Lauren+Heath

Someone to hold you too close Someone to hurt you too deep Someone to sit in your chair To ruin your sleep To make you aware Of being alive Someone to need you too much Someone to know you too well Someone to pull you up short To put you through hell To give you support In being alive Being alive Someone you have to let in Someone whose feelings you spare Someone who, like it or not Will want you share A little, a lot Someone to crowd you with love Someone to force you to care Someone to make you come through Who'll always be there As frightened as you Of being alive Being alive Being alive Being alive Somebody, hold me too close Somebody, hurt me too deep Somebody, sit in my chair And ruin my sleep And make me aware Of being alive Being alive Somebody, need me too much Somebody, know me too well Somebody, pull me up short And put me through hell And give me support For being alive Make me alive Make me confused Mock me with praise Let me be used Vary my days But alone is alone Not alive Somebody, crowd me with love, Somebody, force me to care, Somebody, make me come through, I'll always be there, As frightened as you, To help us survive Being alive, Being alive, Being alive! || This link is of Norm Lewis's version of "Being Alive" from //Sondheim on Sondheim// []
 * **Being Alive**
 * By Stephen Sondheim**

Out of all of Sondheim’s works, “Being Alive” is one of my personal favorites. Not only is it powerful to hear, but it is also powerful when simply read. In the show, //Company//, this song is sung by Robert, the lead character. In this song he discusses problems with marriage in an act of defense of his love-life problems. By the end of the song, Robert is moved into desire for the feelings of love. In the musical //Sondheim on Sondheim//, Sondheim says that he originally had two other versions of the song entitled “Happily Ever After” one of which used similar words but with a harsh sarcastic tone and upbeat tune– “someone to hold you to close, someone to hurt you too deep, someone to love you too hard, happily ever after…that’s happily ever after, ever, ever, ever after, in hell.” Although this is an entertaining take, it does not make as much sense for someone as sensitive as the character Sondheim portrays. By reading the lyrics to the official version of the song, it is easy to pick out the tone, even if you have never heard the song before – anger, resentment, and desperation. It is so powerful partially because of the content, but I think some of it has to do with the structure. The parallelism creates the foundation of the song, which later helps emphasize the revelation. Also, its simplicity makes it more relatable. In lines 1-27, the speaker uses anaphora to create a droning tone that highlights his lack of caring. The use of "someone" makes the object of his words vague as if he was hiding who he wants. Besides resentment, the speaker goes through other feelings such as selfishness in lines 3 and 4, closed-mindedness in line 8, and dreading in lines 16 and 17. The speaker begins acceptance of his revelation in line 28 by changing "someone" to "somebody". He still uses the vague term, but this time, his reference is more specific to desire although it is general. In lines 34-38, he ends the parallelism and makes commands to "somebody" without addressing "somebody". These commands, previously regarded as destroying individualism, have a willing and free tone to them. Not only has the speaker come to realize he wants someone to love, but he has also lost the internal battle against it. For the speaker, "being alive" is living life to its full potential with someone to make him and his life that much better. In lines 39-40, he makes a conclusion that "alone is alone, not alive." This marks another change in him from wanting to be alone living his live to wanting to live his life with all the joys it has to offer. He understands the perils of what he wants to take on - fear, pain, and complete honesty. The poem does not have to be about romantic love to everyone; it can be about family or friends as well. In my opinion, this is one of Sondheim’s more influential works, even though it is not as widely known. In “Being Alive” he makes his audience think, not just sit for entertainment.

Mademoiselles... You end me, pal... Second bottle... Ah, she looks for me... Bonnet flapping... Yapping... Ruff!... Chicken... Pastry... Yes, she looks for me-good. Let her look for me to tell me why she left me- As I always knew she would. I had thought she understood. They have never understood, And no reason that they should. But if anybody could... Finishing the hat, How you have to finish the hat. How you watch the rest of the world From a window While you finish the hat. Mapping out a sky. What you feel like, planning a sky. What you feel when voices that come Through the window Go Until they distance and die, Until there's nothing but sky And how you're always turning back too late From the grass or the stick Or the dog or the light, How the kind of woman willing to wait's Not the kind that you want to find waiting To return you to the night, Dizzy from the height, Coming from the hat, Studying the hat, Entering the world of the hat, Reaching through the world of the hat Like a window, Back to this one from that. Studying a face, Stepping back to look at a face Leaves a little space in the way like a window, But to see- It's the only way to see. And when the woman that you wanted goes, You can say to yourself, "Well, I give what I give." But the women who won't wait for you knows That, however you live, There's a part of you always standing by, Mapping out the sky, Finishing a hat... Starting on a hat.. Finishing a hat... Look, I made a hat... Where there never was a hat
 * Finishing the Hat**
 * By Stephen Sondheim**

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Sondheim is known to make music and lyrics for any situation, but this particular piece is known to be autobiographical. //Sunday in the Park with George// is about George Seurat and his journey in painting "A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte," which is known for its complex style of dots of paint. The poem maintains a critical and yet emotional tone throughout most of the work. At the beginning, he addresses characters, most likely characters from the artist's painting. Seurat has been spending countless hours slaving away at his work, abandoning his old life for his characters. He continues in the next lines to address a woman, Dot, who is his girlfriend of many years. Lines 10-13 suggest that Dot has left him unexpectantly and because of his attachment to his art. In line 16, he begins to comment on "the hat" - finishing it while the world moves on. He also addresses watching the world from a window, which goes along with saying he is preoccupied in something and distanced from everything else. Towards the end of the poem, he mentions a face. This face could be that of Dot, who he continues to mention in unforgiving terms, or rather a woman in his painting he finds himself spending more time with. The final lines "Look! I made a hat where there never was a hat," become part of a revelation in Seurat. He spends most of the poem commenting begrudgingly on his separation from Dot and the rest of the world while he focuses on his work alone, but these lines suggest pride in Seurat's voice that in the end his suffering is worth it. The hat literally stands for a hat on one of his characters, but it symbolically stands for his work as a whole. Also, it stands for Sondheim's work - how he spends hours on his couch with just a yellow pad of paper and his thoughts focusing on his music. This may be a bitter commentary on his life and how he wishes he could have been more involved in the rest of the world, but in the end he has many great works to be proud of that make it all worth it. The meter is fairly regular throughout the poem, suggesting a orderly structure in Seurat's life to further explain how it has made him mad. Overall, this piece is about a passion, how it can take control, and how ultimately it can pay for its damages.

The next poem is hard to follow. It is better to watch the performance, and then read the lyrics. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cx6hhy2Dwzw **Someone in a Tree** **By Stephen Sondheim** Pardon me, i was there. You were where? At the treaty house. At the treaty house? There was a tree … Which was where? Very near. Over here? Maybe over there, But there were trees then, everywhere. May i show you? If you please. There were trees Then, everywhere. But you were there. And i was there! Let me show you. If you please. I was younger then … I was good at climbing trees … I was younger then … I saw everything! … I was hidden all the time … It was easier to climb … I was younger then … I saw everything! … Where they came and where they went — I was part of the event. I was someone in a tree! I was younger then! Tell him what i see! I am in a tree. I am ten. I am in a tree. I was younger then. In between the leaves i can see — Tell me what i see. I was only ten. I see men and matting. Some are old, some chatting. If it happened, i was there! I saw everything! I was someone in a tree. Tell him what i see! Some of them have gold on their coats. One of them has gold. He was younger then. Someone crawls around passing notes — Someone very old — He was only ten. And there's someone in a tree —  — or the day is incomplete. Without someone in a tree,  Nothing happened here. I am hiding in a tree. I'm a fragment of the day. If i weren't, who's to say  Things would happen here the way   That they happened here? I was there then. I am here still. It's the fragment, not the day. It's the pebble, not the stream. It's the ripple, not the sea. Not the building but the beam,  Not the garden but the stone,   Not the treaty house,   Someone in a tree. Pardon me, i am here  —If you please, i am also here   They kept drinking cups of tea. They kept sitting on the floor. They drank many cups of tea. No, we told him that before. If you please, i am here. You are where? In the treaty house. In the treaty house? Or very near. Can you hear? I'm below. So i notice. Underneath the floor,  And so i can't see anything. I can hear them,  But i can't see anything. But you can hear? But i can hear. Shall i listen? If you please. I can hear them now …  I shall try to shift my knees …   I can hear them now …   I hear everything …   I'm the part that's underneath,   With my sword inside my sheath. I can hear them now …  One is over me …   If they knock, then i appear. I'm a part of what i hear. I'm the fragment underneath. I can hear them now! Tell us what you hear! First i hear a creak and a thump. Now i hear a clink …  Then they talk a bit …   Many times they shout when they speak. Other times they think. Or they argue it …  I hear floorboards groaning …   Angry growls …   much droning …   Since i hear them, they are there,   As they argue it. I'm the listener underneath. Someone reads a list  From a box. Someone talks of laws. Then they fan a bit. Someone bangs a fist. Someone knocks. Now there was a pause. Then they argue it:  "but we want …"   "no, you can't   And we won't …"   "but we need it,   And we want …"   "will you grant — ?" "if you don't …"  "we concede it …"  And they sat I can hear through the night Them. And they lit Yellow tapers. I'm a And they I was Fragment of Chat. There the Then. And they Day. fight And they sit Signing Papers. If I Weren't who's to say Things would happen here the way that they're happening? It's the fragment, not the day. It's the pebble, not the stream. It's the ripple, not the sea That is happening. Not the building but the beam, Not the garden but the stone, Only cups of tea and history And someone in a tree. //Pacific Overtures// is one of Sondheim’s lesser-known shows. It depicts Japan in the Age of Imperialism with Commodore Matthew C. Perry as the barbaric character trying to open Japan to the Western world of trade. To Americans, Perry is not usually seen as barbaric, but Sondheim takes a Japanese view of this time period. “Someone in a Tree” is about the events that happened in the Treaty House with Perry. Records of this meeting would have been lost from history if not for a young boy watching from a tree and a warrior hiding beneath the Treaty House. Sondheim uses four characters in this song – the Reciter, an old man, the old man as a young boy, and the warrior. It begins with a conversation between the Reciter and the old man. The old man has an excited tone when talking about his childhood with the trees. As a young boy, it would be thrilling to watch history take place and be part of it. He looks back on that time with joy. When the boy appears, it is obvious from his tone that he can hardly sit still watching from the tree. Sondheim chose to include the young boy because the old man is telling a story to the Reciter, and the audience is watching the actions of the story to get a more clear understanding, as this is a very important part of the plot. The two begin describing what they see in the Treaty House such as rich men (gold coat) and scribes. They then lead into a sequence that is frequently repeated. The old man states that the day is incomplete without someone in a tree. This probably means that his presence is allowing this piece of history to be recorded, and without him, part of history would be missing. This also applies to his statement that he is a fragment of the day – part of history is known because of his findings. The two then compare the act of watching from the tree to a pebble, a ripple, a beam, and a stone. These are all smaller objects that make up a larger object, and without them, the larger object would not be complete. Here, the men are explaining how the discussion in the Treaty House would not matter if not for the recordings. Sondheim then introduces the character of the warrior who sits beneath the Treaty House. He explains to the Reciter that he has recorded the discussion as well. He describes various sounds he hears while sitting – sounds that are more barbaric than civilized. This is to show the barbaric nature of Perry and the trouble his presence causes for the Japanese. The three men then sing different parts of the song at the same time to tie the lengthy song back together and connect the men because of their actions in watching the Treaty House. In unison, they end the song and repeat the comparisons of the smaller objects to being in the tree to further connect them together. This poem is mostly telling a story about how important the days of watching the Treaty House was. Sondheim also uses this song to portray a message that the hero is not always the most obvious option. These men saved this portion of history, and they were not necessarily the most important people of their time. In other terms, Sondheim’s message is that the smaller components are more important than the larger ones in the big picture. “Someone in a Tree” is more about meaning than the storytelling. **Anyone Can Whistle** **By Stephen Sondheim** Anyone can whistle, That's what they say- Easy. Anyone can whistle Any old day- Easy. It's all so simple: Relax, let go, let fly. So someone tell me why Can't I? I can dance a tango, I can read Greek- Easy. I can slay a dragon Any old week- Easy. What's hard is simple. What's natural comes hard. Maybe you could show me How to let go, Lower my guard, Learn to be free. Maybe if you whistle, Whistle for me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncyo8EUUCVE

This is the title song from //Anyone Can Whistle//, another of Sondheim’s more obscure plays. It tells the story of Fay, a cynical girl in a town full of fake people. Fay sings this song in an emotional breakdown. After dressing in disguise as a French woman to hide from the mayor, she realizes that all she wants is to break down and be free. Sondheim uses the action of whistling because most everyone can whistle, and it is a very casual act. Fay describes it as easy. She asks a rhetorical question, wanting to know why if whistling is such a common and easy task she can’t do it. She then lists things she can do – dancing a complex dance, learning a language, and killing a mythical creature. Her list goes from easy to impossible to show the range of her abilities. She can do the impossible, but what she finds impossible is breaking her hard persona. Fay then says, ‘what’s hard is simple…what’s natural comes hard” (17-8). To her, the hardest things in life are quite easy for her to accomplish, but things that are easy for others are difficult to her. Here, Fay finds herself in confusion over her identity because she has found herself to be the opposite of everyone else, and she wants to be able to be like everyone else. This desire is normally considered dangerous, as everyone should be his or her individual self, but here, this change would be for the better as her cynical attitude is actually damaging her. She then asks if she could learn how to break her harsh nature down and be free – something that would be good for her. She ends stating, “maybe if you whistle, whistle for me” (23-4). These last lines have been disputed many times. To me, they mean to say that Fay finally accepts that she wants to change, and she is asking for someone to show her how. The beginning and middle of the poem maintain a disappointed tone, showing a frustration in Fay that she is struggling to experience life the way others are. In the end, the tone changes to willing and vulnerable as she makes her decision. The action of whistling is a strange choice for Sondheim. There are countless other actions that are easy-going and are done by almost everyone. However, whistling has a more specific meaning. Whistling is as easy as breathing, and even if you are not the best whistler, you are most likely able to make some kind of whistling sound. It can be done at almost any time, but mostly in a relaxing setting. Most importantly, it implies a sense of joy and engagement. Twiddling thumbs is also an easy task that can be done almost anywhere, but it implies boredom. Whistling is done to express happiness in life, and it suggests positive experiences. Sondheim uses this song to reach out to those who can get caught up in serious matters and tell them to let go, enjoy life, and whistle.