The Sondheim Lyrics Chain

[Leighton]

Your arms entwined
You steal below
And far behind
At the edge of day
The bong of the bell of the buoy in the bay
And the boat and the boy
And the bride are away!

[KathyB]

Some get a boot 
From shooting off cablegrams
Or buzzing bells
To summon the staff,
Some climbers get their kicks
From social politics

[Leighton]

Anita's gonna get her kicks
Tonight.
We'll have our private little mix
Tonight.
He'll walk in hot and tired,
Poor dear.
Don't matter if he's tired,
As long as he's here
Tonight!

[scenicdesign71]

If it's not some alarm, it's a backfire.
Either that, or the blatt of a horn.
It's but one of the joys of the city: the noise.
Sir, as sure as the day I was born,
That was a shot.

[...]

What a perfect day!

[KathyB]

See?
A perfect tree.
Pretty isn't beautiful, Mother,
Pretty is what changes.
What the eye arranges
Is what is beautiful.

[scenicdesign71]

Twenty minutes to arrange
Those bloody awful flowers—
	(Bang!)
Can I get away with more?
	(Bang, bang, bang!)
Then I have to brush my hair,
And that could take me hours...

I count no fewer than six additional instances of "my hair" in the canon!  (And at this rate, it's entirely possible that I'm missing more; I just stopped counting at six, and that's not even including the one from "Bang!", cited above).

[KathyB]

I found two of them. ("my hair"s) Now I have to find the other four.

[scenicdesign71]

For what it's worth, the seemingly most-obvious occurrence of "my hair" may not be immediately familiar, because it didn't appear in the original Broadway production — or on the original B'way cast album — of the show for which it was written.  It was actually written later, for a subsequent production of that show, and is now "optional": the song in question serves a useful dramaturgical purpose, but not an absolutely essential one, and it does lengthen an already-long evening; accordingly, it has appeared in some, but not all, subsequent productions and cast recordings.

In a similar vein, "Bang!" (above), was of course cut from A Little Night Music and might therefore be unfamiliar to casual fans of the show or its composer, though the song did resurface in the revues Marry Me A Little and Putting It Together (and on their various recordings, as well as the 1985 compilation A Collector's Sondheim).

But none of the other five instances (that I have in mind) are obscure in that sense, all having appeared in their respective shows' original B'way productions, and on their OBCRs; and having remained, unchanged as far as I know, in their respective libretti, performances and recordings ever since.  One of the shows in question is, admittedly, among SJS's less-often produced; but I'd wager that many of those who have heard its score would cite the song that includes the "my hair" lyric as a highlight.

Also, I'll go ahead and say that none of these six instances (or seven, including "Bang!") is obscure in the sense of being "hidden" in chorus or counterpoint: all occur in clear, easily-understandable solo lines — though none of the songs in question is itself a beginning-to-end solo; most are technically duets, while one is part of a larger group extravaganza.

Finally, these seven lyrics (including "Bang!) come from a total of five different shows:  two of the shows each contain two distinct "my hair" references, unrelated musically (these aren't reprises or developments of the same material) and narratively (in both shows, the two instances are sung by different characters).  So, five different shows, but still seven different women — and they are all women, ranging from very-young to approaching-middle-age — singing seven different songs in which they mention their own hair.  (If we leave out "Bang!", it's still five shows, but six women — including two characters from a single show, who are rarely onstage together and largely unaware of each other's existence — singing six different songs.  Their upper age range might run a little lower with Desirée out of the mix, but among the six remaining, one or two might be eyeing middle age from a cautious distance).

[KathyB]

I now have found four occurrences of "my hair."

[Bobster]

Hurry up and do my hair Cinderella!
Are you really wearing that?

[scenicdesign71]

All it has to be is good—
And, George, you're good.
You're really good...

George's stroke is tender,
George's touch is pure.


There is a "stroke" — or a playable variant — that will get us back to one of the other "my hair"s, should anyone choose to accept the challenge.  (Two down, five to go).

[KathyB]

He smiles sweetly, 
Strokes my hair,
Says he misses me.

[scenicdesign71]

Brushing my hair,
Combing my hair.
Only my mother
And me and my hair.
Our little world
Is perfect...
If she just didn't drool.


Four down (Desirée, Florinda, Charlotte, Rapunzel), three to go...

It's worth noting that the four instances played so far just happen to cover the two "double"-my hair shows, in which an unrelated pair of occurrences happens in the same show:  A Little Night Music and Into The Woods.

And "Our Little World", the "seemingly most-obvious" instance (given who's singing), also covers the other "not immediately obvious" lyric (since the song was added later and made "optional", and may therefore be less widely familiar).

So, to recap:

• The three remaining instances (that I'm aware of) all come from different shows:  different from each other, and from the ones that have already been played.
• None is a cut song like "Bang!" or a later addition like "Our Little World" — these three songs have all been in their respective shows since their original productions (and cast albums), and remain in them to this day, so they're not too obscure.
• And, while one is from a less widely-known show, to those who have seen or heard it (it's had at least three cast albums), the song in which it appears tends to pop out as an instant highlight.
• None are hidden in chorus or counterpoint; the remaining three instances are all technically duets, but all three "my hair"s occur in clear, easy-to-hear solo lines.
• The three remaining instances are sung by women ranging in age from "very young" (probably even younger than Rapunzel, and, one could say, following a similar path) to "eyeing middle age from a cautious distance" (like a less-jaded Charlotte, perhaps).  [CORRECTION: This latter instance, while relaying the woman's words verbatim, is actually sung by a man -- my bad!! 

[Leighton]

I thought Sweeney might have one but can't think of it - same for Sunday (thought more YOUR hair than MY hair).

[scenicdesign71]

I thought Sweeney might have one but can't think of it - same for Sunday (thought more YOUR hair than MY hair).

Yeah, I thought of those too; while I admittedly haven't done an exhaustive search for any other instances beyond these seven, Johanna and Dot did occur to me as possibilities — but I couldn't think of any moment where either of them actually sings about her own hair.  It's always their respective admirers who are the ones rhapsodizing about it.

Even Dot's self-critique in "Color and Light" covers seemingly every other physical attribute, but not that one.  (Then again, when you've cast Bernadette Peters, you probably don't write a lyric that asks an audience to believe her character is insecure about, of all things, her hair).