"Next Time You Fall In Love" is one of the 11th hour duets between Rusty and Pearl.
The song replaced "Only He" and "Only You" in English-language productions beginning with The New Starlight Express (1992) and ending with the 1997 "On Ice" production. The noughties US and UK tours used a reworked version of "Only He" before swapping in a song by Alistair Lloyd Webber and Nick Coler, "I Do".
In Germany, "Next Time You Fall In Love" was added to the show in 2002 and replaced, as in English-language productions, by the reworked "Only He" in 2008, then "I Do" in 2012. Its title was translated as "Allein im licht der Sterne" ("Alone in the Light of the Stars" or perhaps more simply, "Alone in Starlight").
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.
Rusty finds Pearl, tells her he won the race, and they realise their love for each other.
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, with sweet and generic love song sentiments that do not apply particularly closely to the situation of these characters.
While Don Black's 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.
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.
Next Time You Fall in Love - Clarissa Grace Franklyn Warfield US Tour 2003
Clarissa Grace as Pearl, Franklyn Warfield as Rusty, US Tour 2003
Lyrics[]
Original 1992 London 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 | |
| BOTH: | 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 | |
| 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 |
1997 Mexico + Translation[]
Si buscas otro amor (If you look for another love) [1]
| PERLA (Spanish): | No soy muy hábil | PEARL (English): | I'm not very skilful |
| Para ver que tuve el amor | To see that I had love | ||
| En mis respuestas buenas | In my best answers | ||
| Siempre encuentro un error | I always find a mistake | ||
| A quién ame primero | Who I loved first | ||
| No debí dejar perder | I shouldn't have let go | ||
| Hoy solo siento dicha | Today I only feel bliss | ||
| Cuando miro el ayer | When I look at yesterday | ||
| Si buscas otro amor | If you're looking for another love | ||
| Mejor que sea yo | It better be me | ||
| La luz astral nos dio | The Starlight gave us | ||
| Amor, valor y un mañana | Love, courage and a tomorrow | ||
| A veces se confunde | Sometimes it gets confusing | ||
| Lo que siente el corazón | What the heart feels | ||
| Te dice es cariño | It says it's love | ||
| Cuando solo es pasión | When it's only passion | ||
| De pronto el fuego que sentiste | Suddenly the fire you felt | ||
| Vuelve a renacer | Is reborn again | ||
| Y ves que el amor perdido | And you see the love you lost | ||
| Vuelve a florecer | Is blooming again | ||
| Si buscas otro amor | If you're looking for another love | ||
| Mejor que sea yo | It better be me | ||
| La luz astral nos dio | The Starlight gave us | ||
| Amor, valor y un mañana | Love, courage and a tomorrow | ||
| FERRO: | Lo bueno que vivimos | RUSTY: | It was good when we were together |
| Puedo verlo con claridad | I can see it clearly | ||
| Que tontos fuimos | How stupid we were | ||
| Al no hacer el sueño realidad | Not to make the dream come true | ||
| Si buscas otro amor | If you're looking for another love | ||
| Mejor que sea yo | It better be me | ||
| La luz astral nos dio | The Starlight gave us | ||
| AMBOS: | Amor, valor y un mañana | BOTH: | Love, courage and a tomorrow |
| Si buscas otro amor | If you're looking for another love | ||
| Mejor que sea yo | It better be me | ||
| La luz astral nos dio | The Starlight gave us | ||
| Amor, valor y un mañana | Love, courage and a tomorrow | ||
| No soy muy hábil | I'm not very skilful | ||
| Para ver que tuve el amor | To see that I had love | ||
| En mis respuestas buenas | In my best answers | ||
| Siempre encuentro un error | I always find a mistake | ||
| A quién ame primero | Who I loved first | ||
| No debí dejar perder | I shouldn't have let go | ||
| Hoy solo siento dicha | Today I only feel bliss | ||
| Cuando miro el ayer | When I look at yesterday | ||
| FERRO: | Si buscas otro amor | RUSTY: | If you're looking for another love |
| Mejor que sea yo | It better be me | ||
| La luz astral nos dio | The Starlight gave us | ||
| PERLA: | Amor, valor y un mañana | PEARL: | Love, courage and a tomorrow |
| FERRO (PERLA): | Si buscas otro amor | RUSTY (PEARL): | If you're looking for another love |
| (Si buscas otro amor) | If you're looking for another love | ||
| AMBOS: | Mejor que sea yo | BOTH: | It better be me |
| La luz Astral nos dio | The Starlight gave us | ||
| Amor, valor y un mañana | Love, courage, and a tomorrow | ||
| Nos dio el mañana | It gave us tomorrow | ||
| Nos dio el mañana. | It gave us tomorrow |
German Lyrics[]
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.
| PEARL: | Für dauerhafte Liebe | For lasting love |
| Hatte ich noch nie Talent, | I never had talent, | |
| Ich such' noch immer nach der Antwort, | I'm still looking for the answer, | |
| Die mein Herz nur kennt. | That only my heart knows. | |
| Was tust du wenn die erste Liebe | What do you do when your first love | |
| Gleich die Größte ist? | Is the greatest? | |
| Die einzige die du | The only one that you | |
| Trotz allen and're nie vergisst? | Despite all others never forget? | |
| Fragst du mich noch einmal, | If you ask me again, | |
| Dann sag' ich wieder ja, | I will say yes again, | |
| So wie es früher war: | The way it used to be, | |
| Wir zwei, allein, im Licht der Sterne. | The two of us alone in the starlight. | |
| Zu schnell verliert man oft den Mut, | Too quick we often lose courage | |
| Sobald etwas misslingt | As soon as something fails | |
| Und gibt sich dann mit dem zufrieden | And then settle for whatever | |
| Was der Zufall bringt. | Comes by chance. | |
| Jetzt steh' ich hier und mir wird klar: | Now I'm standing here and I realise: | |
| Mein größtes Glück warst du | My greatest happiness was with you | |
| Und in meiner Erinnerung, | And in my memory | |
| Da lächelst du mir zu. | You smile at me. | |
| Fragst du mich noch einmal, | If you ask me again, | |
| Dann sag' ich wieder ja, | I will say yes again, | |
| So wie es früher war: | The way it used to be: | |
| Wir zwei, allein, im Licht der Sterne. | The two of us alone in the starlight. | |
| RUSTY: | Die Zeit die wir gemeinsam hatten, | The time we had together |
| War so wunderbar. | Was so wonderful, | |
| Wann gaben wir den Traum auf, | When did we give up the dream, | |
| Der so schien, als würd' er wahr? | That seemed to come true? | |
| Fragst du mich noch einmal, | If you ask me again, | |
| Dann sag' ich wieder ja, | I will say yes again, | |
| So wie es früher war: | The way it used to be: | |
| Wir zwei, allein, im Licht der Sterne. | The two of us alone in the starlight. | |
| BOTH: | Fragst du mich noch einmal, | If you ask me again, |
| Dann sag' ich wieder ja, | I will say yes again, | |
| So wie es früher war: | The way it used to be: | |
| Wir zwei, allein, im Licht der Sterne. | The two of us alone in the starlight. | |
| Für dauerhafte Liebe | For lasting love | |
| Hatte ich noch nie Talent, | I never had talent, | |
| Ich such' noch immer nach der Antwort, | I'm still looking for the answer, | |
| Die mein Herz nur kennt. | That only my heart knows. | |
| Was tust du wenn die erste Liebe | What do you do when your first love | |
| Gleich die Größte ist? | Is the greatest? | |
| Die einzige die du | The only one that you | |
| Trotz allen and're nie vergisst? | Despite all others never forget? | |
| RUSTY: | Fragst du mich noch einmal, | If you ask me again, |
| Dann sag' ich wieder ja, | I will say yes again, | |
| So wie es früher war: | The way it used to be: | |
| PEARL: | Wir zwei, allein, | The two of us alone |
| BOTH: | In der Sterne. | In the starlight. |
| Fragst du mich noch einmal, | If you ask me again, | |
| Dann sag' ich wieder ja, | I will say yes again, | |
| So wie es früher war: | The way it used to be: | |
| Wir zwei, allein, im Licht der Sterne. | The two of us alone in the starlight. | |
| Im Licht der Sterne! | In the starlight! |
