Lyrics Color and Light - Stephen Sondheim, Claybourne Elder

Color and Light

Order
Design
Composition
Tone
Form
Symmetry
Balance
More red…
And a little more red…
Blue blue blue blue
Blue blue blue blue
Even even…
Good…
Bumbum bum bumbumbum
Bumbum bum…
More red…
More blue…
More beer…
More light!
Color and light
There’s only color and light
Yellow and white
Just blue and yellow and white
Look at the air, miss
See what I mean?
No, look over there, miss
That’s done with green…
Conjoined with orange…
Nothing seems to fit me right.
The less I wear, the more comfortable I feel.
More rouge.
George is very special.
Maybe I’m just not special enough for him.
(sung)
If my legs were longer
If my bust was smaller
If my hands were graceful
If my waist was thinner
If my hips were flatter
If my voice was warm
If I could concentrate
I’d be in the Follies
I’d be in a cabaret
Gentlemen in tall silk hats
And linen spats
Would wait with flowers
I could make them wait for hours
Giddy young aristocrats
With fancy flats
Would drink my health
And I would be as hard as nails…
And they’d only want me more…
If I was a folly girl
Nah, I wouldn’t like it much
Married men and stupid boys
And too much smoke and all that noise
And all that color and light…
Aren’t you proper today, miss?
Your parasol so properly cocked, your bustle so
perfectly upright.
And you, sir.
Your hat so black.
So black to you, perhaps.
So red to me.
None of the others worked at night…
So composed for a Sunday.
How do you work without the right
Bright white light?
How do you fathom, George?
Red red red red
Red red orange
Red red orange
Orange pick up blue
Pick up red
Pick up orange
From the blue-green blue-green
Blue-green circle
On the violet diagonal
Di-ag-ag-ag-ag-ag-o-nal-nal
Yellow comma yellow comma
Numnum num numnumnum
Numnum num…
Blue blue blue blue
Blue still sitting
Red that perfume
Blue all night
Blue-green the window shut
Dut dut dut
Dot Dot sitting
Dot Dot waiting
Dot Dot getting fat fat fat
More yellow
Dot Dot waiting to go
Out out out
No no no George
Finish the hat finish the hat
Have to finish the hat first
Hat hat hat hat
Hot hot hot it’s hot in here…
Sunday!
Color and light!
But how George looks.
He could look forever.
There’s only color and light
As if he sees you and he doesn’t all at once.
Purple and white…
What is he thinking when he looks like that?
And red and purple and white
What does he see?
Sometimes, not even blinking.
Look at this glade, girls
Your cool blue spot
His eyes.
So dark and shiny.
No, stay in the shade, girls
It’s getting hot…
Some think cold and black--
It’s getting orange…
But it’s warm inside his eyes…
Hotter…
And it’s soft inside his eyes…
And he burns you with his eyes…
Look at her looking.
And you’re studied like the light
Forever with that mirror.
What does she see?
And you look inside the eyes
The pink lips, the red cheeks…
And you catch him here and there
The wide eyes.
Studying the round face, the tiny pout…
But he’s never really there
Seeing all the parts and none of the whole
So you want him even more
But the way she catches light…
And you drown inside the eyes…
And the color of her hair…
I could look at her forever I could look at him forever
It’s going well.
Should I wear my red dress or blue?
Red.
Aren’t you going to clean up?
Why?
The Follies, George.
I have to finish the hat.
Damn!
The Follies.
Will she yell or stay silent?
Go without me or sulk in the
corner?
Will she be in the bed when the hat and the grass and the parasol have
finally found their way?
(sung)
Too green
(spoken)
Do I care?
(sung)
Too blue
(spoken)
Yes
(spoken)
Too soft
(sung)
What should I do?
Well…
Red