“Philadelphia, Here I Come,” the play’s titular song, represents Gar’s hope that a fresh start will help him escape his sorrows. At the beginning of the play, he sings this song simply because he’s excited to be leaving for the United States the following day. Before long, though, he starts to use it as a way of distracting himself from troubling thoughts, bursting into song as soon as Private Gar brings up his stilted relationship S.B., his failed romance with Kate, or his mother’s death. What he fails to realize, though, is that even this song hints at the fact that he won’t be able to outrun his emotional demons, since its lyrics read: “Philadelphia, here I come, right back where I started from.” The second half of this line suggests that, although Gar is headed to a new and foreign city, he will end up “right back where [he] started.” Since he has never been to Philadelphia, this must mean that he’s destined to return not to a physical place, but to a certain state of mind. As it becomes clear that Gar is only moving to America to get away from his emotional problems, then, the song “Philadelphia, Here I Come” becomes a manifestation of the unfortunate fact that he’ll never be happy until he learns to actually confront his sorrows, rather than trying to ignore or escape from them.
“Philadelphia, Here I Come” Quotes in Philadelphia, Here I Come!
Private: (wearily) Mrs Doctor Francis King. September 8th. In harvest sunshine. […] By God, Gar, aul sod, it was a sore hoke on the aul prestige, eh? Between ourselves, aul son, in the privacy of the bedroom, between you and me and the wall, as the fella says, has it left a deep scar on the aul skitter of a soul, eh? What I mean to say like, you took it sort of bad, between you and me and the wall, as the fella says—
Public: (sings)
‘Philadelphia, here I come, right back—’
Private: But then there’s more fish in the sea, as the fella says […].
“Philadelphia, Here I Come” Symbol Timeline in Philadelphia, Here I Come!
