There's so much to enjoy in this score it's hard to know where to begin. So let's start there. The opening song, "Fuge for Tin Horns", sees three "Noo Yowk" no-goods swopping racing tips:
I got the horse right here
The name is Paul Revere
And here's a guy that
says if the weather's clear
Can do, can do, this guy says the horse can do
If he says the horse can do, can do, can do.
The lyrics are a mixture of arty slang ("Now this is no bum steer") and betting talk ("The guy has got him figured at five to nine"). But what's really interesting is the music. It's a fugue which basically means that one person sings the tune and before they're done, another person enters with the same tune, then another and so on. Think of "London's Buring" or "Frere Jacques". The repetition or more precisely, the "imitative counterpoint", gives the music a very formal feel.
So why start Guys and Dolls like this? Well, for one thing, it's funny. And one thing Loesser could do better than anyone was funny. Hoodlums discussing the gee-gees to a classical, almost courtly, style of music is a funny idea. But more importantly it makes the whole story possible.
What is Guys and Dolls about? It's about gambling. The central plot is centred around a bet. Nathan bets big shot guy, Sky, that he can't score a date with a certain Salvation Army doll, Sarah. The whole plot relies on the idea that Sky is obligated to see through the bet. In other words we, the audience, can't be wondering why Sky doesn't just give up at the first hurdle and tell Nathan to forget the whole thing.
The reason is that gambling has rules: bets cannot be reneged, debts must be paid and a man's marker is as binding as a high court judge's ruling (in a less legal sort of a way). This is the world that the opening song sets up. Loesser could have written any number of songs about different aspects of gambling. In fact he does exactly that in the rest of the score. In "The Oldest Established" it's the illegality of gambling and the problem of finding a suitably inconspicuous venue. In "Luck be a Lady" it's the high-charged risk and the pressure of losing it all. In "Sit Down, you're Rocking the Boat" it's the sin of gambling and the comical conversion of Nicely Nicely.
But none of these songs would have set up the plot as nicely nicely as the actual opening number does. By writing a fugue Loesser's telling us that this gambling world has strict and formal rules which gamblers must obey. A kind of gamblers' code, if you like. And no rules, then no code. No code, no plot. No plot, no show. That's the brilliance of "Fugue for Tin Horns". It's not only funny but, in a few short bars, it makes possible the rest of the story.
Is Guys and Dolls the greatest? You can bet on it.
