If you had to pick one stanza in one song that blew you away by the cleverness of its rhyming, what would it be?
My favorite is in Love Sick from WOMEN ON THE VERGE:
You think that Cupids got a bow? Well, no. Cupids got a *needle, itll* Find a vein. Careful, cause youll *bleed a little*, But pretty soon romance will marinate your brain.
I think that “Stand with our brothers as they fight against tyranny/I know that Alexander Hamilton is here and he would rather not have this debate” is brilliant.
Of course, Sondheim has quite a few yummy rhymes, but I really think his rhymes for Pacific Overtures (sorry, I'm on mobile and can't italicize) are some of his most exciting.
A couple from "Chrysanthemum Tea"
"It's an HERB that's suPERB For disTURBances at sea"
(And later)
"If the tea the Shogun drank will Serve to keep the Shogun tranquil"
And then in "Please Hello"
"Emperor read our letter? If no Commodore Perry very sad Emperor like our letter? If so Commodore Perry very merry President Fillmore still more glad"
When a person’s personality is personable / He shouldn’t oughta sit like a lump / It’s harder than a matador coercin’ a bull / To try to get you off of your rump.”
TotallyEffed said: "When a person’s personality is personable / He shouldn’t oughta sit like a lump / It’s harder than a matador coercin’ a bull / To try to get you off of your rump.”"
Dang it, you took mine!
I'm a sucker for finding multiple rhymes for a certain word/set of words, like this line from "We Know" from Hamilton:
"As you can see I kept a record of every check in my checkered history/Check it again against your list and see/Consistency."
And I love interior rhymes within a line, like this line from "No Way" from Six:
"So you read a Bible verse that I'm cursed cause I was your brother's wife/You say it's a pity cause quoting Leviticus 'I'll end up kiddiless' all my life."
"I think that when a movie says it was 'based on a true story,' oh, it happened - just with uglier people." - Peanut Walker, Shucked
Sondheim of course. "Uptown/Downtown" in Follies was replaced with "Story of Lucy and Jessie." The replaced song is on the same idea as the new song of two conflicting sets of desires in the same person. Wonderful rhymes. My favorite quatrain is
"She sits at the Ritz with her splits of Mumms "And starts to pine for a stein with her Village chums "But with the Schlitz in her mitts down in Fitzroy's Bar "She thinks of the Ritz, so it's so schizo."
There are far too many fantastic lyrics out there, but the one that comes immediately to mind is from Pacific Overtures, which has this bit from the British Admiral that I've always admired. Not only is it perfectly thought out in terms of making sure you can understand the patter (lots of hard consonants separating all the syllables!), but it builds beautifully to the punch line and contains some lovely internal rhymes (bolded):
Her Majesty considers the arrangements to be tentative Until we ship a proper diplomatic representative We don't foresee that you will be the least bit argumentative So please ignore the man-of-war we brought as a preventative
I recently re-listened to Cole Porter's 'Always True To You In My Fashion'. His Lyrics and Music a perfect match and both stunning. Also, Meredith Wilson's 'A Sadder But Wiser Girl' but for this one you need a high IQ to get it!
Check out the Seth MacFarlane swing version of "Sadder but Wiser Girl." It's got what I imagine are additional/extended lyrics for the sheet music or pop versions of the song, which don't appear in the show version.
To Owen22: Yes! I also love the idea of the three songs written to be, eventually, sung together. "Now," "Soon" and "Later." "...It's intolerable being tolerated." On and on. What a wit.
With dangers cropping up And sweet young strangers popping up like weeds So if you wish official pardoning You better do a little gardening Ya know ya needn't be so gen'rous with your seeds Your fertile lies don't fertilize It needs work
When a person's personality is personable, He should not sit like a lump. It's harder than a matador coercin' a bull To try to get you off of your rump. So single and attentive and attractive a man Is everything a person could wish, But turning off a person is the act of a man Who likes to pull the hooks out of fish.
The whole verse is genius, but "personable" rhymed against "coercin' a bull" really sticks out as ultimate brilliance to me.