Those are the saddest lines Stephen Sondheim wrote. Amazing live rendition of it below the clip (just the recording, sadly) – Tim Curry performing it. I’ve heard a ton of versions of this song, it’s one of my favorites in the entire Sondheim catalog – I find it devastating – but boy do I love Tim Curry’s rendition. Wow.
“Losing My Mind” – from Follies
The sun comes up
I think about you
The coffee cup
I think about you
I want you so
It’s like I’m losing my mind
The morning ends
I think about you
I talk to friends
I think about you
And do they know
It’s like I’m losing my mind
All afternoon doing every little chore
The thought of you stays bright
Sometimes I stand in the middle of the floor
Not going left
Not going right
I dim the lights
And think about you
Spend sleepless nights
To think about you
You said you loved me
Or were you just being kind?
Or am I losing my mind?
All afternoon doing every little chore
The thought of you stays bright
Sometimes I stand in the middle of the floor
Not going left
Not going right
I dim the lights
And think about you
Spend sleepless nights
To think about you
You said you loved me
Or were you just being kind?
Or am I losing my mind?
Oh, Stephen Sondheim! Oh, Tim Curry! I love this song, too, and Curry sings the crap out of it.
Oh, you’ve never really written about Sondheim before (or have you and I missed it?) but he’s my absolute favourite. I’m a total Sondheim nut. Not hugely into this particular musical myself, tbh, but this is a truly heartbreaking song. Thanks for this.
I love this song. I had not heard Tim Curry sing it before, but he’s great!
And, what does it mean that the next blog on my morning read also has a clip of Dorothy Collins singing Losing my Mind?
http://zvbxrpl.blogspot.com/
Where did he sing this? When? Why? I love it, but had no idea it was out there. Info, please…..
Melissa – it was a tribute concert to Sondheim in London – and I believe it was also an AIDS benefit. There’s more information on the Youtube clip – if you put “Tim Curry Losing My Mind” into the search box on Youtube you can see the little paragraph of information with the clip.
This song gets me every time. The lyrics have the simple perfection of a standout 20’s or 30’s tune (most of the phrases are, what, 4 syllables long? and the lyrics fit so naturally without feeling squeezed or artificial), and I love how the melody repeats and repeats, getting more and more intense. Dang, Sondheim is good.
I’m sure you’ve seen the Dorothy Loudon version on Youtube, too- that might be my favorite for sheer fantastic ridiculousness. But I had never heard this version before…so pained. So great.