Life in Lyrics

"Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life."  -Berthold Auerbach

There are certain lyrics that speak touch my soul. They especially tend to turn up in musicals. Lyrics that I can't forget, because they say something about life that I hadn't put into words. But adding music raises it to a whole new level. I don't know how singing makes everything so perfect, but it does. Here are five examples from five of my favorite musicals. (None from Into the Woods in this post-- it is **impossible** for me to choose just one set of flawless lyrics.) 

Note: Except for Newsies, none of these songs are my favorite from the particular show. I just have to spotlight the lyrics.

(Listed in no particular order)

1. "Getting your dreams, it's strange, but it seems/ A little, well, complicated/ There's a kind of a sort of/ Cost/ There's a couple of things get/ Lost/ There are bridges you cross you didn't know you crossed until you've crossed them."
-"Thank Goodness" from Wicked

 

2. "I want adventure in the great wide somewhere/ I want it more than I can tell/ And for once it might be grand/ To have someone understand/ I want so much more than they've got planned."
-"Belle (Reprise)" from Beauty and the Beast

3. "He was never mine to lose/ Why regret what could not be?/ These are words he'll never say/ Not to me/ Not to me."
-"A Heart Full of Love" from Les Miserables

4. "When I dream/ On my own/ I'm alone/ But I ain't lonely/ For a dreamer night's the only time of day/ When the city's finally sleeping/ And my thoughts begin to stray/ And I'm on the train that's bound for Santa Fe."
-"Santa Fe" from Newsies

5. "Grab up your one golden chance/ Darlings, life is such romance/ Give this world a sweeping glance/ Let it set your soul a-dancing night and day."
-"Vivez" from The Scarlet Pimpernel

I'm definitely going to do another post like this in future.