I’m Gonna Wash that Man Right Out-South Pacific by Mary Martin

Recently, we wrote about disgruntled WWII sailors expressing their unhappiness in the choral song, “There is Nothin’ Like a Dame.” Now, we are going to turn our attention to the female response: “I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Out of My Hair (and send him on his way).” But before we do, we would like to explain something about Oscar Hammerstein II’s secret weapon: women.

If we look carefully at Rodgers and Hammerstein’s greatest shows, we realize that the powerful characters are all women. Granted, these musicals are derivative from other works; yet, something of the heart, something of the soul, bursts out of the R&H musicals that was not in the original material. We will write more about this at a later date; for now, take a look at the strength of Aunt Eller and Laurie in Oklahoma! Or Carrie in Carousel; Bloody Mary and Nellie in South Pacific; Anna in The King and I; and finally Maria in The Sound of Music. What indeed will we do with someone like Maria–maybe love her?!

OK; let’s not turn this into a PhD dissertation paper.

Let’s talk about the nurses in the South Pacific theatre of war. They served nobly in WWII; they struggled to help the wounded in Bataan and were prisoners of war at the fall of Corregidor; they could not be drafted but put themselves in harms way to be a part of the effort to defend the free world. If you read James Michener’s Tales of the South Pacific, you will better understand the price many nurses had to pay because of their desire to serve their country.

Oscar was never one to dwell on the negative aspects of anything, so we don’t see the downside to service in the musical. What we DO see is the spirit and determination of these women. It is interesting for those of us who saw the Ken Burns documentary, The Roosevelts, to remember Eleanor’s trip to the South Pacific, to visit wounded American military personnel. She went from bed to bed, ignored the heat and the stench, and spent time with every one of the wounded soldiers and sailors that she met. However, the effort exhausted her; and she had to return to the US, after this visit, to recover her physical strength.

The American nurses had to do this work every day; did not get to go home to rest; and were responsible for giving our GI’s the medicine that the doctors could not give, salve for the soul. We have so much to be grateful for.