Musical Allusion of the Day

Just going through the notes I made on The Simulacra, I found this musical allusion. Dick writes: "Rising from his chair, Tishman said, 'Now, before the business of the meeting, we'll have a few rewarding minutes of our own talent display for our enjoyment. First, the three Fetersmoeller girls from apartment number 205. They will do a soft-shoe dance to the tune of "I'll Build a Stairway to the Stars." [pg 14]

I'm guessing he means this:



The lyrics capture perfectly the claustrophobic dread the overcrowded and banal world instills in characters like Duncan who thinks to himself:

“I wanted to fail, he realized. Why? So I can get out of here, so I would have an excuse to give up all this, my apartment and my job, say fork it and go. Emigrate with nothing more than the shirt on my back, in a jalopy that falls to pieces the moment it comes to rest in the Martian wilderness." [21]

Ella Fitzgerald seems to be offering the same road to freedom:

Let's build a stairway to the stars
And climb that stairway to the stars
With Love beside us
To fill the night with a song
We'll hear the sound of violins
Out yonder where the blue begins
The moon will guide us
As we go drifting along.

Can't we sail away on a lazy daisy petal
Over the rim of the hills?
Can't we sail away on a little dream
Settle high on the crest of a thrill?

Let's build a stairway to the stars
A lovely lovely stairway to the stars
It would be heaven
To climb to heaven with you

Let's build a stairway to the stars
And climb that stairway to the stars
Yes we're climbing
Climbing to that stairway to the stars
Stars, stars, stars
The sound of violins
Way out yonder where the blue begins
The moon will guide us
As we go drift drift drifting along

Can't we sail away on a lazy daisy petal
Over the rim of the hills?
Can't we sail away on a little dream
Settle high on the crest of a thrill?

Keep building the stairway to the stars
A lovely stairway to the stars
It would be heaven
Heaven to climb with you.