Can a Lyric Writer Take Action if their Lyrics are Changed without Permission?
Can a Lyric Writer Take Action if their Lyrics are Changed without Permission?
#1Can a Lyric Writer Take Action if their Lyrics are Changed without Permission?
Posted: 2/18/07 at 12:02pm
Because in that case, Sondheim should sue the pants and sparkles off of Shirley Bassey.
Go to the site that shall not be named, Type in Shirley Bassey I'm Still Here and prepare to hear the worst lyrics changes ever! There is no way Sondheim wrote those!
#2re: Can a Lyric Writer Take Action if their Lyrics are Changed without Permission?
Posted: 2/18/07 at 12:06pm
Shirley Bassey has enough clout to have asked him if she could change things. Sondheim didn't get rich by being stupid and if the Barbra Streisand album is any indication, he's kind enough to change the lyrics for a singer powerful enough to request such a thing.
Look at the way the words to the song were revised for Shirley MacLaine in Postcards from the Edge, and you'll see that, as long as he's given full credit, they're probably not breaking any copyright laws changing the lyrics.
#2re: Can a Lyric Writer Take Action if their Lyrics are Changed without Permission?
Posted: 2/18/07 at 12:09pmdouble Updated On: 2/18/07 at 12:09 PM
#3re: Can a Lyric Writer Take Action if their Lyrics are Changed without Permission?
Posted: 2/18/07 at 12:09pm
He may have given an okay but I know he didn't write the new lyrics. They are shoved into the music and don't fit into the structure/layout of the song.
"Drank lots of Vino"? I highly doubt Sondheim wrote that.
#4re: Can a Lyric Writer Take Action if their Lyrics are Changed without Permission?
Posted: 2/18/07 at 12:12pmThere's a lyric change in Company, but I believe it was with permission. However, I don't like it. And this post reminded me of it.
Kringas
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/27/05
#5re: Can a Lyric Writer Take Action if their Lyrics are Changed without Perm
Posted: 2/18/07 at 12:26pm
Well, if I just watched the correct clip, I'm going to have agree with BobbyBubby. They lyric changes at points don't make any sense, which would lead me to believe that Sondheim didn't pen them.
"Hey lady, aren't you what's her name?
Wow what a looker you were.
Or better yet, didn't you used to be what's her name?
Whatever happened to her?"
#6re: Can a Lyric Writer Take Action if their Lyrics are Changed without Perm
Posted: 2/18/07 at 12:30pm
Well, I think there is a case of composers giving permission to change lyrics and a case of a performer not knowing what they hell they are singing and making it up as they go along. I think Ms. Bassey had probably had some vino herself when she took on "I'm Still Here."
But Sondheim isn't territorial with his lyrics - he's allowed lots of changes for concerts etc. He doesn't care. He still gets paid.
Jon
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/20/04
#7re: Can a Lyric Writer Take Action if their Lyrics are Changed without Perm
Posted: 2/18/07 at 12:32pmI'm sure that was just a case of British audiences not knowing what the hell "whoosis" meant.
#8re: Can a Lyric Writer Take Action if their Lyrics are Changed without Perm
Posted: 2/18/07 at 12:36pmAnd some of the truncated rhymes were clearly done to accomidate trims in the structure of the song -- I don't really see what the big deal is -- I've seen Sondheim butchered far worse than this.
Kringas
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/27/05
#9re: Can a Lyric Writer Take Action if their Lyrics are Changed without Perm
Posted: 2/18/07 at 12:36pm
I wasn't talking about the whoosis. I was talking about how the lyric is garbled. The third line is essentially the same as the first, making the "whatever happened to her?" that follows make no sense.
Gothampc
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/20/03
#10re: Can a Lyric Writer Take Action if their Lyrics are Changed without Perm
Posted: 2/18/07 at 12:38pm
As Pierce has pointed out, Sondheim allows his lyrics and music to be changed according to how much clout the person has. Someone of Shirley Bassey's stature wouldn't change the lyric without permission, because it would diminish her professional reputation.
Sondheim doesn't always make the right lyric changes. For example, in the Roundabout Follies, in I'm Still Here the lyric "I've been through Brenda Fraser" was changed to "I've been through Shirley Temple." IMO, this was a poor lyric change because Brenda Fraser had a different connotation than Shirley Temple.
#11re: Can a Lyric Writer Take Action if their Lyrics are Changed without Perm
Posted: 2/18/07 at 12:48pmDid anyone catch when Cheno sang her own version of "What makes me love him" on Letterman about 2 weeks or so ago? It was sort of dumb and cute at the same time. (just like Cheno), but before she sang it, she said she hoped Sheldon Harnick would forgive her. I'm sure he wouldn't have a problem with it. After all, it generated ticket sales for the show.
husk_charmer
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/19/06
#12re: Can a Lyric Writer Take Action if their Lyrics are Changed without Perm
Posted: 2/18/07 at 12:49pm
Gotham-
That was actually changed for the London production and left in. He changed it because most British audiences (And most of today's) would have NO idea who Brenda Fraser was, but they do recognize Shirley Temple.
#13re: Can a Lyric Writer Take Action if their Lyrics are Changed without Perm
Posted: 2/18/07 at 1:02pmluvtheemcee, what is the changed Company lyric?
To Kill A Mockingbird
C is for Company
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/16/05
#14re: Can a Lyric Writer Take Action if their Lyrics are Changed without Perm
Posted: 2/18/07 at 1:16pmI know off the bat that the revival of Company has it as "it's much the plainest of crimes."
Kringas
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/27/05
#15re: Can a Lyric Writer Take Action if their Lyrics are Changed without Perm
Posted: 2/18/07 at 1:19pmI've also so noticed several London recordings (not strictly Sondheim) that change lyrics that use "Jesus" or "Jesus Christ" as a pejorative. The Rink is the only one that immediately comes to mind, but I know there are others. I always thought that was odd, because I thought of England as being more secular than the US.
Gothampc
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/20/03
#16re: Can a Lyric Writer Take Action if their Lyrics are Changed without Perm
Posted: 2/18/07 at 1:21pm
"He changed it because most British audiences (And most of today's) would have NO idea who Brenda Fraser was, but they do recognize Shirley Temple."
While I understand that, it changes the dynamic of the song. If we were to put it in modern terminology, it would be "I've got through Paris Hilton" would be changed to "I've got through Dakota Fanning".
The point in using Frazier was that she was living a lavish lifestyle on an inheritance while other people were "stuffing dailies in their shoes".
Gothampc
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/20/03
#17re: Can a Lyric Writer Take Action if their Lyrics are Changed without Perm
Posted: 2/18/07 at 1:24pm
"There's a lyric change in Company, but I believe it was with permission. However, I don't like it. And this post reminded me of it."
Was it changing "fag" to "drag" in You Could Drive a Person Crazy?
#18re: Can a Lyric Writer Take Action if their Lyrics are Changed without Perm
Posted: 2/18/07 at 1:24pmI did a show once and Sondheim gave full permission to have lyrics change for any reason. Sondheim is one of the greatest and caring guys in the world. He really does not care if you change his lyrics, he is very giving in letting full permission to do so, you just have to run it buy him first and from what I heard he has never turned anyone away. He loves to try new things, no matter if it is good or bad, new is new and he likes that. If this person did not get permission then that is a different story and Sondheim is at an age I think that he is not going to care about little things like this...it is not going to ruin him. He is a great guy!
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