"Next Time You Fall In Love" is the 11th hour duet between Rusty and Pearl. This song was introduced to the London production in the major revamp in 1992 to replace Only You, and subsequently used in the 1993 Las Vegas production, 1997 On Ice production, and translated into German as "Allein im licht der Sterne" in 2002. Subsequent productions have used an arrangement of the original number Only He.
Context
During the violence of the final race, Pearl has been injured by Electra, and disconnected at speed by Greaseball, risking her life. Only Rusty, turning away from the race to save her, has shown he cares. Left alone and injured, Pearl reflects on her actions. Unknown to her, Rusty has won the race, but immediately left the finish line celebrations to come find her.
Melody
The melody for "Next Time" is one of Andrew Lloyd Webber's more famous pieces of recycling, as it is also well known as the melody of "The Ballad of Billy Macaw" from Cats, which was in turn a re-working of the melody from an earlier work. Its first incarnation in Starlight Express was as They're Out To Get You, with lyrics by Richard Stilgoe. However these character-accurate but unromantic lyrics were replaced by the work of Don Black.
Lyrics
Pearl:
- I'm guess I'm not too good at keeping love alive for long
- I think I've found the answers but the answers always wrong
- My first love was my true love and it should have been my last
- The only time I'm happy's when I'm dreaming in the past
- Next time you fall in love it better be with me the way it used to be
- Back then, was when we touched the Starlight
- Sometimes you turn away from what your heart tells you is right,
- And so you settle for whatever gets you through the night
- The flame you thought was dead may suddenly begin to burn
- And broken hearts can be repaired, that's something that you learn
- Next time you fall in love it better be with me the way it used to be
- Back then, was when we touched the Starlight
Rusty:
- I've relived every moment that I've ever shared with you
- What fools we were to end a dream that looked like coming true
- Next time you fall in love it better be with me the way it used to be
- Back then, was when we touched the Starlight
Rusty and Pearl:
- Next time you fall in love it better be with me the way it used to be
- Back then, was when we touched the Starlight
Rusty and Pearl:
- I guess I'm not too good at keeping love alive for long
- I think I've found the answers but the answers always wrong
- My first love was my true love and it should have been my last
- The only time I'm happy's when I'm dreaming in the past
- Next time you fall in love it better be with me the way it used to be
- Back then, was when we touched the Starlight
- Next time you fall in love it better be with me the way it used to be
- Back then, was when we touched the Starlight
While these lyrics are romantic and pleasant, they do not hold up well to scrutiny in the context of the show. "We touched the Starlight"? Rusty had no faith in the Starlight Express until long after his embryonic relationship with Pearl had been broken by her choosing to race with first Electra, then Greaseball. Rusty never gave up on Pearl, he made no effort to "End a dream", whereas Pearl seemed to value her friendship with Rusty very lightly at the beginning of the show, far more casually than "the way it used to be", and definitely not having fallen in love.
The German lyrics, while following the same basic theme, create fewer incongruities, with the refrain translating roughly to "us two, alone, beneath the Starlight". This is more poetic and clearly does not refer to Rusty's meeting the character of The Starlight Express.
An interesting note is that the dialogue between Rusty and Pearl midway through the 11th hour duet was omitted in this song. This created some confusion, as Pearl would not have known that Rusty had won the race, as she ran away after she was rescued, and yet she acts as if she already knew that Rusty had won.
However, it should be noted that during the Downhill Final of the 2nd US Tour, Rusty had managed to catch Pearl after she was pushed down the tunnel by CB. As a result, she, Rusty and Dustin all made it to the finish line as the tunnel exploded behind them. With Pearl knowing that Rusty had won, there was no need for any dialogue midway though the song.
Video
Danni Wing as Pearl, Jamie Golding as Rusty, Bochum 2003
Clarissa Grace as Pearl, Franklyn Warfield as Rusty, US Tour 2003
Running Order
preceeded by One Rock'n'Roll Too Many, followed by Light at the End of the Tunnel