Noel Coward: The Complete Illustrated Lyrics

by Noël Coward, Barry Day (Editor)

Provides the lyrics to all of Coward's compositions, including unknown material and the texts of four unfinished musicals

Genres: Poetry, Music

367 pages, Hardcover

First published May 15, 1965

About the author

Sir Noël Peirce Coward was an English actor, playwright, and composer of popular music. Among his achievements, he received an Academy Certificate of Merit at the 1943 Academy Awards for "outstanding production achievement for In Which We Serve."

Known for his wit, flamboyance, and personal style, his plays and songs achieved new popularity in the 1960s and 1970s, and his work and style continue to influence popular culture. The former Albery Theatre (originally the New Theatre) in London was renamed the Noël Coward Theatre in his honour in 2006.

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

As Noel Coward says in the introduction lyrics need music. If it was a record this book would probably get a higher score.

[Neil · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not in the same series as the complete lyrics of Cole Porter, Lorenz Hart, Johnny Mercer etc. but the idea and the format is the same, in fact there the editor goes into more detail about each song and Cowards life at the than in the volumes published by Knopf. I like Coward, I wouldn't have read the whole of this oversized book if I didn't but not as much as his American contemporaries: Mercer, Berlin, Porter, Hart, Gershwin. I had also only come across a small fraction of the songs who's lyrics are collected here. Coward's comic patter lyrics read very well but some of the romantic songs are less entertaining, but this is a must have for anyone interested in the songs of the period.

[Tosh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Noel Coward's lyrics are not as witty as Cole Porter, but then again Noel I think is more straight (no pun intended) forward in his intentions and sense of romance. When I first got this book, I didn't like it. One, because I was (and still am) a huge Porter fan. But then I heard a collection of Noel songs - and it was then and there that I became a fan of his lyrics. They're very tender and very British - meaning that the feelings are very underhanded. In a strange way, Coward is a very much of an underrated figure in 20th Century arts.