You may know what you need, but to get what you want, better see that you keep what you have. Stephen Sondheim More Quotes by Stephen Sondheim More Quotes From Stephen Sondheim The situation's fraught, Fraughter than I thought, With horrible, impossible possibilities! Stephen Sondheim horriblepossibilityimpossible Work is what you do for others, liebchen. Art is what you do for yourself. Stephen Sondheim art-isworkart Musicals are — particularly musicals — plays also, but musicals particularly are… the last collaborator is your audience, and so you’ve got to wait ’til the last collaborator comes in before you can complete the collaboration. Stephen Sondheim lastswaitingplay 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. Stephen Sondheim hardestwritingway The worst thing you can do is censor yourself as the pencil hits the paper. You must not edit until you get it all on paper. If you can put everything down, stream-of-consciousness, you'll do yourself a service. Stephen Sondheim consciousnesspaperwriting Nice is different than good. Stephen Sondheim nicedifferent The more you cling to things, The more you love them, The more the pain you suffer, When they're taken from you. Stephen Sondheim paintakenlove If I got involved with the chat rooms and Facebook and everything - I would probably never leave. That's why I don't do it. I literally don't do it. At all. Stephen Sondheim involvedifsrooms The difference between a cow and a bean is a bean can begin an adventure. Stephen Sondheim cowsdifferencesadventure After the Rodgers and Hammerstein revolution, songs became part of the story, as opposed to just entertainments in between comedy scenes. Stephen Sondheim revolutionstoriessong The man i'll never be, Who remembers him? Stephen Sondheim remembermen Just remember, Someone is on your side (our side) Someone else is not While we're seeing our side Maybe we forgot: they are not alone. No one is alone. Stephen Sondheim your-sidesidesjustice Let the moment go. . . . Don't forget it for a moment, though. Just remembering you've had an "and" when you're back to "or" makes the "or" mean more than it did before. . . . Now I understand! And it's time to leave the woods. Stephen Sondheim understandingtimemean Music straightjackets a poem and prevents it from breathing on its own, whereas it liberates a lyric. Poetry doesn't need music; lyrics do. Stephen Sondheim breathinglyric-poetryneeds The more restrictions you have, the easier anything is to write. Stephen Sondheim easierrestrictionwriting It's not so much do what you like as it is that you like what you do. Stephen Sondheim Art is craft, not inspiration. Stephen Sondheim inspirationwritingart Two of the hardest words in the language to rhyme are life and love. Of all words! Stephen Sondheim agelovetwo No one has ever known me as clearly as you. No one has ever shown me that love allows everything. Not pretty or safe or easy but something I never knew. Love within reason, that isn't love and I learned that from you. Stephen Sondheim learningsafelove Deciding what is to be sung and what is not to be sung is really what writing a musical is about. Stephen Sondheim musicalwriting
