Lyrics By the Sea - Stephen Sondheim

By the Sea

If the business stays as good?
Where I’d really like to go,
In a year or so?
Don’t you want to know?
TODD: (spoken) Yes, yes, of course.
LOVETT: Do you really want to know?
TODD: (spoken) Yes, I do, I do.
LOVETT: (spoken) I’ve always had this dream…
Ever since I was a skinny little slip of a thing and my rich Aunt
Nettie used to take me down to the seaside August Bank Holiday…
The pier… Makin’little castles in the sand…
Ooh, I can still feel me toes wigglin’around in the briney!
By the sea, Mr. Todd, that’s the life I covet,
By the sea, Mr. Todd, ooh, I know you’d love it!
You and me, Mr. T, we could be alone
In a house wot we’d almost own,
Down by the sea!
Wouldn’t that be smashing?
TODD: Anything you say…
LOVETT:
With the sea at our gate, we’ll have kippered herring
Wot have swum to us straight from the Straits of Bering!
Ev’ry night, in the kip, when we’re through our kippers,
I’ll be there slippin’off your slippers!
By the sea,
With the fishies splashing!
By the sea!
Wouldn’t that be smashing?
TODD: Anything you say, anything you say…
LOVETT:
I can hear us wakin,'
The breakers breakin,'
The seagulls squawkin,'
'Hoo, hoo!'
I do me bakin,'
Then I go walkin'
With you-hoo!
Yoo-hoo!
I’ll warm me bones on the esplanade,
Have tea and scones with me gay young blade,
Then I’ll knit a sweater
While you write a letter
Unless we’ve got better to do-hoo!
TODD: Anything you say…
LOVETT:
Think how snug it’ll be underneath our flannel
When it’s just you and me and the English Channel!
In our cozy retreat kept all neat and tidy,
We’ll have chums over ev’ry Friday!
By the sea!
Don’tcha love the weather?
By the sea!
We’ll grow old together!
By the seaside,
Hoo, hoo!
By the beautiful sea!
(spoken)
Oh, I can see us now, in our bathing dresses!
You in a nice, rich navy, and me… stripes, perhaps.
It’ll be so quiet,
That who’ll come by it,
Except a seagull
Hoo, hoo!
We shouldn’t try it,
Though, 'til it’s legal for two-hoo!
But a seaside wedding could be devised,
Me rumpled bedding legitimized!
Me eyelids’ll flutter,
I’ll turn into butter,
The moment I mutter I do-hoo!
By the sea, in our nest, we could share our kippers
With the odd payin’guest from the weekend trippers,
Have a nice sunny suite for the guest to rest in,
Now and then, you could do the guest in!
By the sea,
Married nice and proper!
By the sea,
Bring along your chopper!
To the seaside,
Hoo, hoo!
By the beautiful sea!