12 Comments

I was very moved reading everyone’s responses about their favorite Sondheim lyrics.

I, too, love this lyric from “Move On”.

Anything you do,

Let it come from you.

Then it will be new.

Give us more to see.

Singing these words to Steve on Inside the Actor’s Studio in 1994 was one of the most unforgettable moments of my life. Thirty years later, these lyrics have become my North Star.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B-DWpjSJNAF/?igsh=dWMwNGw1ZHJodDlk

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I don't think I could select one favorite Sondheim lyric (as opposed to having a favorite line "right this minute"), but I love all of these and thank you for assembling and sharing these amazing and powerful comments.

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Angry men don’t write the rules/And guns don’t write the wrongs.

Thank you. I hope so.

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"It's not so much do what you like, as it is that you like what you do".

Whatever I end up doing, even if it's not what I had in mind or what I had planned, should be something I'm proud of. Because it came from me and because I did my best to do it.

These lyrics help me be a little more appreciative of myself. The world's harsh enough, I don't need to judge myself as harshly as strangers would.

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Yes, I often quote this to myself--amazing what a simple little shift in word order can do to shake free such an insight. Sondheim's simplicity in making big statements with the simplest use of language astonishes me, over and over.

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I’m still here”!!!!

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They hear drums, we hear music. That whole section of Passion got me through high school.

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This is the one I liked. From Sunday at the Park with George. The last song. Musta missed the initial invite to contribute:

“White. A blank page or canvas. His favorite. So many possibilities”

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What a lovely thread. Only last week I used « Mother cannot guide you «  to reach out to someone close to me who had bone worryingly silent and left me worried that they were going through a crisis that they felt unable to share. It shifted something deep within me, and later that day came a phone call which really put me at ease. I find Steve’s lyrics utterly magical, time and time again; they simply reach to the parts that nobody else’s ever seem to - with the exception of Oscar Hammerstein, who was of course his mentor.

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It is deeply moving to see the global community that this site has built in so short a time. Thank you, Sondheim Hub, for making space for community to gather, share, and reflect. You certainly have given us more to see--and learn.

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So many good ones here, particularly "Oh if life were made of moments..." and "No more giants waging war..." and of course "I chose and my world were shaken..." I will add another from "Into the Woods":

Witches can be right

Giants can be good

You decide what's right

You decide what's good

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Thank you so much for this. It has reinforced my favorite lyric “No one is alone. Believe me.”♥️

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