Meadowlark is a song from the musical The Baker's Wife

The Baker's Wife

The Baker's Wife is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and the book by Joseph Stein, based on the French film La Femme du Boulanger by Marcel Pagnol and Jean Giono...

, with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz

Stephen Schwartz (composer)

Stephen Lawrence Schwartz is an American musical theatre lyricist and composer. In a career spanning over four decades, Schwartz has written such hit musicals as Godspell , Pippin and Wicked...

. It has been performed by several famous Broadway singers such as Patti LuPone

Patti LuPone

Patti Ann LuPone is an American singer and actress, known for her Tony Award-winning performances as Eva Perón in the 1979 stage musical Evita and as Madame Rose in the 2008 Broadway revival of Gypsy, and for her Olivier Award-winning performance as Fantine in the original London cast of Les...

, Betty Buckley

Betty Buckley

Betty Lynn Buckley is an American theater, film and television actress and singer. She is a Tony Award winner and Grammy Award nominee.-Early life:...

, Liz Callaway

Liz Callaway

Liz Callaway is an American actress and singer, famous for providing the singing voices of many female characters in films, such as Anya in Anastasia, Odette in The Swan Princess, and Kiara in The Lion King II:Simba's Pride....

, Alice Ripley, and Sarah Brightman

Sarah Brightman

Sarah Brightman is an English classical crossover soprano, actress, songwriter and dancer. She is famous for possessing a vocal range of over 3 octaves and singing in the whistle register...

.

In the musical, it is sung by the character Geneviève, trying to decide whether she should stay with her husband or run off with a younger man. She likens her situation to a story about a meadowlark

Meadowlark

Meadowlarks are birds belonging to the genus Sturnella in the New World family Icteridae.This genus includes seven species of largely insectivorous grassland birds...

 who lived with a king who adored her. One day, the sun god

Solar deity

A solar deity is a sky deity who represents the Sun, or an aspect of it, usually by its perceived power and strength. Solar deities and sun worship can be found throughout most of recorded history in various forms...

approached the meadowlark and urged her to come with him. The meadowlark refused and perished. At the end of the song, Geneviève decides to leave with the younger man.