There are several that could be considered patter songs in _Into the Woods,_ including "Giants in the Sky", "On the Steps of the Palace", and especially "Your Fault". In _A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum_ there's "Pretty LIttle Picture". In _Pacific Overtures_ there's a whole big section in "Please Hello" that is like the Major-General's song in _The Pirates of Penzance._
Good list. But the Sondheim patter song that I think should have been at the very top, didn't even make your list: "Pirelli's Miracle Elixir" from "Sweeney Todd.
The British and French sections of 'Please, Hello' from Pacific Overtures should have been on here, maybe 'The God-Why-Don't-You-Love-Me-Blues' from Follies and definitely 'Kiss Me' from Sweeney Todd.
Even the American section has a patter-y feel, as does "The Advantages of Floating in the Middle of the Sea." ("Beyond the screens that glide aside..." etc.)
enjoyed the video! I thought Not Getting Married Today is number 1. i thought the Greens, Greens Witch's Intro in Into The Woods would be there in the Top 5!
Watched your video because I wanted to know what a patter song was after hearing about them in "only murders in the building". I just love the triplet patter song sung by Steve Martin, I think he does an amazing job! 👏👏
Julie Andrews' performance of Getting Married Today is actually from the 1993 Off-Broadway performance of Putting It Together! Before it transferred to mainstage Broadway in 1999 with Carol Burnett, Julie was also a part of the performance that you show in the Putting It Together segment with Michael Rupert, Rachel York, Christopher Durang, and Stephen Collins.
Another lovely video! Some patter songs I've recently seen live are "Both Sides of the Coin" from Mystery of Edwin Drood & "Not Getting Married" from Company. Truly breathtaking to watch a real person in front of you perform such challenging works. If I had to shout out another song off the top of my head, "Everybody Loves Louis" has stretches of pitter patter (I love the character Dot). Also, "Cabaret" from Cabaret.
Such a great video! Sondheim really was one of the greatest minds to ever have lived. Also, I didn't even know that Julie Andrews did a version of (Not) Getting Married Today. Gotta go check that out!
I think the song Please, Hello from Pacific Overtures is my favorite "villain" song of all time, and everyone should listen to it, I would have loved to see it on the list, but I don't have the strength to chose where it should have been placed.
this should have been a top ten at least......And Please Hello should be on the list absolutely. There also the story of Jessy and Lucy and The God Why don't you love me blues from Follies
Yeah, "Please Hello" immediately comes to the mind. It even includes a G&S patter song parody. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Z8WiudDlTBw.html
"Please Hello" from "Pacific Overtures" contains what is easily the best Gilbert & Sullivan parody I've ever heard. I was astonished to learn that Sondheim didn't think very highly of G&S; he certainly mastered their idiom.
What a great video! I had never heard of a Patter Song before and am glad I learned since I apparently love them 😀 Gonna have to listen to Not Getting Married Today on repeat until I have memorized every line lol
They’re not Sondheim, but you should also give a listen to “Model Behavior” from Women On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown and “I Know What’s Going to Happen” from Tootsie 😁
The funniest version of Getting Married Today is definitely Madeline Kahn. Patti Lupone & Mandy Patinkin are 2 of the other greats that could demolish any of the patter songs!! Their annunciation & breath work is spectacular.
Not getting married today should be one. I don't know, I have sang each song mentioned but I feel the anxiety attack is just... The best, number one for me.
I got to play Ruth in Pirates of Penzance. The show was modeled after the then current Broadway production with Linda Ronstat and Kevin Kline so the director added the pattern song "My Eyes Are Fully Open" from Ruddigore, with the lyrics changed to match Pirates' plot. Thar sucker was freaking fast. I loved performing G&S.
@@22Circes That song has a fun history. Martyn Greene, who sang the "George Grossmith parts" (i.e., Major General Stanley and Sir Ruthven Murgatroyd) started the practice of singing his verse of the song in a single breath, because it amused him to watch the audience subconsciously hold their breaths as he did it. That's why Kevin Kline does the bit of singing his verse on a single breath.
While (Not) Getting Married Today is my personal favorite Sondheim patter song, would West Side Story's Gee Officer Krupke also be considered one? I know Sondheim didn't write the music, but I love the fast paced lyrics. RIFF: Dear kindly social worker, They tell me get a job, Like be a soda jerker, Which means I'd be a slob. It's not I'm anti-social, I'm only anti-work. Glory Osky, that's why I'm a jerk! A-RAB ("Social Worker"): Eek! Officer Krupke, you've done it again. This boy don't need a job, he needs a year in the pen. It ain't just a question of misunderstood; Deep down inside him, he's no good! RIFF: I'm no good! ALL: We're no good, we're no good, We're no earthly good, Like the best of us is no damn good! DIESEL ("Judge"): The trouble is he's lazy. ACTION ("Psychiatrist"): The trouble is he drinks. A-RAB ("Social Worker"): The trouble is he's crazy. DIESEL ("Judge"): The trouble is he stinks. ACTION ("Psychiatrist"): The trouble is he's growing. A-RAB("Social Worker"): The trouble is he's grown. ALL: Krupke, we got troubles of our own!
"Buddy's Blues" really needs to be on this list- a borderline criminal exclusion. Actually, I really only agree with "Getting Married Today" from your list, and would also have included "Giants in the Sky", "Everybody Says Don't", and "Opening Doors". I'm confused as to how anyone would put "Worst Pies in London" on a list like this, tbh.
As his lyrics are just the best and he started as a lyricist I can understand your choice, but to me the music is just as important and I like music that stays comfortably in my head, even when I can't reproduce the lyrics after having heard them for the umpteenth time. Thats why I prefer the Sweeny Todd ones about the pussycats and elixirs XD.
I would have put "Not getting married" at Number 1...... performed brilliantly by Cassidy Janson in the 2011 Southwark Playhouse, (London, UK), production of Company!
I would have included "The Miller's Son" from A Little Night Music. Although there are slow sections within it, there are some nice patter song moments as well.
Franklin Shepard Inc. has recently become my favorite Sondheim number of all time. Nice to see it get some recognition! (I'm ashamed to admit but I was planning on leaving an angry comment if it wasn't here lol)
Oh HELL no!! Under no sane universe is "Your Fault" from "Into the Woods" NOT number ONE!! It's a patter song using 5 characters singing it!! How could you...
I really liked the use of "Co-op" to introduce the concept. I don't think Miranda has ever written a patter song. He writes hip hop songs for musicals. That being said, I was telling a friend today I think patter songs are proto hip hop.
@@tomorr7548 I respectfully disagree. YW has a rap for the bridge, but everything else is standard. I think this goes back to the taxonomy of rap vs patter, but I can still cleaning draw a line between the two.
I don't think some of these meet the definition of a patter song. "Getting Married Today," of course, and the British Ambassador section of "Please Hello," without a doubt. But not all lyric-dense songs are patter songs, and when they have slower, broader sections ("Mind you I can't hardly blame them. These are probably the worst pies in London..." for example), I believe that puts them in other categories.
I’m sorry, I have to disagree. While I do love Franklin Sheppard Inc, I PLAYED AMY, and Getting Married Today is a FAR MORE DIFFICULT song to sing. I did it going up and down platforms in a gymnasium without a mic. Franklin Sheppard does give you room to breathe, Getting Married Today does not. Sing both and THEN tell me which you think Is the harder/better song.
I disagree with Another Hundred People. If a song has some patter elements, but also plenty of melisma and sustained notes, I don't know that I'd call it a patter song.
11:10 Soooo.... ya slipped in a rolled Spanish "R" in Lin Manuel Miranda but not in any of the other Spanish words. Why not? Is it pretentious to roll an R if it's not part of your native tongue? You'll notice French speakers, for example, make no attempt at all to recreate more or less authentic sounds from other languages. I even heard a few comments about this on NPR: How Spanish is the ONLY non-English language on NPR where they try to imitate the accent, but you'll never hear them using a "Russian" R, for example. What gives?
I'm really fascinated by how some people try to indulge in quasi-analytical videos on Sondheim when there's so little substance to deal with. His so-called patter songs are really babble over music and way beneath Arthur Sullivan's brilliant examples of the art form.
Wrong! A patter song is not a fast song with a lot of words. A patter song is a "list" or a catalog of things. Like "raindrops on roses..." (My Favorite Things from "The Sound of Music"). William S. Gilbert was the best. Sondheim didn't like Gilbert and Sullivan comic operas.
The closest thing we have to a consensus definition of “patter song” would be Wikipedia’s, which describes it thus: “A patter song is characterized by a moderately fast to very fast tempo with a rapid succession of rhythmic patterns in which each syllable of text corresponds to one note.” I could find no definition anywhere that limited the phrase to lists.
UTTERLY disagree. Gilbert had to include a libretto in the program because you couldn’t always catch the lyrics as they would be a bit obscure and tortured. Sondheim, OTOH, always catches the ear clearly.
It's so strange seeing your face like Ive been listening to the podcast forever and like knowing what you look like beyond a disembodied voice is making me trip I can even begin to rank patter song smoke ahhh I'm crying just thinking about his musicals
Like your fault (idk if it counts tbh) is my favourite but that's probably cause I heard into the woods and a toddler and like I'm obsessed with fairytales and myths
