Tonight, tonight, won't be just any night. Tonight there will be no morning star.
Stephen SondheimRead
Music straightjackets a poem and prevents it from breathing on its own, whereas it liberates a lyric. Poetry doesn't need music; lyrics do.
Interpretation
This quote emphasizes the distinct roles of music and poetry, highlighting that while music can restrict a poem, it is essential for lyrics to thrive.
Stephen Sondheim's quote reflects on the relationship between poetry and music, asserting that poetry exists independently and can convey deep meaning on its own. In contrast, lyrics, which are intended to be sung, rely on music for their full expression, suggesting that the two art forms serve different purposes in communication and artistic expression.
In practice
Use this quote in a discussion about the importance of music in songwriting classes.
Tonight, tonight, won't be just any night. Tonight there will be no morning star.
After the Rodgers and Hammerstein revolution, songs became part of the story, as opposed to just entertainments in between comedy scenes.
Musical comedies aren't written, they are rewritten.
Let Pirelli's / Miracle Elixir / Activate your roots, sir... Keep it off your boots, sir- / Eats right through. Yes, get Pirelli's! / Use a bottle of it! / Ladies seem to love it... Flies do, too!
Art, in itself, is an attempt to bring order out of chaos.
Careful the spell you cast, not just on children. Sometimes the spell may last Past what you can see And turn against you... Careful the tale you tell. That is the spell.
Good novels are produced by people who voluntarily isolate themselves and go deep, and report from the depths on what they find.
There is no sound more feminine than a woman in a taffeta dress.
History is my passion. So I write what I love to read. I find that if I combine history with a strong, sensual romance, it is like a one-two punch. The reader doesn't want the history without the romance, and of course the heavier the history, the more it has to be leavened with a sensual, all-consuming love story.
'The Lion' all began with a picture of a faun carrying an umbrella and parcels in a snowy wood. This picture had been in my mind since I was about sixteen. Then one day, when I was about forty, I said to myself, 'Let's try to make a story about it.'
Perhaps the meaning of all human activity lies in the artistic consciousness, in the pointless and selfless creative act? Perhaps our capacity to create is evidence that we ourselves were created in the image and likeness of God?
Poems are rough notations for the music we are.
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