Stephen Sondheim, the “the master lyricist of our generation” 80 years old and would forgo love to write lyrics.
How does a genius think? How does he approach work? As a prolific, high-achieving performer, does he ever want to stop working? Does he have a life? All the answers are in Sondheim’s new book (the first of two volumes), “Finishing the Hat: Collected Lyrics (1954-1981)” which receives 4.5 stars on Amazon and rave, rave, rave book reviews.
In Paul Simon’s NY Times review, “Isn’t It Rich?” the praise for Sondheim’s work and talent is present but Simon jars us with a touch of the dark side of an artistic success. Sondheim’s book title, Finishing the Hat,” (lyrics below) comes from a song in his 1984 Pulitzer Prize-winning musical that allows the 19-th century artist Georges Seurat to complete his painting even as he realizes his model and lover has left him for another.
Simon states, “The book becomes a metaphor for that feeling of joy, the little squirt of dopamine hitting the brain when the artist creates a work of art. It’s a feeling so addictive the artist is willing to forgo love in order to experience artistic bliss.”
That could be autobiographical for Simon and even for some of us. Forgo love for work? Trade exercise for time to get your business to the top? Trade this weekend for the chance to be extra-lauded by your boss?
While many of us don’t consider ourselves lyricists or painters, we do know about the heightened sense of bliss when we’ve nailed a presentation, received the thumbs up from a coveted client or motivated our sales team to extraordinary results.
If we believe Simon, then work bliss is a feeling so addictive that, hell yes, we’ll forgo love. And if not love then something mortifyingly and equally as important such as joy, health, friends and pleasure or the pursuit of time away that could benefit our careers in the long run.
What a high we feel when a little squirt of dopamine hits the brain! We like it. But at the point of surrender, it’s a good idea to get clear on what you’re giving up. Or if you want to make that more lyrical, “what is sacrificed while you are finishing up your next hat.” (See lyrics below to make sense of that.)
Simon’s review sets the mood for his book review by the song lyrics from “Finishing the Hat” from Sondheim’s 1984 Pulitzer Prize-winning musical, “Sunday in the Park with George” about the 19th-century artist Georges Seurat, whose painting “A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte” inspired the score.
And when the woman that you wanted goes,
You can say to yourself, “Well, I give what I give.”
But the woman who won’t wait for you knows
That however you live,
There’s a part of you always standing by,
Mapping out the sky,
Finishing a hat . . .
Starting on a hat . . .
Finishing a hat . . .
Look I made a hat . . .
Where there never was a hat.
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