Best & Worst Lyrics in a Score

Best: Stephen Sondheim's in Sunday in the Park With George. The reason I love the show, lyrics are very relatable even out of context. I love "Why do you insist You must hear the words, When you know I cannot give you words?"

Worst: Leslie Bricusse's in Jekyll and Hyde. "Good n Evil" has the worst lyrics I've heard in my life, and though I enjoy catchiness of the song, the song really has little relevance in the show. I suppose it kind of parallels Dr. Jekyll's theory, but no it really just doesn't work or make since that a stripper would be speculating this.

Best: Sweeney Todd

Worst: probably Little Women

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Mattbrain;

Remember this one:

"Live for the one I love.
Love as noone has loved.
Give, asking nothing in return.

Free,
free to find my way,
free to have my say,
free to seize the day."

I kinda see what she is saying, but she's (Esmeralda) not that good with words, now is she?

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In POTO's "Think of Me," try to compare these lyrics:

"When you find that once again you long
To take your heart back and be free"

with these:

"On that day, that not-so-distant day
When you are far away and free"

I like the above ones better, because the one below is just too REPETITIVE.

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Best? I'd have to say "Sweeney Todd." I write a lot of parodies of musicals for a Harry Potter website, and of all of the ones I've done, "Sweeney Todd" was BY far the most difficult-- so many internal rhymes.

Worst? I think a lot of the lyrics for "Woman In White" are terrible. "You Can Get Away With Anything" has great lyrics, but so many of the other songs have surprisingly bad lyrics, especially "I Hope You Like It Here." And though "Evermore Without You" is a beautiful song, it's the same few lines over and over again.

Also, I can't stand a lot of the lyrics from South Pacific, though I guess I can understand, seeing as half the characters don't speak good English.

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Considering the music is so good (and the book is better than the music), the lyrics to Man of La Mancha are severely wanting.

Camp in places without any intention of being camp.

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"Also, I can't stand a lot of the lyrics from South Pacific,"

I'd have to disagree..

My absolute favorite lyrics are from Sunday in the Park. You just can't beat it.

"I chose and my world was shaken, so what? The choice may have been mistaken, the choosing was not."

"Look I made a hat. Where there never was a hat." That one is so simple and yet so complex. Just amazing.

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Concerning INTO THE WOODS:

I always thought Sondheim's lyrics for that show were among his worst. The penchant he has for cleverness is overindulged, resulting in lyrics that are so dense with rhyme and inner rhyme and wordplay that I can't concentrate on what's being said.

Also, most of them are constricted by the farcical book, and so don't carry much emotion - when Sondheim is allowed to let go, the work is brilliant, of course ('No One Is Alone', 'No More', 'Children Will Listen', etc. - although even most of these are badly didactic)

That's my opinion, anyway.

Granted, Sondheim's best lyrics are among the best in a musical: SWEENEY TODD. They carry the story, they flow beautifully, and they're fat with heartwretch - so much so that you actually get something new every time you listen.

(ex. On my last listen, I was struck by this: by the time Mrs. Lovett finally comes right out and says to Todd "I love you!", she's practically screaming it, trying to justify why she never told him his wife, and the whole reason for his being, was still alive. TAKE THAT, MUSICAL CONVENTIONS!

And of course, 'City on Fire' is one of the most brilliant lyric pieces ever.)

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Updated On: 9/17/08 at 12:00 AM

I agree that Sondheim is definitely the King of Lyrics. 'Into the Woods' is just brilliant, in my opinion. Second place would go to Sweeney.

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Glad to see I'm not alone with INTO THE WOODS

And I need to add that A LITTLE PRIEST is beyond brilliant and makes me happy everytime I listen to it

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"For it's credit, it is in French... the translation makes it a lot less... poetic. It's really rather beautiful in it's original format."

I'm not gonna argue with ya! I'll admit, I have the French cast recordings of Notre Dame de Paris and Romeo and Juliet. But the English lyrics are an absolute pile of crap!

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haha nice dented.