Sondheim's "Water Under the Bridge"...

This has to be one of Sondheim's most underrated songs. It could have easily been a pop hit. I have recently discovered it, and I love the Liza/Billy Stritch version. I have heard the Debbie Gravitte version, but her arrangement isn't as good as Liza's.

Does anybody know what the movie "Singing Out Loud" was going to be about?

Anybody else like this song?

Updated On: 1/5/09 at 10:58 PM

Of course I'm fonder of the Debbie Gravitte version, but for obvious reasons. I believe the liner notes for Sondheim At The Movies go into the plot of Singing Out Loud, and there are also two other songs from it on that CD.

The liner notes for "Sondheim Evening" say that "Singing Out Loud" was going to be a movie about making a movie. The scene with Water Under the Bridge featured the character of the singer recording the song in the studio with the character of the composer in the booth. Both characters were to sing their thoughts in counterpoint with the actual song as it was being recorded. The Gravitte version only features the actual song and not the counterpoint. That's all I know about the plot.

---

Actually, I believe it's a trio - the engineer and the producer singing in counterpoint to the song, which, if I remember correctly, is not being sung well by the singer. I don't believe that what Mr. Stritch sings is the actual counterpart of either of the other characters. I still have the music somewhere.