“You’ve Got to Be Carefully Taught”

Part One: South Pacific and Its Message on Racism

Racism is not a natural state of being. It’s something that is taught, reinforced, and perpetuated. As the song from “South Pacific” reminds us, “You’ve got to be carefully taught.” In this three-part series, we’ll examine how racism is addressed in the musical South Pacific, the impact on individuals and communities, and what steps we can take to dismantle it. We’ll challenge ourselves to recognize our own biases and explore ways to foster a more equitable and just society.

Suppose I asked a group of Broadway aficionados to name their favorite song from the musical South Pacific. I’m sure responses would include: “I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair”, “There Is Nothing Like a Dame”, “Some Enchanted Evening”, and perhaps “Bali Ha’i”. But it might surprise you to find out there was one song that represented the reason why Rodgers and Hammerstein wanted to write the musical. The song was “You’ve Got to Be Carefully Taught”.

I’m sure many readers are not familiar with the song. The tune isn’t that “catchy”. Not one that you leave the theatre humming. The words aren’t as “lovely” either. In this article, I aim to delve into the history of the song’s inclusion in the musical and its impact at the time it was written and performed.

In every great romance, a conflict or tension exists. For a “happy ending,” this tension has to be resolved. In South Pacific, the romantic tension was based on interracial romance. The song “You’ve Got to Be Carefully Taught” is a powerful and poignant piece. Struggling with his feelings of love for a Tonkinese woman named Liat, Lieutenant Joe Cable introduces the song. He struggles because of the deeply ingrained prejudices he has been taught about interracial relationships. The song explores the idea that racism is not innate, but rather something that is taught and learned. The song serves as a pivotal moment of introspection for Cable. As he grapples with his own prejudices, Cable realizes that they are not innate but rather the product of his upbringing and societal norms. Nellie, the female lead in the musical, also struggles with similar issues. Nellie is from Little Rock, Arkansas, an area of the United States where segregation was strictly enforced at the time. After falling in love with Emile de Becque, a French plantation owner with mixed-race children, Nellie initially rejects him when she learns about his past. Emile pleads with Nellie to reconsider, but she insists that she cannot feel the same way about him since she knows about his children’s Tonkinese mother. Emile, frustrated and bewildered, turns to Cable for an explanation about why Cable and Nellie have their prejudices. Cable replies “It’s not born in you! It happens after you’re born…” These lines introduce “You’ve Got to Be Carefully Taught”.

“You’ve Got to Be Carefully Taught” from South Pacific by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II

You’ve got to be taught

To hate and fear,

You’ve got to be taught

From year to year,

It’s got to be drummed

In your dear little ear

You’ve got to be carefully taught.

You’ve got to be taught to be afraid

Of people whose eyes are oddly made,

And people whose skin is a diff’rent shade,

You’ve got to be carefully taught.

You’ve got to be taught before it’s too late,

Before you are six or seven or eight,

To hate all the people your relatives hate,

You’ve got to be carefully taught.

As I stated at the beginning this song represented the reason why Rodgers and Hammerstein wanted to write this musical. The context of the song is significant, as it was written in 1949, just a few years after the end of World War II. Coincidentally 1949 was the year I was born. During this time, racial tensions were high. Segregation was still a widespread practice in many parts of the United States, especially in the Southern states. The song challenged the prevailing attitudes of the time and sparked important conversations about the nature of prejudice and how it can be overcome. According to Andrea Most, a Broadway historian, Rodgers and Hammerstein were urged to drop the song entirely from South Pacific. They received this feedback from many sources in the musical theatre industry, but they were unmoved. Andrea Most quotes Pulitzer Prize-winning author, James Michener. He wrote Tales of the South Pacific which inspired the musical. Michener remembers the reaction of Rodgers and Hammerstein to the pressure to drop the song. He stated, “The authors replied stubbornly that this number represented why they had wanted to do this play, and that even if it meant the failure of the production, it was going to stay in”. (Most, 2000). The recommendations to drop the song were based on several reasons. Firstly, the song was controversial, so its inclusion in a Broadway musical was questioned. Additionally, the song didn’t align with the typical romantic or comedic themes that characterized Broadway musicals.

Oscar Hammerstein advocated for equality all his life. South Pacific was not the first musical on which he collaborated containing a storyline about interracial marriage. In the musical Show Boat, based on a famous novel by Edna Ferber, Hammerstein teamed with Jerome Kern. The musical premiered on Broadway in 1927, produced by Florenz Ziegfeld famed producer of the “Ziegfeld Follies”. Like South Pacific, Show Boat broke tradition by exploring serious themes such as gambling addiction, alcoholism, and interracial marriage. The musical also depicted the struggles of African Americans living in a racist society. Barry Bradford, historian and “confessed Broadway nerd,” writes of Hammerstein:

Hammerstein was a patriot who abhorred prejudice. Long before his groundbreaking partnership with Richard Rodgers began, Hammerstein’s liberal and moral views were evident. His breathtaking libretto for the (now) classic musical “Showboat” (1927) was decades ahead of its time in showing respect for people of color and surprisingly frank in its look at the harsh nature of racial prejudice. His professional work was remarkably advanced for the times in questions of race. (Bradford,2019)

So nearly 30 years after Show Boat broke barriers with racial themes, South Pacific continued to address themes that some considered offensive and an attack on traditional values. In doing the research for this article, I was disgusted to learn that two Georgia state legislators, Senator John D Sheffield, and Representative David C Jones, wanted to introduce bills to “outlaw movies, plays, and musicals having an underlying philosophy inspired by Moscow.” They announced their intention after seeing the musical in Atlanta. During the two-week run in Atlanta, in February of 1953, the production was attended by sold-out audiences. Jones unabashedly stated,” Intermarriage produces half-breeds. And half-breeds are not conducive to the higher type of society. … In the South, we have pure bloodlines and we intend to keep it that way.” When I read these words I felt a chill. But then I discovered this line from a letter reported to have been written by David C. Jones “We in the South are a proud and progressive people. Half-breeds cannot be proud.” I was somewhat heartened to read accounts of the Georgia legislators’ antics in newspaper archives from around the United States. This was a time when the Red Scare and McCarthyism plagued our country and being labeled a communist, in retrospect, could almost be seen as a badge of honor.

“You’ve Got to Be Carefully Taught” underscores the insidious nature of prejudice and highlights the need for active resistance against it. However, without the character of Nellie Forbush, we would be left without the hope of a solution. When Nellie fears that Emile may not survive the dangerous mission that he and Cable embark upon, she confronts her prejudice and reassesses what matters to her. She spends time with his children and realizes that they are sweet children. Their race no longer matters because she sees them simply as Emile’s children without viewing them through the lens of her racist upbringing. This transformation was the real message that Hammerstein wanted to convey. We can overcome racism and fear of those who are different from us by gaining an awareness of our commonality as members of the human race.

In this article, I examined the relevance and impact of “You’ve Got to Be Carefully Taught” in the context of when it was written and first performed. In my next article, I will examine how racism and other forms of prejudice affect individuals and communities today. For Pride Month 2023, I’ve published a story that features James Taylor singing “You’ve Got to Be Carefully Taught”.

Afterword:

So how did the controversy affect the success of South Pacific? According to Wikipedia (2023, May 15):

The production won ten Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Score, and Best Libretto, and it is the only musical production to win Tony Awards in all four acting categories. Its original cast album was the bestselling record of the 1940s, and other recordings of the show have also been popular. The show has enjoyed many successful revivals and tours, spawning a 1958 film and television adaptations. The 2008 Broadway revival, a critical success, ran for 996 performances and won seven Tonys, including Best Musical Revival.

Bradford, B. (2019, April 23). “South Pacific” and Racism — Oscar Hammerstein’s Moral Cause. Barry Bradford. https://barrybradford.com/south-pacific-and-racism/

Most, Andrea. “Radical Responses to the Civil Rights Movement in the Rural South: The Voice of White Southern Extremism.” The Journal of Southern History, vol. 69, no. 3, 2003, pp. 653–690.

South Pacific. (2023, May 15). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Pacific_(Musical)