Best Rhyme Ever- Page 2

[BwayLeadman]

Posted: 7/4/05 at 4:20am

Greens, greens and nothing but greens:
Parsley, peppers, cabbages and celery,
Asparagus and watercress and
Fiddleferns and lettuce-!

He said, "All right,"
But it wasn't, quite,
'Cause I caught him in the autumn
In my garden one night!
He was robbing me,
Raping me,
Rooting through my rutabaga,
Raiding my arugula and
Ripping up my rampion
(My champion! My favorite!)-
I should have laid a spell on him
Right there,
Could have changed him into stone
Or a dog or a chair...

But I let him have the rampion-
I'd lots to spare.
In return, however,
I said, "Fair is fair:
You can let me have the baby
That your wife will bear.

And we'll call it square."

INTO THE WOODS

[One Song Glory]

Posted: 7/4/05 at 7:33am

I like

'Time flies, time dies.' from OSG.

Just about all of La Vie Boheme.

'If you're cold and you're lonely. You've got one nickel only. When you're worn out and tired. When you're heart has expired!' from I'll Cover You (Reprise).

Updated On: 7/4/05 at 07:33 AM

[Eastwickian]

Posted: 7/4/05 at 8:47am

Another Sondheim, from Follies this time:

"In the depths of her interior
Were fears she was inferior
And something even eerier
No-one dared to query her superior exterior"

[Elizabeth_DeBris]

Posted: 7/4/05 at 8:49am

"It's hot and it's
Monotonous"
(It's Hot up Here- Sunday in the Park With George)

"I chose and my world was shaken-
So what?
The choice may have been mistaken;
The chosing was not.
You have to move on."
(Move On- Sunday in the Park With George)

"Should there be a marital squabble
Available Bob'll be there with the clue."
(What Would We Do Without You?- Company)

"High in a tower
She sits by the hour
Maintaining her hair.
Blithe and becoming,
And frequently humming
A lighthearted air."
(Agony- Into the Woods)

"She wasn't no match for such craft, you see,
And everyone thought it so droll.
They figured she had to be daft, you see,
So all of 'em stood there and laughed, you see,
Poor soul."
(Poor Thing- Sweeney Todd

[Jera]

Posted: 7/4/05 at 8:58am

By no means the best rhyme, but it's one of my favourite.

"Will I lose me dignity?
Will someone care?
Will I wake tomorrow, from
This nightmare?"

Here are some of my faves from little shop:

"I've tried you at levels of moisture
From desert to mud.
I've given you grow-lights
And mineral supplements.
What do you want from me- Blood?"


"I know Seymour's the greatest,
But I'm dating a semi-sadist. "

hehe, jera

Updated On: 7/4/05 at 08:58 AM

[Albin]

Posted: 7/4/05 at 11:33am

If driving fast cars you like,
If low bars you like,
If old hymns you like,
If bare limbs you like,
If Mae West you like
Or me undressed you like,
Why, nobody will oppose!
When every night,
The set that's smart
Is intruding in nudist parties in studios,
Anything Goes.

[Liz_Bennet]

Posted: 7/4/05 at 12:37pm

Several of these are half rhymes (castle/asshole), which I consider sort of cheating.

Almost anything by Cole Porter qualifies.
Birds do it, bees do it
Even educated fleas do it
Let's do it, let's fall in love.
...
It's the wrong time and the wrong place
Though your face is charming it's the wrong face...

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 7/4/05 at 2:38pm

"Off with her head. Off with her head.
Get a hatchet. And just detach it.
We're much better off with her dead."

[Mythus]

Posted: 7/4/05 at 3:57pm

Pretty much all of How I Saved Roosevelt from Assassins.

[jasonf]

Posted: 7/4/05 at 5:15pm

City of Angels:

"You had to ruin it
This plot has got a lot of deja vu in it
Familiarity
And in this case we both know what that breeds
So if you wish official pardoning
You better do a little gardening
You know you needn't be so generous with your seeds
Your fertile lies don't fertilize
It needs work."

[grizzabella]

Posted: 7/4/05 at 9:27pm

"Isn't it rich? Isn't it queer?
I thought that you'd want what I want.
Sorry, my dear."
Send In The Clowns - A Little Night Music
Thinking about it, pretty much the rest of the song, too!
Thanks for this thread, Thenardier. Interesting speculations.

[wonderland]

Posted: 7/4/05 at 9:41pm

Porter, Sondheim, and Zippel consistently write the best lyrics, IMO, at least as far as rhyming goes. Even a song that seems as straight ahead as "The Ladies who Lunch" has a rhyme scheme that blows me away. However, my all-time favorite is "Now" from ALNM... especially:

"In spite of her penchant for something romantic
De Sade is too trenchant and Dickens too frantic
And Stengal would ruin the plan of attack
As there isn't much blue in 'The Red and the Black'
De Maupassant's cander would cause her dismay
The Bronte's are grander but not very gay
Her taste is much blander I'm sorry to say
But is Hans Christian Anderson ever risque?
Which eliminates 'A'"

Freaking Sondheim.

[Bradley]

Posted: 7/4/05 at 9:48pm

From "One touch of Venus"...

I once knew this woman from Flatbush
Who thought Kittens came from a cat bush"
(or something like that)


from Lyle Lovett...

Honey, put down that flyswatter
and pour me some ice water

[VonTussleGirl]

Posted: 7/4/05 at 10:24pm

I've found a few good rhymes in 'Assasins'.

"The Lord's my employer
And now he's my lawyer
So do what you dare."

And as mentioned, How I Saved Roosevelt is great.

[jam_man]

Posted: 7/4/05 at 10:24pm

Okay, this is more under the catagory of "best lyrics" rather than "best rhyme," but:

"I'm his December bride,
He's father - he knows best.
The kids watch Howdy-Doody
As the sun sets in the west."

from "Somewhere That's Green" from Little Shop.


At least it's one of my favorites.

Updated On: 7/4/05 at 10:24 PM

[elphatine]

Posted: 7/4/05 at 10:26pm

I personally think rhyming "Oklahoma" and "melanoma" is quite clever. Also, the "tinpanthesisis" part of "It's DeLovely." Not that that's nessecarily a rhyme, but "tinpanthesisis" is just ingeneous.

[Guillermo Ugarte]

Posted: 7/5/05 at 9:30am

Sondheim's internal rhyming is truly master work. If you haven't studied it, listen to his scores and take note. Classic poetic rhyming at the end of lines is easy for most composers. Internal rhyming where the rhymes are placed 'off verse' within the line is not done well by most who attempt it.

Sondheim is a genius at this. I won't give you examples because I think the discovery of these is the most interesting part of the journey. Have fun.

[nmartin]

Posted: 7/5/05 at 9:41am

All of 'To Keep My Love Alive' from the revival of Connecticut Yankee. Lorenz Hart, lyrics.

he "played the harp...I cussed the thing...I crowned with his harp to bust the thing...now he plays where harps are just the thing...to keep my love alive."

[Jimmyojimmy]

Posted: 7/5/05 at 10:06am

"I had a brother"
"No".....
I thought I had been more than reasonable, and that we all might
live happily ever after. But how was I to know what your father had
also hid in his pocket?! You see, when I had inherited that garden,
my mother had warned me that I would be punished if I ever were to lose
any of the

Beans.
Baker, Wife: Beans?
Witch: The SPECIAL beans.
I let him go,
I didn't know
He'd stolen my beans!
I was watching him crawl
Back over the wall--!
And then bang! Crash!
And the lightning flash!
And--well, that's another story,
Never mind--
Anyway, at last
The big day came
And I made my claim.
"Oh, don't take away the baby,"
They shrieked and screeched,
But I did,
And I hid her
Where she'll never be reached.
And your father cried,
And your mother died
When for extra measure--
I admit it was a pleasure--
I said, "Sorry,
I'm still not mollified."
And I laid a little spell on them.
You too, son.
That your family tree would always be a barren one...
(laughs)
So there's no more fuss
And there's no more scenes
And my garden thrives--
You should see my nectarines!
But I'm telling you the same
I tell Kings and Queens:
Don't ever never ever
Mess around with my greens!
Especially the beans.

INTO THE WOODS

[Josh Freilich]

Posted: 4/25/08 at 10:40am

This one's a mixed one, it comes from "Weird Romance" by Alan Menken with the lyrics by David Spencer. It's in the song "Pop! Flash!" when the normal person-turned-star "Delphi" (pronounced Del-fee) is first brought into the public eye. It gets bad in a while, but the first part is the best.

"Most scholars may yell, 'Fie'
and argue the name is 'Del-fye'
Myself, I don't think you'll agree
When pictures of Delphi
Go up on your shelf-ee (that's where it got bad)
You will pronounce Del-fye forever 'Del-fee'!"

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 4/25/08 at 11:41am

"All the guests of Mr. Hackl are feelin' great and look spectac-a-lar"

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 4/25/08 at 11:45am

From City of Angels:

No, I've never seen her.
I've seen girls like this,
So young and ripe.
Your missing miss
Is not the type
To miss a misdemeanor.

Absolute genius.

[roseaddams]

Posted: 4/25/08 at 12:01pm

Even though it's not a real rhyme, it's proof that Howard Ashman was a genius:

"I thrill when I drill a biscuspid
It's swell, though they tell me I'm maladjusted!"

Also;

"Phone rings
Door chimes
In comes
Company

No strings
Good times
Room hums
Company"

[MisterRussell]

Posted: 4/25/08 at 12:20pm

"As she sits at the Ritz
With her splits of Mumms,
She starts to pine for a stein
With her Village chums.
With a Schlitz in her mitts
Down at Fitzroy's bar,
She dreams of the Ritz, oh,
It's so
Schizo."

-"Uptown, Downtown," Sondheim (cut from Follies)

[KirbyCat]

Posted: 4/25/08 at 12:28pm

If nobody's said it... All of Seussical... I know its not the best show, but you gotta admit- its Dr. Seuss!