In the opening scene of Anything Goes, Billy Crocker declares his love for Hope Harcourt. With this declaration, he also starts a contest with her as to who can woo the other first. The winner will be “the top.” This is an intriguing game that goes on throughout the entire show and leads to many hilarious scenes. In particular, anything goes overture: you’re the top is a song from act one where Lord Evelyn Oakleigh tries to convince Jerry Travers not to marry Hope Harcourt because she already has someone else in mind.
When Jerry asks who it is, Lord Evelyn replies “you.” He then sings that anything goes overture: you’re the top. This song serves as a warning for Jerry to not be too eager in pursuing Hope. It also represents how complicated love can be and how there are many ways of wooing someone – both noble and underhanded methods exist.
Anything Goes Overture: You’re The Top (song) – In act one, this song warns Jerry not to pursue Hope Harcourt because she already has another person in mind with lyrics like “anything goes overture: you’re the top.” This is an example of the complexities involved when trying to win over someone who has a more than one person interested in them.
I just want to make sure that I’m not too eager for him, but how can I resist? As Mr. Travers says, “Anything goes overture: you’re the top.” Jerry sings this warning song as he’s deciding whether or not to pursue Hope Harcourt because she already has someone else on her mind – Lord Evelyn himself. There are many ways of wooing somebody and all proclamations of love have their own intricacies when it comes to pursuing another individual. When Jerry asks if anything really does go over with Penelope (a woman that he is trying) his answer is “of course not!” This means there must be something wrong with his technique because she is not interested in him.
In the verse, “I want to be a top with you,” Jerry is saying that he wants Hope for himself and not Lord Evelyn. He has never been anything but loyal before, so this new infatuation must mean something different to him – it can’t just be an attraction because of her beauty or charm. The chorus consists of his realization that maybe even though she’s someone else’s property at the moment, they will always have their opportunity together down the line if they stay hopeful and wait patiently for whatever happens next. This song is very interesting in its depiction of love as being complicated no matter what situation one may find themselves in. It also shows how hard (or easy) it might be to pursue somebody who already belongs to someone else, but that the only way it will work is if both parties are determined and have patience.
anything goes overture: you’re the top
The chorus consists of his realization that maybe even though she’s someone else’s property at the moment, they will always have their opportunity together down the line if they stay hopeful and wait patiently for whatever happens next. This song is very interesting in its depiction of love as being complicated no matter what situation one may find themselves in. It also shows how hard (or easy) it might be to pursue somebody who already belongs to someone else, but that the only way it will work is if both parties are determined and have patience.” Jerry wants Hope for himself because he believes that he is the better man, but he also realizes and understands where she’s coming from because he too knows what it feels like to have someone else own him.
An anything goes overture: you’re the top example of Jerry’s patience in this song can be seen when at one point during his conversation with Hope, after telling her how much she means to him and trying to get her back into a relationship with him even though they both know there are obstacles between them, she tells him flat-out that “I’m not for sale.” He doesn’t seem bothered by this and simply responds as if nothing happened before going on about their date. Another instance of his patience would be when all hope seems lost in terms of making a relationship work with her, he takes the initiative and asks to see her again: “I’d like to take you out for coffee. I want to talk more.” He does this even though she had just broken up with him a few hours before.
