John Kander I Miss The Music
Cioffi (spoken):
You see what I'm saying? The song itself is kind of
lackluster. It lacks ..
Chris:
Yes?
Cioffi:
Luster.
Chris:
I agree. We need a completely new composition,
one that's catchier than pink eye. I'll leave you to
it.
Cioffi:
Well, at least now you'll have a few minutes alone with
your piano.
Aaron:
Alone, yeah.
Cioffi:
Could I ask, only because
I've wondered this my entire life--which would normally
come first,
the music or the lyric?
Aaron:
Same answer as the chicken or the egg.
Cioffi:
Ah, so it's the lyric.
Aaron:
No. It can start with a note.
Which can become a phrase.
And then you try hanging words off each branch, like
trimming a tree.
Cioffi:
Sounds easy enough.
Aaron:
Really? Well don't talk about love
Or you'll have to say "fits like a glove"
Or "As certain as push comes to shove"
You will pine for the woman you're constantly thinking
of
You see the problem.
Cioffi:
Dangling participle. So you suggest staying away from
love?
Aaron:
At all costs. And don't mention your life
Or you'll have to say "cuts like a knife"
Or refer to the heartbreak and strife
When you find that you're missing your ...
Cioffi:
Missing?
Aaron:
What?
Cioffi:
You were saying what you miss.
Aaron:
No I meant that, well ...
(sung)I miss the music
I miss the song
Since she’s not with me
It comes out wrong
It doesn’t matter
How hard I try
I’ve lost the music
I don’t know why
You may have known
Before I met her
I wrote alone
But if you ask me
What I prefer
I’d say the music
I wrote with her
When you’re writing a song
And you’ve a partner
The room is filled with jokes and chatter
She says something
You say something
She writes a line
You play a vamp
But when you’re writing a song
Without a partner
That’s a completely different matter
No one tells you “That’s not funny”
No one says “Let’s cut that bar”
No one makes you better than you are
I can’t pretend
I miss the music
I miss my friend
No need to ask me
What I prefer
I choose the music
I wrote with her
I liked the music
I made with …
Georgia (spoken):
Aaron, I forgot my lyric. Can you believe it? Me.
Aaron:
Well you’re not the lyricist now, you’re the star.
Georgia? Break a leg.
Georgia:
Thanks. You can finish the song without me?
Aaron:
I’m a one-man band.
(sung)
I miss the music
I miss my friend
No need to ask me
What I prefer
I choose the music
I wrote with her
I loved the music
I made with her