Putting it together - Original Cast Recording video free download

Stephen Sondheim's 'Putting it Together' by the Original Cast: Julie Andrews, Stephen Collins, Christopher Durang, Michael Rupert, Rachel York.

Putting it Together - Lyrics

Bit by bit, putting it together

Piece by piece, only way to make a work of art

Every moment makes a contribution

Every little detail plays a part

Having just a vision's no solution

Everything depends on execution

Putting it together (That's what counts)

Ounce by ounce, putting it together

Small amounts, adding up to make a work of art

First of all you need a good foundation

Otherwise it's risky from the start

Takes a lot of earnest conversation

But without the proper preparation

Having just a vision's no solution

Everything depends on execution

The art of making art, is putting it together

Bit by bit

Note by note, working on projection

Lips, teeth, throat, looking for a moment to inhale

Keeping the emotional connection

Even when your fellow actors fail

Pointing at the subtext by inflection

Helping your director reach perfection

Even though you have a strong objection

To the way he's handling the direction

Art isn't easy

Every minor detail

Is a major decision

Have to keep things in scale

Have to hold to your vision

Even though you're feeling apprehensive

That you're looking bland and inoffensive

And you wish your wardrobe was extensive

Don't forget that Spangles are expensive

The light, Love

A little to the right, Love

It isn't very bright, Love

And must it be so tight, Love

He does that every night

Beat by beat, losing inhibition

Head, hands, feet, trying to relax, but not too much

Trying to lay out the exposition

But without exposing it as such

Trying to perform but not audition

Trying to establish recognition

Trying to persuade the electrician

That he should destroy the competition

Art isn't easy

Every word, every line

Every glance, every movement

You improve and refine

And refine each improvement

Bit by bit, putting it together

Piece by piece, working out the vision night and day

What it takes is time and perseverance

Dealing with details along the way

Dealing with Producer's interference

Waiting for the Author's disappearance

Filling up the holes with animation

Covering the flaws in the construction

Wiping all the scenic ostentation

This is not a "Macintosh" production

Finding every tiny syncopation

Hidden in the tiny orchestration

Working for a tiny compensation

Hoping for a thunderous ovation

The art of making art

is putting it together

Bit by Bit

Part by Part

Fit by Fit

Start by Start, Stride by Stride

Kick by Kick, Glide by Glide

Schtick by Schtick, Side by Side by Side by Side by Side by Side.

And that is the state of the art.