Steven Sater's Lyrics- Page 2

[Raviolisun]

Posted: 6/8/07 at 11:09am

I love me some Spring Awakening, but I think the lyrics are a little bull****ty sometimes.

[Ariella]

Posted: 6/8/07 at 11:30am

I find some of the lyrics to be incredibly cliche at times. All of the pseudo-poetry and imagery can feel like overdose, and I felt like Sater was trying too hard to say something metaphorically profound. The lyrics aren't bad, per se, but a lot of them seem far from incendiary to me. Most of the music is gorgeous, though.

[SorryGrateful]

Posted: 6/8/07 at 11:33am

I just bought the cast recording yesterday and, honestly, I really enjoy it. I listened to it several times yesterday, once following along carefully with the book of lyrics. I do really enjoy the music and lyrics, but some of them are a bit questionable. I listened to "My Junk" twice and I don't think I can listen to it anymore. It sounds like a bad pop song by some random one-hit wonder.

However, I think the lyrics and music for "The Mirror-Blue Night" and "Blue Wind" are beautiful. I was truly impressed with both of those songs and I have a feeling I will be listening to those two especially many, maaannny times.

I feel the same way about "The Dark I Know Well," but my only problem is that I feel bad singing along and dancing to that song considering its subject matter. I just feel guilty for enjoying that song so much. But that's not the fault of the music, obviously, just a personal thing.

[auggie]

Posted: 6/8/07 at 1:35pm

I love the cast recording and it has been playing quite a bit in my ipod. I think most of the words work and are strong but I do have a problem with some lyrics. "Purple Summer" is the one that bother me the most:

the earth will wave with corn
the grey-fly choir will mourn
and mares will neigh
with stallions that they mate
foals they've borne

I close my eyes and think of a farm scene with horses getting it on.

[dramaqueen2]

Posted: 6/8/07 at 2:14pm

couldn't agree more with the original poster! love this kind of feedback..

i absolutely love the use of color and nature as a symbol here.. i would love to get the creative team's imput on how that works and how they came up with it is. it is perfect for the story.

if they don't win win score.. seriously.

[Laurhearts SA]

Posted: 6/8/07 at 3:10pm

Some of his lyrics don't make sense but I can look past that because most of them are beautiful.

[FranklinShepard-Inc.]

Posted: 6/8/07 at 3:15pm

Well, considering that a score with lyrics of the kind of Adam Guettel in "LITP" can win then of course also Sater's lyrics won't harm. But seriously they aren't as bad as many see them but they aren't really "good". not even above mediocrity. And in terms of music I personally find Grey Gardens and Curtains stronger than Spring Awakening but that's a matter of personal taste I guess.

[i-heart-bway]

Posted: 6/8/07 at 3:44pm

I am 16 years old, just about the same as many of the characters in Spring Awakening. I've read the play, and to be honest, the lyrics tell the story perfectly. I couldn't imagine them any other way...
So many of the lyrics allow teens to relate, I think that is why so many kids my age have been drawn to this show: They Can Relate.
And like the 8th grade teacher said a while back, when he listens to his students express their opinion, he really listens, with respect, and as a friend. Not as a teacher who will correct their grammar or immediately judge them.
The relatable-factor of this show makes it wonderful. Frank Wedekind's play is proven to outlast the test of time. Its central plots still occur in every day life - that is what makes it such a wonderful musical.
Broadway needed something that will last that will draw in younger viewers, and Spring Awakening did just that.
I applaud Steven Sater for his lyrics, and Duncan Sheik for his score, both are amazingly gorgeous, and they tell the true story of the Awakening of Spring.

[Laurhearts SA]

Posted: 6/9/07 at 8:54pm

I-heart-bway, I couldn't agree more. Well said.

[vfd88]

Posted: 6/9/07 at 9:37pm

I absolutely LOVE the score and show. I can easily get over the near-rhymes, I have no problem with those. But a lot of the lyrics don't make sense to me. Also, I know it's been done before, but can someone explain the purpose/point of "Purple Summer" to me? (Or give me a link to one) Thanks.

[jg4892]

Posted: 6/9/07 at 10:00pm

Purple summer is a flower, and the whole song is like a wrap up. The story has ended at that point, and the lyrics are basically about rebirth.

[MerMaggieGalinda]

Posted: 6/9/07 at 10:07pm

I'm surprised no one's mentioned the lyrics to Whispering. The music with the words, combined with Lea's amazing voice, just blend together perfectly.

[Elphie3]

Posted: 6/9/07 at 10:12pm

I'm not a huge fan of some of the lyrics either. I keep picturing them with a different score. Uh!

[vfd88]

Posted: 6/9/07 at 10:14pm

Thanks jg!

[jg4892]

Posted: 6/9/07 at 10:21pm

Sure! People have actually posted MUCH better explanations. If you typed in purple summer I'm sure you'd find something.

Posted: 6/9/07 at 11:02pm

"I'm actually listening to the score right now, and they are a little on the weak side. He uses a lot of near-rhyming, which I hate; if you can't think of two words that rhyme, just don't rhyme. "

This criticism always irks me. It's a pop/rock score (the songs are even pulled out of the action to emphasise this) and the near rhyme has been a pop/rock cliche/staple since the Beatles at least. Even Stephen Sondheim in his great lecture on lyric writing has said that they work ideally for pop/rock and are "allowed"

E

[i-heart-bway]

Posted: 6/10/07 at 1:17am

I just get annoyed when people feel the need to complain about the little things that don't even matter.
I think what makes a really good show is how it gets across to the people watching. If you can walk away after seeing a show, and it leaves an impact on you like Spring Awakening does, it has accomplished the ultimate goal.
It should be the actual content of the show that you either like or dislike..not the little "rhyming problem" that most people seem to find terribly annoying and bad for the score that the words were put to.

[MasterLcZ]

Posted: 6/10/07 at 7:45am

Shiek's music is on a much higher level than Sater's lyrics, which often sound like those pseudo-'profound' lyrics that kids would scribble on notebooks in junior high - which admittedly does fit the plot. Love the upbeat numbers and "The Dark I Know Well" is brilliant, but "The Song of Purple Summer' seems like the songwriters said "We need a nice wrap-it-up pretty-imagery number like 'Seasons of Love'"

But after seeing PASSING STRANGE (which has a rock-jazz score by Stew) which has uncommonly well crafted and poetic lyrics, I'm less inclined to give Sater a pass.

[istillbelieve24601]

Posted: 6/10/07 at 9:25am

I'm a teenager as well, and, for the most part, I love the lyrics of Spring Awakening because they are so true. While there are a few songs I hate the lyrics to, there are so many songs that put words to what teenagers feel. The song I've felt the most connection to the lyrics is "All that's Known." The day after I got the cast recording, I ended up printing up the lyrics then "accidentally" slipping the print-out inside an assignment I was handing in to my language-arts teacher. SA is probably the only show that I can do that with. Even though it takes place a hundred years ago, the lyrics are relevant.

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 6/10/07 at 5:24pm

I'm listening to the OBC right now, and I'm cringing at some of them. Of course, I'm not that sold on the music either. Some of the songs are beautiful, but some of them sound like bad rock songs I'd hear on the radio before turning the station...

Anyway, the lyrics sound very pseudo-deep, (as someone above put it) like teenagers trying to write poetry. Of course, it fits, but that doesn't mean that I can't find it painful to hear.

[i-heart-bway]

Posted: 8/11/07 at 5:13pm

I agree with the comment about Whispering.
However....
I think that "The Dark I Know Well" is one of the best songs in the whole show. It's very very deep...but I enjoy listening to it.
Not to mention, Lili and Lauren have gorgeous voices.

[B3TA07]

Posted: 8/11/07 at 5:22pm

Those who slant rhyme can't rhyme.

[GlindatheGood22]

Posted: 8/11/07 at 5:57pm

I love Spring Awakening, but, "Uh huh, uh huh, well fine. Not like it's even worth the time." I mean come on.

[i-heart-bway]

Posted: 8/11/07 at 6:02pm

I think that that particular line fits perfectly with the whole show....they're just a bunch of teens....this is Spring Awakening. NOT Phantom or Les Mis.

[wonderfulwizard11]

Posted: 8/11/07 at 6:25pm

I don't mind when thwe lyrics echo what a teen might be saying, but in a lot of cases, they just don't make sense.

And, I'm about the same age as the characters in Spring Awakening, and no one I know talks like that. Maybe that's just the people I know, though...