SONDHEIM

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A sampling of lyrics and lines from Mr. Sondheim’s subsequent shows suggests that some of his and Mr. Laurents’s West Side Story ideas were well worth repeating.



    Knock-knock
  • “Phone rings, door chimes…” (Company)
  • “Phone’ll jingle, door’ll knock…”


    All for one
  • “Never alone, never disconnected.”
  • “Together wherever we go.” (Gypsy)


    Lookin’ Good
  • I’m Lovely (A Funny Thing…)
  • I Feel Pretty


    Tell me a story
  • “Once upon a time….” (Into the Woods)
  • “Ai! Here comes the whole commercial!”


    Analyst’s care
  • “You could drive a person crazy….” (Company)
  • “So take him to a headshrinker.”


    Famous last words
  • “We’ll be all right. I know it. We’re really together now.”
  • We’re Gonna Be All Right (Do I Hear a Waltz?)


    Mixed feelings
  • “I’m dazed, I’m pale, I’m sick, I’m sore / I’ve never felt so well before…..” (A Funny Thing…)
  • “I feel dizzy, I feel sunny, I feel fizzy and funny and fine.”


    Nice place you have here…
  • “By the way, may we say, we adore your little nation…” (Pacific Overtures)
  • “I like to be in America…”


    Some songs by Sondheim
  • Something’s Coming
  • Somewhere
  • Some People (Gypsy)
  • Someone Woke Up (Do I Hear a Waltz?)
  • Someone Like You (Do I Hear a Waltz?)
  • Someone Is Waiting (Company)
  • Someone in a Tree (Pacific Overtures)
  • Something Just Broke (Assassins)


    ¡Olé!
  • “Where ya going?” “Barcelona.” (Company)
  • “She thinks she’s in Spain…..”


    Free parking available
  • Sweeney Todd’s Tonsorial Parlour (Sweeney Todd)
  • Sweeney’s lot


    Enough is enough
  • “Nothing else but you, ever”
  • What More Do I Need? (Saturday Night)


    What’s Happening?
  • “I knew something-never-before was going to happen, had to happen. But this is---”
  • The Best Thing That Ever Has Happened (Road Show)


    Clothes make the man
  • “So everybody dress up sweet and sharp.”
  • “This bum’ll be Beau Brummell.” (Gypsy)


    Over the rainbow
  • “Somewhere there’s got to be someplace for you and for me!”
  • “Loveland, where everybody lives to love.” (Follies)


    Oh baby baby
  • Baby John
  • Baby Joan (Anyone Can Whistle)
  • Baby June (Gypsy)


    Deal with it
  • I Wish I Could Forget You (Passion)
  • “I wish it was yesterday.”


    “But she wouldn’t budge from her needle….”
  • “I sew all day, I sit all night.”
  • “Knitting sweaters and sitting still.” (Gypsy)


    The God-Why-Don’t-You-Love-Me Blues
  • “We never had the love that every child oughta get.”
  • No One Has Ever Loved Me (Passion)


    Fashion statements
  • “Lucy wants to be dressy.” (Follies)
  • “Could we not dye it red at least?”


    Just worry about yourself
  • “Play it cool, boy”
  • “I’m calm, controlled, so cool that I’m cold…” (A Funny Thing…)


    Balcony scene
  • “Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair to me.” (Into the Woods)
  • “Come down…just for a minute.”


    Reality check
  • “….or am I losing my mind?” (Follies)
  • “The trouble is he’s crazy…..”


    Music to my ears
  • “It started out like a song” (Merrily We Roll Along)
  • “Say it loud and there’s music playing”


    My hero
  • “He’s always come through for us and he will now.”
  • Isn’t He Something! (Road Show)


    Gimme a hug
  • “We came ready, eager—our arms open….
    • ”
  • “Americans, open-armed Americans, welcome, welcome, welcome!” (Do I Hear a Waltz?)


    Small talk
  • “Now, as the sweet imbecilities tumble so lavishly onto her lap….” (A Little Night Music)
  • “Cut the frabbajabba.”


    Setting out—
  • Take Me to the World (Evening Primrose)
  • “And I’ll take you away, take you far, far away out of here.”


    —Getting there—
  • “Just hold my hand whenever we arrive….” (Evening Primrose)
  • “Hold my hand and we’re halfway there…”


    —Settling in
  • “Let it be a world….where I can be alive.” (Evening Primrose)
  • “You can live it up and die in bed.”


    “Sir, about those birds and bees…..”
  • “Now she’s a mother nine times” (Do I Hear a Waltz?)
  • “Always the population growing”


    Manhattan night life
  • “What can you do on a Saturday night…?” (Saturday Night)
  • “The park…the river…under the highway….”


    Take a load off
  • “Don’t be shy, meet a guy, pull up a chair.”
  • “Have a napkin, have a chopstick, have a chair.” (Gypsy)


    May I help you?
  • “He’ll walk in hot and tired—so what?”
  • Let Me Entertain You (Gypsy)


    Matchmaker, Matchmaker
  • Have I Got a Girl for You (Company)
  • “Maybe what you’re waitin’ for’ll be twitchin’ at the dance!”


    One-handed catch
  • “Oh moon, grow bright…”
  • Moon in My Window (Do I Hear a Waltz?)


    Hey, look me over
  • “Such a pretty face, such a pretty dress, such a pretty smile, such a…..”
  • “Pretty Lady” (Pacific Overtures)


    Relativity
  • “Bobby and Jackie and Jack and Ethel and Ted and Eunice and Pat and Joan and Steve and Peter and Jean and Sarge. And Joe and Rose.” (Merrily We Roll Along)
  • “How you get all of them inside?”


    Blind date
  • “It’s right outside the door, around the corner…”
  • “We never know, do we, who we’re going to find?” (Sunday in the Park with George)


    “When a man loves a woman…..”
  • “Waiting around for the girls upstairs….” (Follies)
  • “What’re we poopin’ around with dumb broads!”


    Side by Side
  • “…Be with him now, tomorrow, and all of my life.”
  • You’ll Never Get Away from Me (Gypsy)


    Once upon a time
  • ”My, you do like a good story, don’t you?” (Sweeney Todd)
  • “That’s a touchin’ good story.”


    The hard-knock life
  • “Society’s played him a terrible trick.”
  • “You and me, pal, we’re society’s fault.” (Sunday in the Park with George)


    Getting to the bottom of things
  • “Look at the brass-ass run!”
  • “Awful lot of fat” / “Only where it sat….” (Sweeney Todd)


    Anybody got the time?
  • “It’s our time, breathe it in….” (Merrily We Roll Along)
  • “There’s a time for us…”


    Punctuality
  • “I’ll see you there about eight….”
  • “You arrived at eight.” (Saturday Night)


    Making Nice
  • “The deal is a fair fight between you and Diesel.”
  • “I want this to be a clean contest.” (The Frogs)


    Getting Married Today
  • “Bring me my bride!” (A Funny Thing…)
  • “I, Anton, take thee, Maria…..”


    Déjà vu all over again
  • Maria: “All right: Now you know.”
  • Mary: “All right, now you know.” (Merrily We Roll Along)


    "While you were out..."
  • “Did you get my message, ’cause I looked in vain…” (Company)
  • “I’ll give you a message for your American buddy!”


    Junior Fashion
  • "Don’t use makeup, dress in white—she’ll grow older by the hour." (A Little Night Music)
  • "White is for babies."


    Living Large
  • “Cadillac! Air-conditioned! Built-in bar! Telephone! Television!”
  • “Gonna have the whole world on a plate!” (Gypsy)


    This just in
  • “I’ve an intriguing little social item….” (A Little Night Music)
  • “I work at the bridal shop. Come there….to the back door.”


    Stop me if you’ve heard this before…
  • “Tonight, tonight, I’ll see my love tonight….”
  • ”Tonight, tonight, I’ll meet my love tonight….” (Assassins)


    Don't hold your breath
  • “And when he’s hollered ‘uncle,’ we’ll tear up the town…”
  • “‘Uncle’ your ass!” (Company)


    Most likely to succeed
  • “You’ve got some high times ahead.”
  • “You’ll be swell, you’ll be great.” (Gypsy)


    Supply and demand
  • “What’re you gonna be when you grow up?” “A telephone call girl!”
  • “Everybody ought to have a working girl….” (A Funny Thing)


    Love is in the air
  • “In view of her penchant for something romantic…” (A Little Night Music)
  • “After a fight, that brother of yours is so healthy! Definitely: Black Orchid.”


    Don’t even think about it!
  • “Don’t walk on the grass / Don’t disturb the peace / Don’t skate on the ice.” (Anyone Can Whistle )
  • “Go play in the park!” “Keep off the grass!” “Get outa the house!” “Get outa here!”


    Bosom Buddies
  • “You can be my best friend / I can be your right arm” (Company)
  • “Womb to tomb!”


    “Thank you for waiting—”
  • “Perpetual anticipation is good for the soul…” (A Little Night Music)
  • “Something’s coming, something good.”


    Getting back to one’s roots
  • “Momma, I am not June! I am not a blonde!” (Gypsy)
  • “This is my last night as a blonde.”


    “…You may see a stranger, across a crowded room….”
  • “You’re not thinking I’m someone else?” “I know you are not.”
  • “You’ll know him when you see him.” (Anyone Can Whistle)


    Mirror, mirror
  • “Each day I see her pass / In my looking-glass…..” (Follies)
  • “See the pretty girl in that mirror there.”


    TGIF
  • A Weekend in the Country (A Little Night Music)
  • “Time together with time to spare”


    Rite of passage
  • “Hey, I got a social disease!”
  • “Everybody has to go through stages like that.” (Follies)


    Peaceful co-existence
  • “You don’t want even a fist fight? There won’t be any fight.”
  • “No fits, no fights, no feuds.” (Gypsy)


    Chitty Chitty…..
  • “Chino has a gun…”
  • “I got this really great gun….Shit, where is it?” (Assassins)


    Day in Court
  • “Just tell it to the judge!”
  • “Most honorable Judge Turpin….” (Sweeney Todd)


    Don’t make me brag
  • “I’m dressed at last, at my best, and my banners are high…” (Anyone Can Whistle)
  • “A committee should be organized to honor me.”


    I’ll owe you one
  • “I never asked the time of day from a clock, but I’m asking you….”
  • “Hey, old friend….what do you say, old friend….” (Merrily We Roll Along)


    The honeymoon is over
  • “You’re the only thing I’ll see forever”
  • “No, don’t look at me” (Follies)


    Fight Club
  • “Come out of your corners….Ready, set, go!” (The Frogs)
  • “Ready! Come center and shake hands.”


    See also: Romeo and Juliet
  • “Your brother got in a heavy argument because you danced with the wrong boy.”
  • “Old situations, new complications.” (A Funny Thing...)


    Well, it’s unanimous
  • “Everyone here hates me at length” (Anyone Can Whistle)
  • “Every one of you hates every one of us, and we hate you right back.”


    Finger-pointing
  • “But it’s not us! It’s everything around us!”
  • “You’re responsible! You’re the one to blame! It’s your fault!” (Into the Woods)


    (A) Ready. (B) Aim. (C)….
  • “How do you fire this gun, Chino?”
  • “All you have to do is move your little finger…” (Assassins)


    The Longest Day
  • “The sun won’t set…..” (A Little Night Music)
  • “….and still the sky is light….”


    R.S.V.P.
  • “We challenge you to a rumble. All out, once and for all. Accept?”
  • “Let me get my hat and my knife….” (A Little Night Music)


    Dear Mister Sondheim,
  • For West Side Story and everything that followed:
  • Thank You So Much (Do I Hear a Waltz?)




    A few of the entries are taken from songs, lyrics or lines that were either cut from the associated production, or added to its score after the show’s original run. While some of the cut songs have enjoyed the proverbial nine lives in subsequent Sondheim compilation shows and recordings, for this exercise the reference is to the original show for which the material was written, whether or not it was ever used again. But as with all things Sondheim, it’s not always that simple.

    “Marry Me a Little” was initially cut from     Company and then resurrected as the title song of an off-Broadway show before being re-instated to the score of Company, no later than 1995, though not in the same position or context. The excerpt is tagged as “cut” to indicate only its origins in the Sondheim saga and not its subsequent reappearances.

    A similar history exists for “There Won’t Be Trumpets,” which was cut from     Anyone Can Whistle though it is included on the CD re-issues of the cast album and was sung in the 1995 Carnegie Hall concert presentation (and, not coincidentally, was also featured in the same off-Broadway show mentioned here, Marry Me a Little).

    The song “We’re Gonna Be All Right” was not cut from     Do I Hear a Waltz? but the specific lyric cited here most definitely was.

    An added starter, “Something Just Broke” was not sung in the first production of     Assassins but was added to the score for the 1992 London version and was repeated in the 2004 Broadway revival.

    The precise status of the “I’m Calm” lyric from     A Funny Thing… is uncertain. The passage is heard on the cast album but is omitted in at least one edition of the published script.

    The same is true of the lyric to "Me and My Town" from     Anyone Can Whistle, sung in no fewer than three recordings of the song but not to be found in a presumably reliable version of the published script. Maybe Mr. S. will read this some day and put these patently non-vexing questions to rest at last.
Until such time, your questions, suggestions, challenges or the random kind word are welcome as always.

In naming and designing this feature, our intent was to draw from the rich collection of words that make their home in the thing called the Sondheim canon. The opportunity to match clips from the masterwork with those of subsequent Sondheim shows inevitably took us beyond the lyrics so that some gems from the librettos are included as well. In some cases a snatch of Mr. Laurents's dialogue is paired with a later Sondheim lyric, in others a WSS lyric goes with spoken dialogue from a later show, and a scant few overlook lyrics entirely, matching instead WSS's libretto with that of another of the shows. Successful teamwork deservedly warrants shared credit. The contributions and inspiration of all the collaborators, including Arthur Laurents, George Furth, Hugh Wheeler, John Weidman, Burt Shevelove, Larry Gelbart, James Lapine, Aristophanes, Plautus, the Brothers Grimm, William Shakespeare and Gypsy Rose Lee, are gratefully acknowledged.






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