Clever Lyricists and Examples of Clever Lyric Writing (in terms of rhymes)- Page 4

[StageManager2]

Posted: 1/6/06 at 4:02pm

"Angel of Music" also has some clever rhyming, except it is is internal. It took me several listens to catch them.

PHANTOM
Insolent boy, this SLAVE of fashion
Basking in your glory
Ignorant fool, this BRAVE young suitor
Sharing in my triumph

CHRISTINE:
Angel or father, FRIEND or phantom
Who is it there staring?
Angel oh speak, what ENDless longings
Echo in this whisper?

Angel of Music, GUIDE and guardian
Grant to me your glory
Angel of music, HIDE no longer
Secret and strange angel

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 1/6/06 at 8:18pm

I actually think Lee Adams is a very good lyricist. I enjoy what he did with Annie and Bye Bye Birdie.
I like the lyric:
I'm richer than Midas
But nothing on earth could never divide us.

I find it clever. And the lyrics to Spanish Rose for Bye Bye Birdie are brilliant and what Chita does with the song goes very well with the lyrics.

[Josh Freilich]

Posted: 6/1/07 at 11:39am

How about this, in terms of rhyme AND wittiness:

The newt play the flute
The carp play the harp
The plaice play the bass
And they soundin' sharp
The bass play the brass
The chub play the tub
The fluke is the duke of soul (get it? Sole?)

The ray he can play
The ling's on the strings
The trout rockin' out
The blackfish he sings
The smelt and the sprat
They know where it's at
And oh, that blowfish BLOW!!!!!!!


I don't need to say where THAT comes from...

[ChicagoPLAYer]

Posted: 6/1/07 at 11:52am

Howard Ashman is one of the best lyricists. Here are some of my favorite rhymes:

The seaweed is always greener
In somebody else's lake
You dream about going up there
But that is a big mistake
Just look at the world around you
Right here on the ocean floor
Such wonderful things surround you
What more is you lookin' for?

Under the sea
Under the sea
Darling it's better
Down where it's wetter
Take it from me
Up on the shore they work all day
Out in the sun they slave away
While we devotin'
Full time to floatin'
Under the sea

Down here all the fish is happy
As off through the waves they roll
The fish on the land ain't happy
They sad 'cause they in their bowl
But fish in the bowl is lucky
They in for a worser fate
One day when the boss get hungry
Guess who's gon' be on the plate

Under the sea
Under the sea
Nobody beat us
Fry us and eat us
In fricassee
We what the land folks loves to cook
Under the sea we off the hook
We got no troubles
Life is the bubbles
Under the sea
Under the sea
Since life is sweet here
We got the beat here
Naturally
Even the sturgeon an' the ray
They get the urge 'n' start to play
We got the spirit
You got to hear it
Under the sea

The newt play the flute
The carp play the harp
The plaice play the bass
And they soundin' sharp
The bass play the brass
The chub play the tub
The fluke is the duke of soul
(Yeah)
The ray he can play
The lings on the strings
The trout rockin' out
The blackfish she sings
The smelt and the sprat
They know where it's at
An' oh that blowfish blow

Under the sea
Under the sea
When the sardine
Begin the beguine
It's music to me
What do they got? A lot of sand
We got a hot crustacean band
Each little clam here
know how to jam here
Under the sea
Each little slug here
Cuttin' a rug here
Under the sea
Each little snail here
Know how to wail here
That's why it's hotter
Under the water
Ya we in luck here
Down in the muck here
Under the sea

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 6/1/07 at 12:12pm

I don't have the booklet on us, but my favorite lyric of all time is from "Sunday in the Park..."

It goes:

"Isn't it [something] how artist can capture us
[something something something] raputrous"

Sorry, I know that's the worst, but I can't think of all the words off the top of my head right now.

[wonderfulwizard11]

Posted: 6/1/07 at 12:18pm

Rentboy, I think the lyrics goes:

"The child is so sweet, and the girls are so rapturous.
Isn't it lovely how artists can capture us"

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 6/1/07 at 1:14pm

Ha, you're so right. I totally messed that up, but thanks. I think that's a brillant lyric with a beautiful melody.

[vandyche]

Posted: 6/1/07 at 2:00pm

I'd be interested in hearing your feedback about some of my own songs and lyrics. I am currently looking for composers/collaborators and reside in the East Bay of Northern California.

http://www.myspace.com/librettistlyricistsongwriter

Thanks,
Drew
The melody & lyrics of Drew VanDyche

[morosco]

Posted: 6/1/07 at 2:37pm

I love Zippel's lyrics from City of Angels "It Needs Work"

And come to think of it
Your writing always mirrors our relationship
With dangers cropping up
And sweet young strangers popping up like weeds
So if you wish official pardoning
You better do a little gardening
Ya know ya needn't be so gen'rous with your seeds
Your fertile lies don't fertilize
It needs work

[mejusthavingfun]

Posted: 6/1/07 at 3:18pm

I love this version of "Let's Do It." Favorite parts: "Lithuanians and Letts do it" "soon as every katydid do it," "Sentimental centipedes do it "



Let's Do It
by Cole Porter



And that's why birds do it, bees do it
Even educated fleas do it
Let's do it, let's fall in love

In Spain, the best upper sets do it
Lithuanians and Letts do it
Let's do it, let's fall in love

The Dutch in old Amsterdam do it
Not to mention the Fins
Folks in Siam do it - think of Siamese twins

Some Argentines, without means, do it
People say in Boston even beans do it
Let's do it, let's fall in love

Romantic sponges, they say, do it
Oysters down in Oyster Bay do it
Let's do it, let's fall in love

Cold Cape Cod clams, 'gainst their wish, do it
Even lazy jellyfish, do it
Let's do it, let's fall in love

Electric eels I might add do it
Though it shocks 'em I know
Why ask if shad do it - Waiter bring me shad roe

In shallow shores English soles do it
Goldfish in the privacy of bowls do it
Let's do it, let's fall in love

The draggonflies in the reeds do it
Sentimental centipedes do it
let's do it it, let's fall in love

mos-qui-to's heaven forbids, do it
soon as every katydid do it
let's do it, lets' fall in love

The most refined lady bu-u-ugs do it
When a gentleman calls
Moths in your rugs do it
What's the use of moth balls

locusts in trees do it
bees do it
even over-educated fleas do it
let's do it, let's fall in love!

let's do it le-e-et's fall in love
let's do it, let's fall in love!


Updated On: 6/1/07 at 03:18 PM

[p.s.]

Posted: 6/1/07 at 4:21pm

[In terms of rhyme]

Les Miserables - Castle On A Cloud lyrics


There is a room that's full of toys,
There are a hundred boys and girls.
Nobody shouts or talks too loud,
Not in my castle on a cloud.


At what point in the lyric creation was it decided to use "boys and girls" rather than "girls and boys"?


p.s. Why?

[istillbelieve24601]

Posted: 6/1/07 at 5:27pm

The fact that anyone think Stephen Schwartz is a good lyricist is incredibly pathetic.

Everytime I hear "Popular," I think my IQ drops a few points.

[sing_dance_love]

Posted: 6/1/07 at 5:32pm

I always liked the rhyming in the song "What Could Be Better?" from Baby:

Your sense of key
and my great vibrato
Your melody
and my obligato
Thats what we've got, oh
what could be better than that!

I was always like "what is he going to rhyme with "obligato"?" And its sooo simple, but it works.

In fact, I think Richard Maltby Jr.'s lyrics for most of the score are pretty fantastic.

[mejusthavingfun]

Posted: 6/1/07 at 5:33pm

"Colors of the Wind," and "Someday" are surely exceptions.

[jv92]

Posted: 6/1/07 at 6:55pm

"I actually think Lee Adams is a very good lyricist. I enjoy what he did with Annie and Bye Bye Birdie."

Only one problem- Martin Charnin wrote lyrics for Annie, not Lee Adams. However, I don't think you'll find finer lyrics by Adams than in Golden Boy. Updated On: 6/1/07 at 06:55 PM

Posted: 6/1/07 at 7:24pm

Schwartz has had his moments IMHO--but I'm hard pressed to think of them Nah I think his Pippin lyrics fit the show perfectly--not too many pop references but those there are work with the mood, some poignant lines, etc. And I love most of Baker's Wife's original lyrics (Suskin, who despises Wife and Schwartz in general loves to mock one of his lyrics from Bread but I don't find it bad at all) -- I like less so the rewritten ones.

E

[A NeW Musical BRaIN]

Posted: 6/1/07 at 7:52pm

I don't know if this counts, because it's not from a Broadway show, but some of the lyrics from the myspace musical are clever.

In the song Box Office Gold

"And you might think I'm crazy
But believe me, I'm the next Scorsese."
and
"Soon you'll know what we know,
I'm the next big thing since Tarantino!"

and in the song Dear Tom

"Tom, Dear Tom,
There's more to you and i
'cause I feel a connection
and it's more than just wi-fi."

[partyflavor]

Posted: 6/1/07 at 8:32pm

In defense of Schwartz, he does do some good rhyming in Godspell:

All for the Best

When you feel bad, or under a curse,
your life is sad, your prospects are worse.
Your wife is sighing, crying, and your olive tree is dying,
temples are greying, teeth are decaying, creditors weighing your purse.
Your mood and your robe, are both a deep blue,
you bet that Job, had nothing on you.
Don't forget that when you get to Heaven you'll be blessed,
yes, it's all for the best.

Some men are born to live at ease, doing what they please, richer than the bees are in honey.
Never growing old, never feeling cold, pulling pots of gold from thin air.
The best in every town, best at shaking down, best at making mountains of money, they can't take it with them, but what do they care ......

and so on...

[Ronnik]

Posted: 6/2/07 at 12:27pm

No one has has mentioned one of my favorites, by Alan Jay Lerner:

"They obviously outshine us
At turning tears to mirth
have tricks a royal highness
is minus from birth" ( "What do the Simple Folk Do"; CAMELOT)

And, some of the most beautiful lyrics are not necessarily "clever", just great. My favorite is:

"So I hope that you will tell this tale tomorrow
It will help your heart remember and relive
It will help you feel the anger and the sorrow
And forgive" ( Lynn Ahrens, "Why We Tell The Story", ONCE ON THIS ISLAND"

And, my favorite Sondheim is:
"I chose and my world was shaken
so what?
The choice may have been mistaken
The choosing was not" ("Move On", SUNDAY IN THE PARK...)

Side note: who ever was quoting ALTAR BOYZ, it's "master my own FATE", not faith.
The Ahrens & Flaherty website

[comedyclaire]

Posted: 6/2/07 at 2:32pm

Talking of Howard Ashman, I've always loved:

"You'll wash my tender leaves
You'll smell my sweet perfume
You'll water me and care for me
You'll see me bud and bloom
I'm feeling strangely happy now
Contented and sureen (?)
Oh, don't you see?
Finally I'll be
Somewhere that's green..."

You don't know whether to burst into tears or laughter.