1962: “Stop the world, I want to get off”. According to Oscar Levant, the play’s title was derived from a graffito. The show, set against a circus backdrop, focuses on Littlechap from the moment of his birth until his death. Each time something unsatisfactory happens, he calls out ‘Stop the world!’ and addresses the audience.
Source: Wikipedia
…As an aside, watching Sammy Davis perform his medley of songs from “Stop The World: I Want To Get Off”, is as good an artistry of performance delights, imaginable. In sports jargon, an athlete is referred to as being in a zone.
So, stealing from their book, there as I sleep in front of my television, good tastes of life are free to return; meanings and what can be gleaned from dreams far too short to be remembered, yet some way, somehow banked for another day.
For a moment or two, I have stopped the world, soon to awaken. I have chosen not to get off.
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