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This is absolutely my favorite musical theater lyric of all time. Every rhyme, every word, each consonant and vowel is full of action and rich with subtext. The song shifts between 3/4 time, with understated and seemingly solicitous lyrics, and 6/8 time, at which...
Earlier this week, I expressed my love for a repeated lyric that evolves throughout a song and takes on new meanings. One of my favorite examples of this is “I’ll Be Here” from Adam Gwon’s musical Ordinary Days. I’m currently working on a Spanish adaptation of...
The theme of the day is ‘puns.’ Good puns in song lyrics are certainly on the decline since the first half of the 20th century and it’s a shame! “And Her Mother Came, Too” was first performed in A-Z, a 1921 British Musical Revue. First we have a cheeky story about an...
One magic trick performed by great musical theater lyricists I find particularly impressive is when a repeating lyrical hook, often found in the title, evolves throughout a song and takes on new meanings. Rather than just the usual redundant repetition, the same...
Words mean more to me than just about anything. I’m always researching some piece of text, either for work or pleasure. So it seemed natural for me to focus on lyrics as I make my contributions to The Song of the Day. I’ve dedicated much of my time in NYC to...