Tonight, tonight, won't be just any night. Tonight there will be no morning star.
I'm before him on my knees, and he kisses me He assumes I lose my reason and I do. Men are stupid, men are vain, Love's disgusting, love's insane, A humiliating business-oh how true.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects the complexities and absurdities of love, including feelings of humiliation and irrationality.
In this quote, Stephen Sondheim captures the paradoxical nature of love, portraying it as both enchanting and humiliating. The speaker finds themselves in a subordinate position, highlighting how love can make one feel powerless and absurd, emphasizing the frustration and insanity often associated with romantic relationships. This raw confession reveals the vulnerability and the darker aspects of love, suggesting that while love can be beautiful, it can also lead to feelings of folly and disillusionment.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
This quote is perfect for a discussion on the challenges of romantic relationships during a relationship counseling session.
More from Stephen Sondheim
All quotes →After the Rodgers and Hammerstein revolution, songs became part of the story, as opposed to just entertainments in between comedy scenes.
Musical comedies aren't written, they are rewritten.
Let Pirelli's / Miracle Elixir / Activate your roots, sir... Keep it off your boots, sir- / Eats right through. Yes, get Pirelli's! / Use a bottle of it! / Ladies seem to love it... Flies do, too!
Art, in itself, is an attempt to bring order out of chaos.
Careful the spell you cast, not just on children. Sometimes the spell may last Past what you can see And turn against you... Careful the tale you tell. That is the spell.
Similar quotes
I have a strong will to love you for eternity.
What is love?” “I don’t know.” “Love is the name given to the bond Kemal feels with Füsun whenever they travel along highways or sidewalks; visit houses, gardens, or rooms; or whenever he watches her sitting in tea gardens and restaurants, and at dinner tables.” “Hmmm … that’s a lovely answer,~ But isn’t love what you feel when you can’t see me?” “Under those circumstances, it becomes a terrible obsession, an illness.
You have to love. You have to feel. It is the reason you are here on earth. You are here to risk your heart.
Never shall a young man, Thrown into despair By those great honey-coloured Ramparts at your ear, Love you for yourself alone And not your yellow hair.
Create a world, your world. Alone. Stand alone. And then love will come to you, then it comes to you.
If music be the food of love, play on, Give me excess of it; that surfeiting, The appetite may sicken, and so die.