"Almost Real" is a song from the Broadway musical The Bridges of Madison County, written and composed by Jason Robert Brown. The show premiered in February 2014. The song was performed by the character, Francesca; the role was originated on Broadway by Tony Award-winning actress, Kelli O'Hara. The song is sung early in Act II. Francesca is telling Robert, her lover, how she came to America from Italy. The song precedes Robert asking Francesca to leave her home, something she has done in the past, and go off with him. As displayed in the song, she makes choices based on what is easiest, the things that she desires are always ‘almost real’; She decided to stay in Winterset, Iowa with her family.
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Musical analysis
"Almost Real" is written in the keys of C minor and C major, which helps to reflect on how she views her life in reality. The song begins in C minor, a reflection of how she feels about her life, lonely and disappointing. There is a switch to C major when she discusses her dreams, providing insight into the life she wishes she could have led. Whenever there is a moment where Francesca is discussing what she wants, the key becomes major. The key switches back to minor immediately when she realizes that what she desires will not come true and the song goes back into reality. This continual switch creates a strong juxtaposition showing the difficulty Francesca has discussing her past and dreams. The instruments in the song are Celli, Tremolo Violins, Drums, Pianos. There is a cello motif at the beginning of the song follows Francesca around the entire show, in multiple songs, this is not the first time it appears; it appears first in the opening song, "To Build a Home."
Textual analysis
The song explains the difficulties that Francesca faced in her past and those she grapples with in the present. Jason Robert Brown wrote the lyrics in stream of consciousness format; Francesca is actively thinking about the correlation between her past and present emotions, how she felt in both Naples, Italy and Winterset, Iowa. The lyrics begin explaining what it is like to live in Naples, Italy as a woman. Everything is set in stone how a woman should live her life, and one can either choose to follow or venture on her own path. A recurring topic of the song is her sister, Chiara, who acts as a constant reminder that reality is worse than the places and people she dreams of. Chiara is a source of realism, telling Francesca how the world works, rather than how Francesca imagines how the world should be. As a result of Chiara’s voice always being on her mind, the things Francesca wants will always be almost, but never, real.