In primary school the music teacher showed us the musical ‘Cats’ by Arthur Lloyd Webber and Trever Nunn. I found it rather odd, to be honest, but some part of it must have stuck with me, because I ended up performing the ‘Macavity’ song as a poem at the school talent night with a friend.

It wasn’t until much later that I developed a love for the song ‘Memory’ – immortalised by Elaine Paige in the 1981 musical, and by many artists afterwards (perhaps most recently Susan Boyle).

The song is sung by Grizabella, a cat who is old, tired and broken, yet longs to begin a new life. It is the climax of the musical and is based on two of T. S. Elliot’s poems.

Why I like it

The music – the tune is haunting, nostalgic and terribly sad. Exactly the sort of music I like. It is also clearly sung, so that each of the words take on a meaning in themselves, as well as being part of an overall impression.

The lyrics – are absolutely stunning. They are the perfect balance of complexity (so you have to actually think about them) and simple (so that you can actually understand them enough to appreciate the song the first time you hear it).

The acting – the song is part of the overall storyline, and thus part of its appeal is its strong thematic value. We as the audience have been waiting for this part, this crescendo, since we were introduced to the cats and their desires and beliefs.

My favourite part

Grizabella is rather ugly, and again and again I find it amazing (and a good life lesson!) how Paige’s beautiful, heartrending solo can serve to redeem both her character, and the entire musical. She bridges the gap between these cats and the audience – because surely each of us has at one time, felt the longing for something we do not have. Surely we have all experienced the feeling of being left behind, of not being good enough, young enough, beautiful enough – and have clung onto the hope for new life and resurrection.

Issues and complexities

It’s been a long time since I’ve seen more of the musical than the clip of Elaine Paige’s song, and in fact, I don’t think you need to watch the entire play to enjoy the song. This is somewhat problematic, as it exists as part of a whole and should be judged as such.

The beauty of this song can act as an end point – we listen, we appreciate, we go away. I think it’s important that we challenge ourselves to understand the play as a whole – a richer understanding and a deeper joy must be the result of such an investigation.

For example, there has been many allusions drawn between T. S. Elliot’s Christian beliefs and Grizabella’s resurrection. I cannot judge the strength of these, as I haven’t looked into them enough, but they add another level of complexity to the song.