The Five Best Sondheim Rhymes — Page 3

"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."

I just think these lyrics are beautiful.

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2 FAVORITE COUPLETS:

Perpetual sunset
Is rather an unset-
Tling Thing.

(AND LATER)
The hands on the clock turn
But don't sing a nocturne
Just yet.

FOR A CONTRARIAN LEAST FAVORITE COUPLET:
(Sporkgoddess mentions it as a favorite but she's misspelled a few words)

Meaning no offense, it
Happens they resents it,
Ladies in their sensit-
Ivities, my lord!"

HOW COULD SONDHEIM HAVE GIVEN THE LEARNED BEADLE SUCH POORLY AGREEING VERBS JUST TO GET THE TRIPLE RHYME?

Re: the spelling mistakes - yeah, I copied and pasted the lyrics from a (clearly inaccurate) lyrics website.

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"it's fop, finest in the shop, and we have some sheperd's pie peppered with actuai sheperd on top."

I've always loved the word-play, but I'm often more blown-away by the simplest of rhymes used in a sentence or two which ends up describing a character's opinion of and relationship to another's:

Cut from "Follies" (found on the "Scrabble"-cover benefit album)
SIMPLE LITTLE KINGDOM.
Ben describing his life with Phyllis to Sally.

"It's a simple little Kingdom,
The dominion of the Queen,
Where at any given moment ----
The ashtrays are clean!"

And, as a writer, I've always found this one a stunner,
especially with the Peters delivery of the third line
(From "Move On")

"Stop worrying if your vision is new.
Let others make that decision...
...They usually do.
YOU keep moving on."

Oh, and just about the entirety of
"What More Do I Need?" from "Saturday Night"
I mean:
"I hear a crane making street repairs.
A two-ton child running wild upstairs."

Mucho fun to perform that one!!!!

I always love this one:

Mama, please take our advice.
We aren't the Lunts.
I'm not Fanny Brice.
Mama, we'll buy you the rice,
if only this once,
you wouldn't think twice.

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Pacific Overtures:

It's the Day of the Rabbit, my Lord.
There's but one day remaining,
And beside the fact it's raining,
There are ships in the bay
Which are sitting there today
Just exactly where they sat
On the Day of the Rat —
Oh, and speaking of that, my Lord,
When the ships came our way
On that first disturbing day
And I gave consideration
To this letter they convey,
I decided if there weren't
Any Shogun to receive it,
It would act as a deterrant
Since they'd have no place to leave it,
And they might go away, my Lord …
Do you see what i say, my Lord?

In the tea, my Lord,
The chrysanthemum tea —
An informal variation
On the normal recipe.
Though I know my plan had merit,
It's been slow in execution.
If there's one thing you inherit,
It's your father's constitution,
And you're taking so long, my Lord …
Do you think I was wrong, my Lord? …
No, you must let me speak:
When the Shogun is weak,
Then the tea must be strong, my Lord …
My Lord — ?

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And in the darkness when I'm blind with what I can't forget
It's always morning in my mind, my little lamb, my pet

and

Wake up Johanna, another bright red day
We'll learn Johanna to say -- goodbye

(I've always loved the 'bright red day' line)

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