Home > PopArt >

Somewhere

Writers - Bernstein/Sondheim
First released - 1997
Original album - Bilingual 2001 reissue Further Listening 1995-1997 bonus disc
Producer - Pet Shop Boys, Trouser Enthusiasts
Subsequent albums - PopArt, Smash
Other releases - single (UK #9, US #125, US Dance Sales #19)

This classic song, written by Leonard Bernstein (music) and Stephen Sondheim (lyrics) for the musical West Side Story, had been more or less adopted by the gay rights movement even before the Pet Shop Boys got their hands on it. (It has long been a staple of gay chorus repertoires.) One need only consider the gist of the lyrics, reflective of the musical's Romeo and Juliet plot of forbidden love, to understand why: "There's a place for us, somewhere a place for us."

In their 1997 version (the "single" as opposed to its various mixes and remixes), Neil and Chris give it the real everything-but-the-kitchen-sink treatment, combining a full orchestral score (arranged and conducted by Richard Niles) with a synth-heavy techno track and a host of samples from the film version of West Side Story as well as the much later movie Menace II Society. In fact, it comes dangerously close to being over-produced. Was it because the implicit subject matter was so close to the Boys' hearts, or because they simply allowed themselves to get caught up in the spirit of the original musical-theater setting—or both? Neil called it "the definitive version, I'm afraid," but he was almost certainly speaking tongue-in-cheek.

Two other songs from the same musical make "guest appearances," so to speak: near the end Neil sings a bit of "I Feel Pretty"—its inclusion a decidedly camp touch—and the Extended Mix also features Chris reciting lyrics from "One Hand, One Heart."

Annotations

The song itself comes with a good deal of cultural/historical baggage. It was written by Leonard Bernstein (music) and Stephen Sondheim (lyrics) for their hugely successful 1957 stage musical West Side Story, which proved a revolutionary work for the American musical theater. For parts of the melody, Bernstein borrowed brief musical phrases from both Beethoven's "Emperor" Piano Concerto and Tchaikovsky's ballet Swan Lake. The musical's principal love theme, "Somewhere" has been recorded by literally scores of artists and has been a hit single several times over.
As noted above, two other songs from West Side Story—"I Feel Pretty" and "One Hand, One Heart"—are briefly quoted: the former at the end of several versions (including the single) and the latter during the lengthy opening sequence of the Extended Mix.
The single version and "PSB Extended Mix" contain some relatively unmusical samples from a performance of the West Side Story song "Cool" (probably the famed 1961 movie soundtrack—one of the best-selling motion picture soundtracks of all time), most notably the line "You wanna live in this lousy world?" spoken by Russ Tamblyn in the role of Riff (though digitally distorted).
As the Boys themselves have noted, other "non-musical" samples (such as sirens, crowd noises, and the line "When the riots stopped, the drugs started") in various mixes are taken from the 1993 film Menace II Society. In the 2023 remaster of the song appearing on Smash, however, these Menace II Society samples have been removed, possibly indicating that our musical heroes no longer had permission to use them. The aforementioned "You wanna live in this lousy world?" sample from West Side Story, however, is retained.

Mixes/Versions

Officially released

Mixer: Bob Kraushaar
- Single version (4:41)
  - Available on PopArt
- Single version - 2023 remaster (4:43)
  - Available on Smash
  - Differs in that the sirens, crowd noises, and most other extraneous background sounds at the beginning of the original single version have been edited out (though curiously retaining "You wanna live in this lousy world?")
- Video mix (5:04)
- Orchestral Version (4:46)
- Orchestral Version Edit (aka "Free Edit" or "French Promo Edit") (4:07)
- Extended Mix (aka "PSB Extended Mix") (10:55)
  - Available on the Further Listening bonus disc with the Bilingual reissue and on the Bilingual "Special Edition" bonus disc
Mixer: Pete Gleadall (as Forthright)
- Forthright Vocal Mix (aka Forthright Club Mix) (9:24)
- Forthright Dub - Full Length Mix (aka "Full Length Forthright Dub) (7:38)
- Forthright Dub (5:32)
Mixer: Trouser Enthusiasts
- Trouser Enthusiasts Mix (10:36)

List cross-references

All text on this website aside from direct quotations (such as of lyrics and of other nonoriginal content) is copyright © 2001-2023 by Wayne Studer. All Rights Reserved. All lyrics and images are copyright © their respective dates by their respective owners. Brief quotations and small, low-resolution images are used for identification and critical commentary, thereby constituting Fair Use under U.S. copyright law. Billboard chart data are copyright © their respective dates by Nielsen Business Media, Inc.