Not only does this song relate back to the theme of love being a game, but I also love the reference to this in Falsettos when Marvin and Whizzer both say "I'm nauseous" in Four Jews in a Room, which also suggests that both Marvin and Whizzer have this bizarre idea that love makes you sick (which, unfortunately, in their case is true) rip in pieces
Also! This goes in perfectly with the song “Play the Game” in which the game is love and Marvin and Whizzer both can’t play chess together. Marvin refuses to play the game because he thinks whizzer should do exactly as he says and know how to please him and refuses to cooperate in the relationship, as whizzer doesn’t know how to play chess and doesn’t know how to approach loving Marvin because he’s tried and just can’t seem to get it right in Marvins eyes.
i agree w both statements made in both comments made in this thread!! but i think personally that the “im nauseous” part comes from the fact that marv and whiz are spinning across stage but still a clever statement lol
That's a cool idea! I do think a lot of the nausea Marvin is describing here though is simply from the fact that he's gay and being with a woman literally nauseating for him, both physically and mentally. Like, girls? icky
I always thought that half the nausea was marvin being grossed out having sex with a woman and the other morning sickness from trina getting pregnant with jason
jesus christ i thought i related to marvin 3 years ago now look at me . cant sleep because of how much i’m thinking about this song and marvin in general
["The Nausea Before the Game"] [MARVIN] It's the nausea before the game And the pain that won't subside in winter It's the knees that threaten to go bad The body that you thought you had, that lied It's the scores that go unanswered and unsatisfied: The growing up, the falling down The throwing up, the shame The silent prayers, the nausea The game It's anxiety when you recall Girls who touch you when you're walking down the hall Nausea before the game Nausea before the game [LADIES] It's the promise of a perfect life A perfect house A perfect wife she'll be [MARVIN] It's the promise of a perfect star Who's me [ALL] The growing up, the falling down The throwing up, the shame The silent prayers, the nausea The game [MARVIN] The sneaking in, the passing out And where to place the blame The dying swans, the nausea The game [ALL] Nananananan nausea Nahoodyooayahsoblue Nanananananausea Nanananananausea [MARVIN] Hut! [LADIES] Pray for him [MARVIN] Hut! [LADIES] Pray for us all [MARVIN] Hut! [LADIES] But pray for the boy With the ball [MARVIN] There is something lacking in my play There are rules I must not be aware of If I touch her breast, would she applaud? Would she protest? Appeal to God? And weep? If I touch her would she let me fall Asleep? I touch her eyes, her lips are warm Her nose is much the same We're waiting for the whistle sound She strokes my head and turns around I hear my name Then NAUSEA The game... ["Love Me For What I Am"] [HIS WIFE] I met a man In the can Wouldn't you know he was going my way? We talked till four He talked more I was afraid I'd turn and say: "Love me for what I am Not what I try to be Love me for what I am, I am... Someone imperfectly me." The lights were low Don't you know He gave a phony home address Then, after weeks Guess who speaks: "Darling," he says, and I say "Yes Love me for what I am Not what I try to be Love me for what I am, I am... A person who likes to lie too much I try to much To impress other people Often my inferiors." [WIFE] “Could you like a girl like that? Could you like a girl like that? Would you hold her in your arms? Could you like a girl like that? Could you like a girl like that? Could you like a girl like that?" [TEACHER] Love, love, love, love Love, love, love, love [SWEETHEART] A person who likes to lie too much. I try too much to impress other people, often my inferiors [HIS WIFE] We lay in bed He plays dead I play a game with sound and light Don't need a quiz I'm all his "Darling," he says, "we might survive the night Love me for what I am Not what I try to be Love me for what I am, I am Someone imperfectly me Someone imperfectly me."
As an aroace person, this song TEARS MY HEART OUT. I’ve dealt with a lot of denial and a lot of bargaining with myself because I don’t feel things that I’m “supposed” to feel. “There’s something lacking in my play/ there are rules I must not be aware of,” is a line I will never, ever forget!
I think it is. He mentions that he doesn't even know where to touch her, and only does it because he wants her to let him sleep. It is mentioned in the musical that he made up excuses to not have sex. So yeah, I'm pretty sure that he felt nausea when they slept together.
Anita078 I figured so. He compares it to his football games, and the anxiety he feels, and he views sex as just another game that he has to get through
i like how the lyric "and prey for the boy with the ball" has a similar melody as the end of the baseball game, especially at the ball part. i feel like its foreshadowing jason
“Could you like a girl like that” is so interesting to me; yes, could you like a girl LIKE THAT (as in, could you love a deeply flawed woman), but also, could you LIKE a girl like THAT (as in, are you capable of loving a woman at all). Something I love about In Trousers is the non-linearity of each character. When Marvin sings as his adult self, he also sings as his 14-year-old self, and vice versa. There is a bit of every iteration in each character. So when Trina sings a line such as “could you like a girl like that”, with its obvious double meaning, we hear her insecure younger self and bitter, wiser older self speak as one. I find this younger Trina’s point of view so very compelling. A girl raised in a strict, religious household ( _very middle class, very Jewish, and very straight_ ) in the mid 20th century, likely socialised to be a housewife and to be subservient above all else. And it’s hinted that Trina and Marvin married very young, meaning Trina probably hasn’t had the time to establish any identity for herself outside being a mother and a wife. So when her husband does not love her, does this not mean she has failed her only purpose? As a wife, as a woman, as a human, she is a failure. But it’s not her fault. And that’s where her bitter older self comes in, relenting that it never _was_ her fault. It couldn’t have possibly been her fault. Anyways. I really oughta go and touch grass or smthn.
Something so relatable about being a gay person pushing themselves into straight sex. Bc it does feel like playing a game, trying really hard to play by rules. “There is something lacking in my play, rules I must not be aware of.” Not putting real emotion into it, not understanding why it’s not fun. Like buying a second hand board game and it doesn’t come with instructions. Why it feels shameful and sometimes even sickening afterwards. this musical, but also this song in particular gives me strong feelings
please please please listen to the rest of in trousers and its sequels (march of the falsettos and falsettoland) bc it seems like you'd be able to connect with the musicals and tbh they're just really beautiful musicals.
@@poppunktwinkledork realising I put an “idk” there. I’ve seen the musicals way too many times to count and wrote down analysis in a notepad. I have no idea why I typed that haha! I appreciate the hustle to get me to watch it though, I’m like that with everyone I know
this song actually makes me feel nauseous for some reason, because i absolutely love this song but some songs just kinda make me sick even though i love them the song makes me not able to breathe right for like 10 minutes and i start blankly staring at whatever i see barely thinking at all, and i start feeling sick and almost pass out sometimes with my throat closing up- yeah it's kinda weird lmao but i can't help but listening to this masterpiece :')
My first watchthrough of Les Mis was a copy of the 25th anniversary. If you don’t know, it has all the songs, with none of the action or filler, just their costumes. This entire musical feels like that. I feel like I’ve just watched an entire story and understood fucking none of it. It’s like speed-reading a million-word book series. I got the full story of a couple moments, and there’s 0 way to put the pieces together
It doesn't help that in order for the album to fit on vinyl, the tracks had their tempo sped up to save time, the first song in the show Very Opening was omitted from the album entirely, and songs like My High School Sweetheart and The Rape of Miss Goldberg were slightly abridged compared to how they were performed on stage. Although William Finn (composer/director of In Trousers) dislikes the revisions he made for the 1985 revival of the show, I can't help but feel like it is still more complete and comprehensible both as a stand alone show and as a prequel to the later Marvin Musicals, March of the Falsettos and Falsettoland, compared to the original 1979 production.
Given the context of the situation I thought she was trying to set a mood or something like trying to get Marvin to have sex with, basically be flirty in behavior or something along that line (I'm a little bad at explaining things so I apologise if that sounded off).
@@hollyhock9638 So, you're probably 100% right, and now I feel like an idiot because I've always pictured it as Marvin pretending to be asleep and Trina giving up and playing Pong or something lol. It's a funny mental image, but yours is definitely more thematically accurate
it would have to be heavily edited, but I could see it as a possible duet. But there's too much Trina-specific information for it to be just Marvin, in my opinion.
I think there are a lot of comparisons to be made. I think that it lends itself to comparisons seeing as its on the same track as nausea before the game. Love Me for What I Am I think could be (in reference to Marvin) sort of a reflection of some of Marvin's potential insecurities, this sort of perpetual need to be loved which we see again in Falsettos and then combining that with the internalized homophobia, him begging to be loved regardless of the fact that he's gay. I think that there's also something to be said about it in reference to Marvin's entitled nature as well. Whether that's seeing past his entitlement because its a defense mechanism or because he wants his actions to be excused. That's also just focusing more on the driving point of the song (love me for what I am, not what I try to be) which in some versions is sung by everyone in the cast rather than just Trina which kind of further allows for that analysis
I've always found it kind of ironic that trina sings "love me for what i am not what I try to be" When Marvin is the one trying to be something he's not
Seems like it's still in 4/4 or 8/8 however you want to count, the trumpet blasts are just on the off beats (counting in 8 they're on beat 4 and 7 as far as i can tell) i might be wrong though lol
I honestly fell really bad for Marvin in In Trousers. He was forced into a heterosexual relationship that he hated. It’s kind of really sad. This is song is rlly good tho
he was never forced into anything, dont forget about trina. she was in a relationship with a man who never loved her. he may have been pressured but he was never forced.
@@alexhamilton8775 yeah I guess “pressured” was a better word than “forced” 😅! But I also really feel bad for Trina….that’s the thing about this trilogy….you feel bad for everyone lol
attention in trousers fans: i need in trousers friends and it's virtually impossible to find them out in the wild so if you need someone to freak out about it with pls reply to this comment
It's the first act of the Marvin trilogy. March of the Falsettos and Falsettoland (combined to just make Falsettos as a two act musical) come after this
As someone who always feels nauseous for no apparent reason I love this song so much EDIT: I broke up with my boyfriend and cut off the girl I was cheating on him with (I'm ace)
Not only does this song relate back to the theme of love being a game, but I also love the reference to this in Falsettos when Marvin and Whizzer both say "I'm nauseous" in Four Jews in a Room, which also suggests that both Marvin and Whizzer have this bizarre idea that love makes you sick (which, unfortunately, in their case is true) rip in pieces
Also! This goes in perfectly with the song “Play the Game” in which the game is love and Marvin and Whizzer both can’t play chess together. Marvin refuses to play the game because he thinks whizzer should do exactly as he says and know how to please him and refuses to cooperate in the relationship, as whizzer doesn’t know how to play chess and doesn’t know how to approach loving Marvin because he’s tried and just can’t seem to get it right in Marvins eyes.
i agree w both statements made in both comments made in this thread!! but i think personally that the “im nauseous” part comes from the fact that
marv and whiz are spinning across stage but still a clever statement lol
That's a cool idea! I do think a lot of the nausea Marvin is describing here though is simply from the fact that he's gay and being with a woman literally nauseating for him, both physically and mentally. Like, girls? icky
I always thought that half the nausea was marvin being grossed out having sex with a woman and the other morning sickness from trina getting pregnant with jason
omg william is such a genius
when marvin says “it’s the sneaking in, the passing out, and where to place the blame” i think he’s talking about his affair with Whizzer
“We might survive the night” GOD the callback is painful
A perfect representation of what the closet feels like
Brought to us by a gay Jew #slowclap
@@hollyhock9638 bitching
I love how these songs show both Marvin and Trina’s feelings towards their marriage, two different perspectives.
Nausea before the game is such a mood when the idea of actually doing *_it_* makes you feel nauseous
Nausea Before the Game is probably my favourite song from In Trousers
I am so madly in love with Nausea Before the Game. Such a gorgeous song
this song is incredible and trina’s part is so slept on!! easily fav in trousers song
jesus christ i thought i related to marvin 3 years ago now look at me . cant sleep because of how much i’m thinking about this song and marvin in general
j e s u s trina’s voice gives me chills
Nausea is my favorite song in the show. I'm not gay, but I relate to it so god damn much.
literally same.
hey, just wanted to check in, are you gay now?
@@queennoir2823 LMAOOO
stage 1: denial
🤨
this song is so underrated, god its amazing
god nausea is such a good song
The score really reminds me of A Marriage Proposal
!! that's so cool, i never noticed that. mendel speaks her language!
["The Nausea Before the Game"]
[MARVIN]
It's the nausea before the game
And the pain that won't subside in winter
It's the knees that threaten to go bad
The body that you thought you had, that lied
It's the scores that go unanswered and unsatisfied:
The growing up, the falling down
The throwing up, the shame
The silent prayers, the nausea
The game
It's anxiety when you recall
Girls who touch you when you're walking down the hall
Nausea before the game
Nausea before the game
[LADIES]
It's the promise of a perfect life
A perfect house
A perfect wife she'll be
[MARVIN]
It's the promise of a perfect star
Who's me
[ALL]
The growing up, the falling down
The throwing up, the shame
The silent prayers, the nausea
The game
[MARVIN]
The sneaking in, the passing out
And where to place the blame
The dying swans, the nausea
The game
[ALL]
Nananananan nausea
Nahoodyooayahsoblue
Nanananananausea
Nanananananausea
[MARVIN]
Hut!
[LADIES]
Pray for him
[MARVIN]
Hut!
[LADIES]
Pray for us all
[MARVIN]
Hut!
[LADIES]
But pray for the boy
With the ball
[MARVIN]
There is something lacking in my play
There are rules I must not be aware of
If I touch her breast, would she applaud?
Would she protest? Appeal to God?
And weep?
If I touch her would she let me fall
Asleep?
I touch her eyes, her lips are warm
Her nose is much the same
We're waiting for the whistle sound
She strokes my head and turns around
I hear my name
Then NAUSEA
The game...
["Love Me For What I Am"]
[HIS WIFE]
I met a man
In the can
Wouldn't you know he was going my way?
We talked till four
He talked more
I was afraid I'd turn and say:
"Love me for what I am
Not what I try to be
Love me for what I am, I am...
Someone imperfectly me."
The lights were low
Don't you know
He gave a phony home address
Then, after weeks
Guess who speaks:
"Darling," he says, and I say "Yes
Love me for what I am
Not what I try to be
Love me for what I am, I am...
A person who likes to lie too much
I try to much
To impress other people
Often my inferiors."
[WIFE]
“Could you like a girl like that?
Could you like a girl like that?
Would you hold her in your arms?
Could you like a girl like that?
Could you like a girl like that?
Could you like a girl like that?" [TEACHER]
Love, love, love, love
Love, love, love, love
[SWEETHEART]
A person who likes to lie too much. I try too much to impress other people, often my inferiors
[HIS WIFE]
We lay in bed
He plays dead
I play a game with sound and light
Don't need a quiz
I'm all his
"Darling," he says, "we might survive the night
Love me for what I am
Not what I try to be
Love me for what I am, I am
Someone imperfectly me
Someone imperfectly me."
this has fucking 69 likes I can't like this
@@ghostytrickster33 u can now
Honestly this musical makes sense if you look at it as a song cycle rather than a musical.
god I love nausea so much.... like its so upbeat but then you really listen and it just hits so good
As an aroace person, this song TEARS MY HEART OUT. I’ve dealt with a lot of denial and a lot of bargaining with myself because I don’t feel things that I’m “supposed” to feel. “There’s something lacking in my play/ there are rules I must not be aware of,” is a line I will never, ever forget!
god yes exactly!!!
REALLLLL
Give Trina love, pretty please
Marla Trotacielos @Mendel
Her part in another sleepless night breaks my heart everytime as well as breakfast over sugar
"I hate baseball, I really do. Unlike the rest of you I hate baseball."
DID SOMEONE THINK ABOUT THAT TOO OR IT'S JUST ME?
I think this is football not sure tho
@@baileeetzweiler4013 it is sksksk
Nah
I have never in my life loved a song with so much of my soul
Is Nausea Before the Game about Marvin being with Trina and feeling really sick and upset about it because he's exceptionally gay?
I think it is. He mentions that he doesn't even know where to touch her, and only does it because he wants her to let him sleep.
It is mentioned in the musical that he made up excuses to not have sex. So yeah, I'm pretty sure that he felt nausea when they slept together.
Anita078 I figured so. He compares it to his football games, and the anxiety he feels, and he views sex as just another game that he has to get through
My gay ass when no one’s home: THE GROWING UP THE FALLING DOWN THE THROWING UP THE SHAME THE SILENT PRAYERS THE NAUSEA THE GAME
i like how the lyric "and prey for the boy with the ball" has a similar melody as the end of the baseball game, especially at the ball part. i feel like its foreshadowing jason
As someone who just found out her teammates in her football team are homophobic,, The Nausea Before The Game hits too hard lmao
2:02 is the greatest thing ive ever heard. Marvins voice holy shit and the background vocals from the ladies is just perfect
it's the promise of a perfect star... who's me
“Could you like a girl like that” is so interesting to me; yes, could you like a girl LIKE THAT (as in, could you love a deeply flawed woman), but also, could you LIKE a girl like THAT (as in, are you capable of loving a woman at all).
Something I love about In Trousers is the non-linearity of each character. When Marvin sings as his adult self, he also sings as his 14-year-old self, and vice versa. There is a bit of every iteration in each character. So when Trina sings a line such as “could you like a girl like that”, with its obvious double meaning, we hear her insecure younger self and bitter, wiser older self speak as one.
I find this younger Trina’s point of view so very compelling. A girl raised in a strict, religious household ( _very middle class, very Jewish, and very straight_ ) in the mid 20th century, likely socialised to be a housewife and to be subservient above all else. And it’s hinted that Trina and Marvin married very young, meaning Trina probably hasn’t had the time to establish any identity for herself outside being a mother and a wife. So when her husband does not love her, does this not mean she has failed her only purpose? As a wife, as a woman, as a human, she is a failure. But it’s not her fault. And that’s where her bitter older self comes in, relenting that it never _was_ her fault. It couldn’t have possibly been her fault.
Anyways. I really oughta go and touch grass or smthn.
This hits the feels
the best songs from in trousers
this really slaps hard though?
I think this might be my fav song from the show
Something so relatable about being a gay person pushing themselves into straight sex. Bc it does feel like playing a game, trying really hard to play by rules. “There is something lacking in my play, rules I must not be aware of.” Not putting real emotion into it, not understanding why it’s not fun. Like buying a second hand board game and it doesn’t come with instructions. Why it feels shameful and sometimes even sickening afterwards.
this musical, but also this song in particular gives me strong feelings
please please please listen to the rest of in trousers and its sequels (march of the falsettos and falsettoland) bc it seems like you'd be able to connect with the musicals and tbh they're just really beautiful musicals.
@@poppunktwinkledork realising I put an “idk” there. I’ve seen the musicals way too many times to count and wrote down analysis in a notepad. I have no idea why I typed that haha!
I appreciate the hustle to get me to watch it though, I’m like that with everyone I know
this is such a good fucking song i am so heartbroken only one performance was filmed
"Love me for what I am" sounds a lot like "Everyone tells Jason to see a psychiatrist"
i love in trousers so much it makes me NAUSEOUS (haha
this song actually makes me feel nauseous for some reason, because i absolutely love this song but some songs just kinda make me sick even though i love them the song makes me not able to breathe right for like 10 minutes and i start blankly staring at whatever i see barely thinking at all, and i start feeling sick and almost pass out sometimes with my throat closing up- yeah it's kinda weird lmao but i can't help but listening to this masterpiece :')
dude u okay? that sounds like a isSUe
NO BC LITERALLY SAME I THOUGHT IT WAS JUST ME
My first watchthrough of Les Mis was a copy of the 25th anniversary. If you don’t know, it has all the songs, with none of the action or filler, just their costumes.
This entire musical feels like that. I feel like I’ve just watched an entire story and understood fucking none of it.
It’s like speed-reading a million-word book series. I got the full story of a couple moments, and there’s 0 way to put the pieces together
It doesn't help that in order for the album to fit on vinyl, the tracks had their tempo sped up to save time, the first song in the show Very Opening was omitted from the album entirely, and songs like My High School Sweetheart and The Rape of Miss Goldberg were slightly abridged compared to how they were performed on stage. Although William Finn (composer/director of In Trousers) dislikes the revisions he made for the 1985 revival of the show, I can't help but feel like it is still more complete and comprehensible both as a stand alone show and as a prequel to the later Marvin Musicals, March of the Falsettos and Falsettoland, compared to the original 1979 production.
that one person who disliked is trina
this is my theme song .
LOVE ME FOR WHAT I AAAAAMMMM
“I play a game with sound and light” always intrigued me. Anyone know what it means? Or have any ideas?
Given the context of the situation I thought she was trying to set a mood or something like trying to get Marvin to have sex with, basically be flirty in behavior or something along that line (I'm a little bad at explaining things so I apologise if that sounded off).
@@hollyhock9638 So, you're probably 100% right, and now I feel like an idiot because I've always pictured it as Marvin pretending to be asleep and Trina giving up and playing Pong or something lol. It's a funny mental image, but yours is definitely more thematically accurate
@@Hannah-gh4by HELP pong???? that's such a funny image 😭😭😭
GAMER TRINA😭😭😭
Does anyone else think that Love Me For What I Am? could have just as easily been a Marvin song? Am I crazy?
The last chorus is trina recounting something he said, so it’s definitely not just you
it would have to be heavily edited, but I could see it as a possible duet. But there's too much Trina-specific information for it to be just Marvin, in my opinion.
I think there are a lot of comparisons to be made. I think that it lends itself to comparisons seeing as its on the same track as nausea before the game. Love Me for What I Am I think could be (in reference to Marvin) sort of a reflection of some of Marvin's potential insecurities, this sort of perpetual need to be loved which we see again in Falsettos and then combining that with the internalized homophobia, him begging to be loved regardless of the fact that he's gay. I think that there's also something to be said about it in reference to Marvin's entitled nature as well. Whether that's seeing past his entitlement because its a defense mechanism or because he wants his actions to be excused. That's also just focusing more on the driving point of the song (love me for what I am, not what I try to be) which in some versions is sung by everyone in the cast rather than just Trina which kind of further allows for that analysis
I've always found it kind of ironic that trina sings "love me for what i am not what I try to be" When Marvin is the one trying to be something he's not
@@felixettos they both are!
love me for what i am - 2:20
This one is my favorite
WHAT is the time signature at 0:56
Seems like it's still in 4/4 or 8/8 however you want to count, the trumpet blasts are just on the off beats (counting in 8 they're on beat 4 and 7 as far as i can tell)
i might be wrong though lol
This is just too good
I honestly fell really bad for Marvin in In Trousers. He was forced into a heterosexual relationship that he hated. It’s kind of really sad. This is song is rlly good tho
he was never forced into anything, dont forget about trina. she was in a relationship with a man who never loved her. he may have been pressured but he was never forced.
@@alexhamilton8775 yeah I guess “pressured” was a better word than “forced” 😅! But I also really feel bad for Trina….that’s the thing about this trilogy….you feel bad for everyone lol
2:18 why does chip sound like michael in just that specific part??
Oooo omg he does!
attention in trousers fans: i need in trousers friends and it's virtually impossible to find them out in the wild so if you need someone to freak out about it with pls reply to this comment
Hello fellow being, I too need friends that will freak put about this musical
I'll be your friend!
Yes!
We can be friends!
@@arieschoi707 yes
Your lips and me is so slept on
Edit: pls this is so random whyd I comment this here 💀
You commented it because Alison Fraser's voice hypnotized you and in that case, same
4:23 “they comb their hair, they acted dead”
Wait I’m so confused lol, this isn’t apart of the original falsettos musical, what is this from lol
It's the first act of the Marvin trilogy. March of the Falsettos and Falsettoland (combined to just make Falsettos as a two act musical) come after this
Alison Fraser reminds me of Joni Mitchell
I smell baseball...
the dying swans, the nausea, the game…
Can we talk about the “Girls who touch you when your walking down the hall” line? Is that implying what I think it is?
2:20 Love Me For What I Am
As someone who always feels nauseous for no apparent reason I love this song so much EDIT: I broke up with my boyfriend and cut off the girl I was cheating on him with (I'm ace)
Fr
ME
4:23 “they comb their hair, they acted dead”