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"You Can't Win" is an R&B, pop and soul song performed by American recording artist Michael Jackson, who played Scarecrow in the 1978 musical film ''The Wiz'',〔Jones (2002), pp. 229–259〕 an urbanized retelling of L. Frank Baum's ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz''.〔Brooks, p. 30〕 The movie featured an entirely African American cast and was based on the 1975 Broadway musical ''The Wiz''. After the original soundtrack version was recorded, Michael Jackson and Quincy Jones went back into the studio and re-recorded the track. It was the re-recording that was released in January 1979 as the second single from ''The Wiz: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack'', following the release of "Ease On Down the Road" in 1978, and was Michael's first solo chart single on Epic Records. The 7" version included "You Can't Win, parts 1 & 2". The full length version was released on 12" and was included on ''The Ultimate Collection'' in 2004. The single only charted in the United States, where it reached number 81 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number 42 on the R&B singles chart. Since its release, the song has been well received by music critics. The song has been performed by contemporary singers such as Jill Scott and Charles Grigsby. In 1982, part 2 of the song, in which Michael Jackson repeatedly sings "Can't get outta the game", was dusted off, given a couple of vocal overdubs, was renamed "Can't Get Outta the Rain" and became the B-side of the first single of his landmark album ''Thriller'': "The Girl Is Mine". ==Composition== "You Can't Win" was originally written and performed in the Broadway musical version of ''The Wiz'', sung by the chorus of Winkies, the Wicked Witch's slaves. The number was cut from the musical before the official Broadway opening and wasn't performed again until the movie version was under consideration, 3 years later. The producers resurrected the song as a solo for Michael Jackson to replace "I Was Born on the Day Before Yesterday", which had been Scarecrow's solo in the Broadway musical. "You Can't Win" and its corresponding scene in the movie allude to mistreatment of African Americans. Jackson stated in his 1988 autobiography ''Moonwalk'' that the lyrics to "You Can't Win" are about humiliation and helplessness, feelings, he stated, that many people have experienced at one point in their life. The singer added that the song was also about "the feeling that there are people out there who don't actively hold you back as much as they work quietly on your insecurities so that you hold ''yourself'' back".〔Jackson, p. 140〕 "You Can't Win" opens with the lines, "You can't win, you can't break even, and you can't get out of the game. People keep sayin', things are gonna change, but they look just like they're staying the same." William F. Brown, who wrote the book for the Broadway musical, stated that such verses made "You Can't Win" a "black message song". Musically, the track has been described as an R&B, pop and soul song by Renée Graham of ''The Boston Globe''. According to the sheet music published on Musicnotes.com by Alfred Music Publishing, the track was performed in common time, with a tempo of 80 beats per minute. It adds that the song is composed in E with a range from . ==In ''The Wiz''== The scene that corresponds with "You Can't Win" in ''The Wiz'' begins with Dorothy Gale (played by Diana Ross), stumbling upon a scarecrow being heckled by crows while stuck in the air on a pole. Dorothy remains hidden while the crows mock Scarecrow for asking to be let down. They state that he will remain on the pole because that is his role and there is nothing to get down for. The crows tell Scarecrow that even if he was let down, he would not be able to walk as he is a "straw paper dummy". Scarecrow tries to reason with the birds by reading relevant quotations from figures such as Francis Bacon and Cicero as a rationale to be freed. The crows do not relent, however, and make him recite their "Crow Commandments": "Thou shall honor all crows", "Thou shall stop reading all bits of paper and literature" and "Thou shall never, never get down off of this here pole". In addition, the birds tell Scarecrow to sing the crow anthem, "You Can't Win". After the song concludes, Dorothy comes out of hiding and releases Scarecrow from the pole. Together, they then dance their way down the yellow brick road in search of The Wiz, singing "Ease on Down the Road" as they go.〔''The Wiz''. Motown Productions and Universal Pictures. (1978)〕〔Campbell, p. 40〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「You Can't Win (song)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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