Generally speaking, none of the lyrics "bother[s] the heck out of me", thought there are a few instances - fewer than a dozen instances, I'd say - where the lyrics certainly pull you out of the drama long enough to do a double take, merely because of something that doesn't sit quite as well on the music as it should, because of a scansion that doesn't work itself out properly, because of something grammatical that isn't
quite right or because of other little problems that get in the way of the expression of the thought in the lyrical line. But they're fairly minor things for the most part.
However, going into specifics, there are two songs that I feel don't get where they want to go, lyrically or musically and one that doesn't quite work insofar as the music is concerned. The two songs are "I Have Danced" and "Still", and the third piece is "The Blame".
The problem with "I Have Danced" is that the lyrics veer sharply between overly conversational phrases and somewhat overstated bombast, placed over music that, while lovely, neither supports the shift between these two very different modes nor marries particularly well with what's going on dramatically. The song almost strikes a balance and almost gets it right towards the end of the number, but ultimately it is an underwhelming piece of character work.
"Still" has similar problems, although here the dramatic statement is far clearer. The sentiment behind the song is a touching one: simple, straightforward and about as emotionally honest as you can get. But Yeston tries to play around the words too much, losing the simplicity of the thought and undermining the emotional truth of the moment by doing so, and the music sounds strained when it should soar and transcend. The song begins to go where it needs to in the bridge; if only the rest of the song could get there too.
"The Blame" get the lyrics right and much of the song's musical composition supports what is going on - but it's ultimately not specific enough throughout when it comes to the music. Because the song tries to stick too tightly to a structural pattern, each character ends up repeating blocks of melody established by another character. This could be used to great effect, but this isn't achieved in this case. It's as if dialogue existed between the characters and it was planted onto an established composition, without any thought as to whether the music matched up perfectly with what each specific character was saying and feeling in every moment in the song, so characters who are facing off in this scene sound like they're agreeing at times or sound less connected emotionally than they should be. Basically, the music doesn't completely fulfill its task in conveying what's going on dramatically in the scene in a specific and complex fashion in certain parts of this song.
Other than that, its a remarkable score with some remarkable and memorable lyrics. And, yes, a revival would be wonderful!
