Sarah Brightman - What more do I need?

What, thought I, could be duller,
More depressing, less gay.
Now my favourite colour
Is grey.

A wall of rain as it turns to sleet,
The lack of sun on a one-way street,
I love the grime all the time.
And what more do I need?

My window pane has a lovely view:
An inch of sky and a fly or two.
Why, I can see half a tree.
And what more do I need?

The dusk is thick and it's galling;
It simply can't be excused.
In winter even the falling snow looks
Used.

My window pane may not give much light,
But I see you, so the view is bright.
If I can love you, I'll pay the dirt no heed!
With your love, what more do I need?

Someone shouting for quiet,
Someone starting a brawl,
Down the block there's a riot,
And I'll buy it all!

Listen, now I'm ecstatic,
Hold me close and be still.
Hear the lovely pneumatic
Drill!

A subway train thunders through the Bronx,
A taxi horn on the corner honks.
But I adore ev'ry roar.
And what more do I need?

I hear a crane making street repairs,
A two-ton child running wild upstairs.
Steam pipes bang,sirens clang,
And what more do I need?

The neighbours yell in the summer,
The landlord yells in the fall,
So loud I can't hear the plumber
Pound the wall.

An aeroplane roars across the bay,
But I can hear you as clear as day:
You said you love me
Above the sound and speed.

With your love,
What more do I need?

Music and lyrics: Stephen Sondheim
Show: Saturday Night (1997; the show was to have been produced in 1955, but was abandoned when Lemuel Ayers, the producer, died.)

From: Encore (2002).

Source of the lyrics: written down myself, with many thanks to April Zayais and Amiee Collier for corrections and additions.

For some information on the musical Saturday Night see for example this page at Sondheim.com or this page at Musical Heaven or this page from Michael Hutchins; the latter page also list several other artists who recording What more do I need?.
I also found a page about the sheet music of the musical.

 
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created: 15 May 2002
last modified: 18 April 2013