Tonight, tonight, won't be just any night. Tonight there will be no morning star.
Stephen SondheimRead
One of the hardest things about writing lyrics is to make the lyrics sit on the music in such a way that you're not aware there was a writer there.
Interpretation
Crafting lyrics requires a seamless integration with music that feels natural and effortless.
This quote by Stephen Sondheim highlights the challenge of songwriting, particularly the need for lyrics to blend perfectly with the music. When done successfully, the listener should be oblivious to the effort invested in writing, creating an organic experience where the song feels entirely cohesive.
In practice
A songwriter discussing their creative process at a workshop.
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 design keeps the user happy, the manufacturer in the black and the aesthete unoffended.
Iβve learnt from experience that a painting isnβt finished when you put down your brush β thatβs when it starts. The public reaction is what supplies meaning and value. Art comes alive in the arguments you have about it.
Music is the pleasure the human mind experiences from counting without being aware that it is counting.
The considerations of a corporation, especially now, have nothing to do with art or music.
The number of people who read a poem is not as important as how the poem affects those who read it.
One of the privileges you have of living the life of an artist and creating your own world and everything is the fact that, in-between times, you can kind of spend them however you want. Because, you know, once you open up your candy store again, you're open for business. And you have to be responsible. You have to be available.
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