Stephen Sondheim > Quotes

“If I cannot fly, let me sing.”
― Stephen Sondheim

“I prefer neurotic people. I like to hear rumblings beneath the surface.”
― Stephen Sondheim

“Art, in itself, is an attempt to bring order out of chaos. ”
― Stephen Sondheim

“You're so nice. You're not good, you're not bad, You're just nice. I'm not good, I'm not nice, I'm just right. I'm the witch. You're the world.”
― Stephen Sondheim, Into the Woods

“Oh if life were made of moments
Even now and then a bad one--!
But if life were only moments,
Then you'd never know you had one.”
― Stephen Sondheim, Into the Woods

“There's a hole in the world like a big black pit who are filled with people who are filled with shit.”
― Stephen Sondheim, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

“Sometimes people leave you
Halfway through the wood
Others may decieve you
You decide what's good
You decide alone
But no one is alone”
― Stephen Sondheim, Into the Woods

“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

“At last, my arm is complete again”
― Stephen Sondheim, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

“There's a hole in the world like a great black pit
and the vermin of the world inhabit it
and its morals aren't worth what a pig could spit
and it goes by the name of London.
At the top of the hole sit the privileged few
Making mock of the vermin in the lonely zoo
turning beauty to filth and greed...
I too have sailed the world and seen its wonders,
for the cruelty of men is as wonderous as Peru
but there's no place like London!”
― Stephen Sondheim, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

“Work is what you do for others, liebchen. Art is what you do for yourself.”
― Stephen Sondheim, Sunday in the Park with George

“They all deserve to die.
Even you, Mrs. Lovett
Even I.

Because the lives of the wicked should be made brief
For the rest of us death would be relief.”
― Stephen Sondheim, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

“Music blows lyrics up very quickly, and suddenly they become more than art. They become pompous and they become self-conscious ... I firmly believe that lyrics have to breathe and give the audience's ear a chance to understand what's going on. Particularly in the theater, where you not only have the music, but you've got costume, story, acting, orchestra. There's a lot to take in.”
― Stephen Sondheim

“Careful the things you say,
Children will listen.
Careful the things you do,
Children will see.
And learn.

Children may not obey
But children will listen.
Children will look to you
For which way to turn,
To learn what to be.

Careful before you say,
"Listen to me."
Children will listen.”
― Stephen Sondheim, Into the Woods

“The difference between a cow and a bean is a bean can begin an adventure.”
― Stephen Sondheim, Into the Woods

“One difference between poetry and lyrics is that lyrics sort of fade into the background. They fade on the page and live on the stage when set to music.”
― Stephen Sondheim

“Nice is different than good.”
― Stephen Sondheim

“Anything you do, let it come from you. Then it will be new. Give us more to see...”
― Stephen Sondheim, Sunday in the Park with George

“Best to take the moment present
As a present for the moment”
― Stephen Sondheim, Into the Woods

“I chose and my world was shaken, so what? The choice may have been mistaken, the choosing was not.”
― Stephen Sondheim, Sunday in the Park with George

“I read to see myself in other people's lives.”
― Stephen Sondheim, Passion

“Was that me? Yes it was. Was that him? No it wasn't..
Just a trick of the woods!
Just a moment,
One peculiar passing moment.
Must it all be either less or more,
Either plain or grand?
Is it always 'or'?
Is it never 'and'?
That's what woods are for:
For those moments in the woods...
Oh, if life were made of moments,
Even now and then a bad one--!
But if life were only moments,
Then you'd never know you had one.
First a witch, then a child, then a Prince, then a moment--
Who can live in the woods?
And to get what you wish, only just for a moment--
These are dangerous woods..
Let the moment go..
Don't forget it for a moment, though.
Just remembering you had an 'and,' when you're back to 'or,'
Makes the 'or' mean more than is did before.
Now I understand--
And it's time to leave the woods.”
― Stephen Sondheim, Into the Woods

“Alright! You sir, you sir, how about a shave?
Come and visit your good friend Sweeney.
You sir, too sir? Welcome to the grave.

I will have vengenance.
I will have salvation.

Who sir, you sir?
No ones in the chair, Come on! Come on!
Sweeney's. waiting. I want you bleeders.
You sir! Anybody!
Gentlemen now don't be shy!

Not one man, no, nor ten men.
Nor a hundred can assuage me.
I will have you!
And I will get him back even as he gloats
In the meantime I'll practice on less honorable throats.
And my Lucy lies in ashes
And I'll never see my girl again.

But the work waits!
I'm alive at last!
And I'm full of joy!”
― Stephen Sondheim, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

“The dumbing down of the country reflects itself on Broadway. The shows get dumber, and the public gets used to them. ”
― Stephen Sondheim

“Bit by bit, putting it together...
Piece by piece, only way to make a work of art.
Every moment makes a contribution,
Every little detail plays a part.
Having just the vision's no solution,
Everything depends on execution,
Putting it together, that's what counts.”
― Stephen Sondheim, Sunday in the Park with George

“Slotted spoons don't hold much soup...”
― Stephen Sondheim, Into the Woods

“No one has ever loved me
As deeply as you.
No one has truly shown me
What love could be like until now:

Not pretty or safe or easy
But more than I ever knew.
Love within reason -
That isn't love.
And I've learned that from you..”
― Stephen Sondheim, Passion

“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, Finishing the Hat: Collected Lyrics, 1954-1981, With Attendant Comments, Principles, Heresies, Grudges, Whines, and Anecdotes

“It's not so much do what you like as it is that you like what you do.”
― Stephen Sondheim, Sunday in the Park with George

“Must it all be either less or more,
Either plain or grand?
Is it always 'or'?
Is it never 'and'?
That's what woods are for:
For those moments in the woods...
Oh, if life were made of moments,
Even now and then a bad one--!
But if life were only moments,
Then you'd never know you had one.

...to get what you wish, only just for a moment--
These are dangerous woods!
Let the moment go...
Don't forget it for a moment, though.
Just remembering you had an 'and,' when you're back to 'or,'
Makes the 'or' mean more than is did before.
Now I understand--
And it's time to leave the woods.”
― Stephen Sondheim, Into the Woods