Steven Sater's Lyrics — Page 2

I find some of the lyrics to be incredibly cliche at times. All of the pseudo-poetry and imagery can feel like overdose, and I felt like Sater was trying too hard to say something metaphorically profound. The lyrics aren't bad, per se, but a lot of them seem far from incendiary to me. Most of the music is gorgeous, though.

I love the cast recording and it has been playing quite a bit in my ipod. I think most of the words work and are strong but I do have a problem with some lyrics. "Purple Summer" is the one that bother me the most:

the earth will wave with corn
the grey-fly choir will mourn
and mares will neigh
with stallions that they mate
foals they've borne

I close my eyes and think of a farm scene with horses getting it on.

Some of his lyrics don't make sense but I can look past that because most of them are beautiful.

I am 16 years old, just about the same as many of the characters in Spring Awakening. I've read the play, and to be honest, the lyrics tell the story perfectly. I couldn't imagine them any other way...
So many of the lyrics allow teens to relate, I think that is why so many kids my age have been drawn to this show: They Can Relate.
And like the 8th grade teacher said a while back, when he listens to his students express their opinion, he really listens, with respect, and as a friend. Not as a teacher who will correct their grammar or immediately judge them.
The relatable-factor of this show makes it wonderful. Frank Wedekind's play is proven to outlast the test of time. Its central plots still occur in every day life - that is what makes it such a wonderful musical.
Broadway needed something that will last that will draw in younger viewers, and Spring Awakening did just that.
I applaud Steven Sater for his lyrics, and Duncan Sheik for his score, both are amazingly gorgeous, and they tell the true story of the Awakening of Spring.

I absolutely LOVE the score and show. I can easily get over the near-rhymes, I have no problem with those. But a lot of the lyrics don't make sense to me. Also, I know it's been done before, but can someone explain the purpose/point of "Purple Summer" to me? (Or give me a link to one) Thanks.

I'm surprised no one's mentioned the lyrics to Whispering. The music with the words, combined with Lea's amazing voice, just blend together perfectly.

Thanks jg!

"I'm actually listening to the score right now, and they are a little on the weak side. He uses a lot of near-rhyming, which I hate; if you can't think of two words that rhyme, just don't rhyme. "

This criticism always irks me. It's a pop/rock score (the songs are even pulled out of the action to emphasise this) and the near rhyme has been a pop/rock cliche/staple since the Beatles at least. Even Stephen Sondheim in his great lecture on lyric writing has said that they work ideally for pop/rock and are "allowed"

E

Shiek's music is on a much higher level than Sater's lyrics, which often sound like those pseudo-'profound' lyrics that kids would scribble on notebooks in junior high - which admittedly does fit the plot. Love the upbeat numbers and "The Dark I Know Well" is brilliant, but "The Song of Purple Summer' seems like the songwriters said "We need a nice wrap-it-up pretty-imagery number like 'Seasons of Love'"

But after seeing PASSING STRANGE (which has a rock-jazz score by Stew) which has uncommonly well crafted and poetic lyrics, I'm less inclined to give Sater a pass.

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I'm listening to the OBC right now, and I'm cringing at some of them. Of course, I'm not that sold on the music either. Some of the songs are beautiful, but some of them sound like bad rock songs I'd hear on the radio before turning the station...

Anyway, the lyrics sound very pseudo-deep, (as someone above put it) like teenagers trying to write poetry. Of course, it fits, but that doesn't mean that I can't find it painful to hear.

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Those who slant rhyme can't rhyme.

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I think that that particular line fits perfectly with the whole show....they're just a bunch of teens....this is Spring Awakening. NOT Phantom or Les Mis.