Song of the day: "Losing my mind" by Stephen Sondheim

This has to be the best written songs of all-time (in my humble opinion). Dark, personal, and deeply cutting which is what Sondheim does best. What a strange juxtaposition: the tedium of external, daily life contrasted with obsessive, self-absorbed madness.

I'll have to study this song in more detail at some point. The short, repetitive nature of the lyrics conveys both the monotony of daily life and the cycling of obsessive thoughts. I was really surprised in the line "the thought of you stays bright", the lyric "bright" is actually sung on a very low note, that is a huge drop in pitch from the rest of the phrase. Singing "bright" on a note that is anything but bright conveys the conflict in the singer's mind.

From the musical Follies

The sun comes up,
I think about you.
The coffee cup,
I think about you.
I want you so,
It's like I'm losing my mind.
The morning ends,
I think about you.
I talk to friends,
I think about you.
And do they know?
It's like I'm losing my mind.
All afternoon,
Doing every little chore,
The thought of you stays bright.
Sometimes I stand
In the middle of the floor,
Not going left,
Not going right.
I dim the lights
And think about you,
Spend sleepless nights
To think about you.
You said you loved me,
Or were you just being kind?
Or am I losing my mind?

I want you so,
It's like I'm losing my mind.

Does no one know?
It's like I'm losing my mind.
All afternoon,
Doing every little chore,
The thought of you stays bright.
Sometimes I stand
In the middle of the floor,
Not going left,
Not going right.
I dim the lights
And think about you,
Spend sleepless nights
To think about you.
You said you loved me,
Or were you just being kind!
Or am I losing my mind?