RIP Stephen Sondheim
Because Rhymes Over Beats is a theater company, before another day goes by we must add our voice to the chorus of praise for the life and work of Stephen Sondheim. His passing leaves a void nearly impossible to fill.
And because we are a hip hop theater company, we especially want to praise his use of various rhyme schemes.
Use of Rhyme in Musical Songs
In his work Sondheim has used every possible way of constructing a rhyme. There is one song, however, that I think is exceptional – and strangely enough, it is NOT one from his many theatrical works.
It is “I Never Do Anything Twice,” a song composed for the 1976 film The Seven-Per-Cent Solution. On YouTube there are multiple versions of the song. I would encourage everyone to listen to it.
You’ll find that the song has three verses and one chorus. In the verses he rhymes the end word in every other line. In the chorus, he rhymes the end word three lines in a row. In one chorus he uses the same word as a rhyme with itself, playing with the different meanings of the word (“habit” as an article of clothing and as a repetitive behavior).
This kind of virtuoso writing of rhymes is something we writers should all aspire to do.
Now, sadly, there is one less person to do it.
#RIP Mr. Sondheim.