Favorite Sondheim Lyrics- Page 2

[bryan2]

Posted: 7/27/10 at 1:15pm

Look at what you want,
Not at where you are,
Not at what you'll be.


MOVE ON

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 7/27/10 at 1:19pm

I'll go with:

"Shut up I'm Rich - not some platinum blond bitch - I own so many apartments I've forgotten which is which"

Or maybe just: "a person should celebrate what passes by."

[Buddy's blues]

Posted: 7/27/10 at 4:11pm

I posted some lyrics from A Weekend In The Country on another thread along with the lyrics from A Little Priest so just to change my mind ...

"She's tall enough to be your mother."

Company

[Weez]

Posted: 7/27/10 at 4:14pm

Wait, I'm first with "look I made a hat where there never was a hat"? Sweet!

Also: "White. A blank page or canvas. His favourite. So many possibilities."

[castlestreet]

Posted: 7/27/10 at 4:31pm

From Move On:

"Stop worrying if your vision is new,
Let others make that decision,
they usually do,
Just Keep Moving On"

[gcal]

Posted: 7/27/10 at 8:43pm

"Ta ta, goodbye, you'll find us at Tony's"- Waiting for the Girls Upstairs

[perfectlymarvelous]

Posted: 7/27/10 at 9:47pm

The cleverness of "A Little Priest" gets me every time. Also some of my favorites are from "Later": "How can I wait around for later? I'll be 90 on my deathbed, and the late - or rather later - Henrik Egerman."

I also love "I mean he kneads me...I mean like dough, George!" from Sunday.

In terms of sheer beauty, I think the lyric for "Finishing the Hat" is one of the most beautiful things I've ever heard, particularly the "And when the woman that you wanted goes, you can say to yourself 'well, I give what I give,' but the woman who won't wait for you knows that however you live there's a part of you always standing by, mapping out a sky" bit...so stunning.

He's such a brilliant lyricist it's hard to choose a favorite, but I love many of the lyrics that others have already listed.

[givesmevoice]

Posted: 7/27/10 at 9:54pm

All of Someone in a Tree, and I definitely agree with Please, Hello.

And, of course, the lyrics that gave me my username:
"Loving you is not a choice,
It's who I am.
Loving you is not a choice
And not much reason to rejoice,
But it gives me purpose
Gives me voice to say to the world:
This is why I live
You are why I live."

[nicholscreek]

Posted: 7/27/10 at 10:19pm

I agree with previously posted: "You may know what you need, but to get what you want, better see that you keep what you have"

Also one of my favorites: "What's my secret? Frankly dear,forgive my candor family secret,all to do with herbs. Things like being careful with your coriander, thats what makes the gravy grander!"

[Scott Briefer]

Posted: 7/27/10 at 10:33pm

Men are stupid, men are vain.
Love's disgusting, love's insane.

[perfectlymarvelous]

Posted: 7/27/10 at 10:41pm

givesmevoice, those are some of my favorites too...so simple and so, so effective. :)

[Okayfine]

Posted: 7/27/10 at 10:46pm

Pretty much the entirety of "Cinderella's Lament". Just a perfectly crafted song. And it reminds me of my ex, "Knowing this time I'd run from him/He spread pitch on the stairs"!

[TonyVincent]

Posted: 7/27/10 at 10:53pm

There are Louises,
And there are Georges.
Well, Louises and George.

And I hate how I am so uncomfortable writing that line because there is no good way to pluralize Louis.

And for humor,
"She's tall enough to be your mother!"

[jasonf]

Posted: 7/28/10 at 12:19am

Okayfine - that song is called "On the Steps of a Palace." I also think some of the lines on this thread are attributed to the book writers, not Sondheim himself...

So many great choices, many listed here. My favorite image, though, is:

"I remember trees,
Bare as coat racks, spread like broken umbrellas"

As a writer, I think my favorite lyric because it speaks to me so much is:

"Stop wondering if your vision is new
Let others make that decision, they usually do,
You have to move on"

[gcal]

Posted: 7/28/10 at 12:38am

^ a beautiful lyric

also-
"I remember snow,
Soft as feathers,
Sharp as thumbtacks"

[sweetestsiren]

Posted: 7/28/10 at 7:28am

"But it's warm inside his eyes
And it's soft inside his eyes
And he burns you with his eyes...
And you're studied like the light
And you look inside the eyes
And you catch him here and there
But he's never really there
So you want him even more
I could look at him forever
/
Look at her looking
Forever with that mirror
What does she see?
The wide eyes, studying the round face
The tiny pout...
Seeing all the parts and none of the whole.
But the way she catches light...
And the color of her hair...
I could look at her forever."
- Color and Light

[JRybka]

Posted: 7/28/10 at 11:03am

BEST LINE EVER! "To Flirt with Rescue when one has no intention of being saved" from A Little Night Music.

[HistoryBoy2]

Posted: 7/28/10 at 3:40pm

Louis isn't the smartest-
Louis' popular.

Sondheim does in two lines what Schwartz takes a whole song over.

[Kad]

Posted: 7/28/10 at 5:04pm

"BEST LINE EVER! "To Flirt with Rescue when one has no intention of being saved" from A Little Night Music."

Too bad Sondheim didn't write it. Or any of the books for any of his shows.