woman

    “Click any and all qualities you desire in a mate.”
    Hmmm...
    I’m a regular woman with regular taste,
    in search of a normal, everyday man.
    Just your average lady ready for a date,
    with a fairly predictable set of demands.
    Click. Click. Click...

    I want a biracial,
    nonsmoking,
    bilingual,
    semi-vegan locavore,
    with impeccable taste in clothes.
    Who is outdoorsy,
    but also domestic,
    a culture vulture,
    but unpretentious.
    I hope this is someone you know?

    He should be spiritual,
    but not dogmatic.
    A dreamer, yet pragmatic.
    Worldly, sophisticated,
    with an all-American, can-do attitude.
    I don’t expect a miracle,
    (I know the Earth is spherical),
    all I ask for is an ordinary dude.
    Click. Click. Click...

    Blonde-haired, nice build, and hazel-eyed.
    And when I say blonde, it’s okay if it’s dyed.
    And please, no tattoos—alright, one or two.
    Piercings? Can I get back to you?
    No drugs, no scars, and you must drive a car.
    No mommy issues or time in jail.
    No kids, weird pets, or mortgage debt.
    And yet, say “yes,” and you might be the male!

    I’m a regular woman with regular taste.
    An everyday lady waiting for a date.
    Click. Click.


    II. Late Bloomer

    Woman seeking...woman...seeking...women.
    Woman seeking...
    women.
    Woman seeking women.
    The phrase curls up like a cat and purrs.
    A palindrome, almost. So anyway...
    But when I say that I’m a woman seeking women,
    I don’t mean women, like two dozen,
    like I’m starting a harem.
    Just one will do!
    This is new to me, ladies; please be patient.

    Happily married for twenty-three years
    to a man I loved, a storybook guy.
    Then I land on the far side of forty.
    Something has shifted, the angle tilted.
    I’m staring at Karyn from work.
    Her hair, her eyes. Karyn’s laugh,
    her yoga legs, and perfect size.
    Karyn from Human Resources.
    She glowed from within.

    I was always what they call a late bloomer:
    Blossoms open as everyone sleeps.
    A late bloomer, growing slowly,
    deep in the night with the secret I keep.

    After work at a bar after drinks,
    Karyn kissed me,
    wrecked me, trashed me.
    It’s like I’m driving along, flowing with traffic,
    Karyn leans in and I’m suddenly Sapphic.
    (Don’t worry, won’t get graphic.)
    I mean there’s a fender bender
    regarding gender.
    Through smoke, fire, sirens wailing,
    only option: Surrender!

    So here she comes, girls: the late bloomer.
    Takes a little longer, but well worth the wait.
    A late bloomer, out of step with the crowd.
    But you have to start somewhere, with someone,
    start living out loud.


    III. Anastasia

    This is crazy but I do it—
    throw myself out there
    to you in the space.
    My aspiration is you catch me,
    and hold me tight.
    My character is not very wide,
    but all my girlfriend say,
    I have the golden heart.
    I enjoy mountain walking, small animals
    and sunset just dying.
    Maybe you live in city, maybe you live in field;
    maybe you are cowboy?
    I dream in American like I dream in color.
    Here is black and white and gray.
    Here is only sleepwalkers.
    Maybe you are prince to kiss me awake?

    I am good girl, loyal as dog, but beware bite!
    Ha ha ha!
    And, as you can see, humor.
    Laughing is salubrious,
    I hope you would say yes,
    and we can chuckle together.
    I would tell you my life, not a happy life,
    but I believe in happy conclusion.
    My life I tell you later.
    Look at my picture: See I stay busy with dance.
    You will not be bored of me; I keep the flame high.
    I am almost certified Ph.D. physiotherapy.
    Body and age do not matter to me.
    I want to find a kind man.

    Lies I don’t need, children’s games: stay in nursery,
    don’t you think, dear?
    I have lots of concern, care, fret in my life, and no soothing.
    You are the friend of my future, I believe.
    This message is not very large,
    and if I have something to say and write,
    then I think we should first make a small pace,
    which may be followed by fast run.
    And we know each other more!


    IV. Collateral


    I lost my man in a burning land.
    They took a wrong turn down a bad road,
    front two tires dug into the sand,
    something down there had to explode.

    Maybe that bomb wasn’t so big,
    but we heard the blast in San Antonio.

    Two years in the rearview.
    After all the medals, letters, cemetery guns,
    the grief groups and the TV interviews,
    I’m putting away the black.
    God help me, I’m folding up the black,
    like they folded up the flag,
    and handed it to me.

    Maybe that bomb wasn’t so big,
    but we saw the flash in San Antonio.

    I’ve got two kids, growing so fast.
    Maybe one of these mornings they won’t even ask:
    When is Daddy coming home?

    I’m telling you because you have to know:
    I’m collateral.
    The torn, the deaf, the blind.
    Some pieces so small they get left behind.
    Collateral, the walking wounded.
    We heal up fast, but we never forget.

    Maybe that bomb wasn’t so big,
    but it ripped through my heart In San Antonio.

    They say the war is over.
    The armies have gone home.
    Cannons still and silent,
    treaties signed, caskets closed.
    The war inside is never over.
    You can keep your peace!
    I’m looking for a fighter.
    I’m looking for someone to fight for me.


    V. Rewind

    Divorced at thirty-five, I feel
    time is running backwards, world in reverse.
    I’m a teen again, green and seventeen again.
    Aching for a boy to take me to the prom. Not that I care, not that I care.
    Brittle. Jokey. Awkward. Dreamy.
    What can I learn from the girl that I was?

    Rewind:
    Let the years fall away.
    Rewind:
    Feel the fire in your heart. Rewind:
    You were scared but you fought
    against the lies you were taught.
    Rewind:
    From a woman to a girl
    in a strangely spinning world.
    Rewind.

    I did go to the prom with Darren Pulaski,
    who was gay—which he noted, when he asked me.
    He was a good dancer, he made me look good.
    We cleared the floor for several songs,
    stole cheap rosé and watched the dawn.
    And Darren cried,
    which made me cry.

    Rewind:
    When summer went forever.
    Rewind:
    When no one understood.
    Rewind:
    The future was right now,
    and we would show you how.

    And now the future is thirty-five and divorced.
    Clicking strange pictures, being clicked on by strangers.
    What would she say, what would the girl say?
    When I was seventeen, and stupid, and brilliant, and brave?
    Don’t waste a moment,
    but don’t chase the moment.
    Rewind, but remember:
    Only love has power over time.

    In Real Life I lyrics Copyright © 2016 by David Cote. Reprinted with permission

Press Quotes

Paterson’s musical settings are very much in the spirit of a first-rate contemporary Broadway score. They are melodic, accessible, and gratifyingly sensitive to the narrative’s ebb and flow. In Real Life is a human and touching exploration of the eternal search for companionship and love.
— Ken Meltzer, Fanfare Magazine
In Real Life explores online dating with much comedy in a very theatrical setting... the songs here portray five women and five men filling out their dating-site profiles, sets it to music, and essentially illuminates all the humor, romance and forthrightness that comes with searching for a mate in a charming, operatic demeanor.
— Take Effect Reviews
...like a chamber musical. You can see why the composing duo write opera together... Paterson takes Cote’s texts and bakes into the words a new and often surprising energy... bundled with wit and a good sense of humor.
— Luke Quinton, Austin American-Statesman