Lyrics on Several Occasions - Softcover

Gershwin, Ira

Softcover

ISBN 10: 087910094X ISBN 13: 9780879100940

Publisher: Limelight Editions, 2004

Synopsis

(Limelight). One of the most distinguished lyric-writers of his time, Ira Gershwin wrote for his brother George as well as Jerome Kern, Kurt Weill, Harold Arlen and others. Limelight presents a selection of stage and screen lyrics written for sundry situations and now arranged in arbitrary categories, to which have been added many informative annotations and disquistions on their why and wherefore, their whom-for, their how, and matters associative. "Gershwin's comments, witty and irreverent, and his anecdotes about the making of many favorites, are invariably interesting and frequently surprising." Chicago Tribune

About this title

Review:

Back in print at last, this 1959 book gives the lesser-known Gershwin brother (the one who wrote "the words") a chance not only to see his lyrics for such songs as "Embraceable You," "Someone to Watch over Me," and 102 others stand on their own, but also to tell the classic showbiz stories behind each one. Sometimes these take the form of name-dropping personal anecdotes, and sometimes they're accounts of peculiar lyric challenges and how he solved them. Gershwin reveals that the original "dummy" lyric for the tricky "I Got Rhythm" was "Roly-Poly/ Eating solely/ Ravioli/ Better watch your diet or bust." Either as showbiz memoir or pure poetry, Gershwin's book is a delight.

About this edition

• Publisher: Limelight Editions
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 087910094X
• ISBN 13: 9780879100940
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 424