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Sondheim: "Old Friends"

 One trick of Sondheim's is to dissect each and every word in a common phrase.


"Could I Leave You?" ....Sondheim looks at "could" vs. "will".... (Yes, I *could* leave you--but, for an end to this story, you'll have to wait and see....) Could *I* leave you? ("How could *I* leave....when I left long ago?")

Could I *leave* you? ("No, the point is....could you *leave* me?")

Could I leave *you* ....and *your* shelves of the world's best books...and the evenings of martyred looks, cryptic sighs....?

A similar magic is on display in "Old Friends," from "Merrily We Roll Along."

What is a friend?

Most friends fade...
Or they don't make the grade....
New ones are quickly made--
And, in a pinch, sure, they'll do....

What does it mean to be "old," in someone's life? (Maybe you learn an answer by contrasting "old" with "good" ....)

Good friends point out your lies--
Whereas OLD friends live and let live...
Good friends like and advise--
Whereas OLD friends love and forgive....

Most of us don't question what it means to be an old friend, but Sondheim does--and the question yields riches. Sondheim's leading characters beam at one another while also attempting murder-by-strangulation. The words help us to recall mysteries--without providing solutions. (Actually, there are no solutions.) This song was the highlight of the Tony Awards.

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