Handout (flat) Handout (folded) Texts Return to Index

6. Words for Music. Finally, words written specifically to be set to music, whether by a close collaborator or the lyricists themselves. Among many possibilities, we can distinguish between songs in which the music dominates and those in which the words do. The first hour is devoted to Songs of Fantasy, dealing with loss, yearning, and escape. The second hour, by contrast, will concentrate on Songs of Life, that have dealt with contemporary conditions throughout history.

No special preparation is required for this class. The text handout does include the full lyrics of all the songs we shall hear; you can look through them now, if you like, or come back to them for reference after. They will still be available after the class, together with the usual slides, script, and video links.

Handout (flat) Handout (folded) Texts Class Script

Return to Index

All the videos shown in class are available on YouTube at the links below, with the single exception of Yum Yum's song from the ENO production; I have substituted an extract from the film Topsy Turvy, in which the role is played in slightly tipsy fashion by Shirley Henderson.


		Gilbert & Sullivan: The Mikado Ko Ko's song, "I've got a little list" D'Oyly Carte Opera, John Reed
Gilbert & Sullivan: The Mikado Yum Yum's song, "The sun whose rays" D'Oyly Carte Opera, Valerie Masterson
		Gilbert & Sullivan: The Mikado Yum Yum's song, "The sun whose rays" Shirley Henderson in Topsy Turvy (1999)
Gilbert & Sullivan: The Mikado Ko Ko's song, "I've got a little list" English National Opera, Richard Stuart
		Gilbert & Sullivan: The Pirates of Penzance Major General's song, "The modern major general" George Rose in the 1983 film, with Kevin Kline
Harris: “After the ball is over” Excerpt from Show Boat Rebecca Baxter on PBS
		Harris: “After the ball is over” Opening lines and chorus Performed by the composer in old video
Harburg & Arlen: "Somewhere over the Rainbow" Scene from The Wizard of Oz (1939) Judy Garland
		Arlen: "Somewhere over the Rainbow" Instrumental cover Yo-Yo Ma and Kathryn Stott
Mercer & Mancini: "Moon River" Scene from Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961) Audrey Hepburn, with George Peppard
		Steven Sondheim interview Discussing "Send in the Clowns" Also with Sally Ann Howes and Paul Gemignani
Sondheim: A Little Night Music "Send in the Clowns" Dame Judi Dench in concert
		Cohan: "Over There" Scene from Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942) James Cagney
Harburg & Gorey: "Brother, can you Spare a Dime?" Contemporary cover video Bruce Hearn
		Yellen & Ager: "Happy Days are Here Again!" Contemporary video reconstruction The Army Stars (Belgium)
Yellen & Ager: "Happy Days are Here Again!" Audio cover Barbra Streisand (1962)
		Coward: "Bad times just around the corner" Original audio Sung by the composer, 1952
Francisco: "Adrenalin Rush" Rudy Francisco in performance World Poetry Slam finals, 2017
		Ice-T: Power "I'm your pusher" Rap video, 1988
Miranda: Hamilton Dialogue and "My Shot" Lin-Manuel Miranda and cast, 2016

The thumbnails below cover the slides shown in class. Click the thumbnail to see a larger image. Click on the right or left of the larger picture to go forward or back, or outside it to close.

Writers of words (w) and music (m) as shown above, chronologically by rows:
1. WS Gilbert (1836–1911, w), Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900, m), Charles K. Harris (1867–1930, wm), George M. Cohan (1878–1942, wm)
2. Jack Yellen (1892–1991, w), Milton Ager (1893–1979, m), Yip Harburg (1896–1981, w), Jay Gorney (1896–1990, w)
3. Noel Coward (1899–1973, wm), Harold Arlen (1905–86, m), Johnny Mercer (1909–76, w), Henry Mancini (1924–94, m)
4. Stephen Sondheim (1930–2021, wm), Ice-T (Lauren Morrow, b.1958, w), Lin-Manuel Miranda (b.1980, wm), Rudy Francisco (b.1982, w)