Show Synopsis:
Clifford Bradshaw has come to Berlin to work on his latest novel during the 1930s, while the Nazi party is gaining strength, and becomes friends with Ernst Ludwig. He begins to fall in love with Sally Bowles, an entertainer at the Kit Kat Club, who becomes pregnant. Cliff does a paid errand for Ernst, unaware that it is for the benefit of the Nazi party. Sally leaves Cliff after they argue about the baby and she gets an abortion while Cliff gets into a fight with Ernst over different opinions of the Jewish Herr Schultz. Cliff is angry at Sally but asks her to go with him to Paris. When she declines, he leaves Nazi Germany by himself and begins to write the story of what happened to him in Germany.
Character:
Sally Bowles, a singer and dancer at the Kit Kat Club in her 20s; an optimist who wants to just keep on living her life, despite the changes occurring to and around her.
Song Context:
Sally performs her final number of the night in her regular act, aware that Cliff is watching her and wants to take her home, but resisting because she is cautious of her boyfriend Max's jealousy.
Fun Facts:
1. This musical is based on a play called I Am The Camera, by John Van Druten.
2. The character of Sally changed from a blonde to a brunette between out-of-town tryouts and opening on Broadway.
3. This song was not in the original production of Cabaret on Broadway. It was written for the 1972 film adaptation and added into the stage show when it was revived on Broadway in 1998.
"You have to understand the way I am,
Mein herr.
A tiger is a tiger, not a lamb.
Mein herr.
You'll never turn the vinegar to jam,
Mein Herr.
So I do
What I do-
When I'm through,
Then I'm through,
And I'm through.
Toodle-oo!
Bye-bye, mein lieber herr.
Farewell, mein lieber herr.
It was a fine affair,
But now it's over.
And though I used to care,
I need the open air.
You're better off without me,
Mein herr.
Don't dab your eye, mein herr,
Or wonder why, mein herr.
I've always told you I was a rover.
You mustn't knit your brow,
You should have known by now
You'd every cause to doubt me,
Mein, herr.
The continent of Europe is so wide,
Mein herr.
Not only up and down, but side to side,
Mein herr.
I couldn't ever cross it if I tried,
Mein herr.
So I do
What I can,
Inch by inch,
Step by step,
Mile by mile,
Man by man.
Bye-bye, mein lieber herr.
Farewell, mein lieber herr.
It was a fine affair,
But now it's over.
And though I used to care,
I need the open air.
You're better off without me,
Mein herr.
Don't dab your eye, mein herr,
Or wonder why, mein herr.
I've always told you I was a rover.
You mustn't knit your brow,
You should have known by now
You'd every cause to doubt me,
Mein, herr.
Bye-bye, mein lieber herr,
Auf wiedersehen, mein herr.
Es war sehr gut, mein herr
Und vorbei.
Du kennst mich wohl, mein herr,
Ach, lebe wohl, mein herr.
Du sollst mich nicht mehr sehen,
Mein herr.
Bye-bye, mein Lieber
Herr, un vorbei.
Auf weidersehen,
Mein Herr.
And bye-bye.
Bye-bye, mein lieber herr;
Farewell, mein lieber herr.
It was a fine affair,
But now it's over.
And though I-
Used to care,
I need the-
Open air.
You're better off
Without me.
You'll get on
Without me
Mein Herr."