By the Sea

E518338

"By the Sea" is a darkly comic, fantasy-tinged song from Stephen Sondheim’s musical *Sweeney Todd*, in which Mrs. Lovett imagines an idyllic seaside life with the murderous barber.

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Statements (45)

Predicate Object
instanceOf song
appearsInFilmAdaptation Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007 film) NERFINISHED
associatedWithRole Angela Lansbury NERFINISHED
Helena Bonham Carter NERFINISHED
Patti LuPone NERFINISHED
basedOnCharactersCreatedBy Christopher Bond NERFINISHED
characterSinging Mrs. Lovett NERFINISHED
composer Stephen Sondheim NERFINISHED
contrastsWith the violence of Sweeney Todd
countryOfOrigin United States of America
surface form: United States
dramaticFunction contrasts with the musical’s grim plot
provides comic relief
reveals Mrs. Lovett’s fantasies about domestic life
filmPerformer Helena Bonham Carter NERFINISHED
firstPerformanceYear 1979
firstProduction original 1979 Broadway production of Sweeney Todd
genre dark comedy
musical theatre
show tune
imaginedLocation the English seaside
includedInCastRecording 2005 Broadway revival cast recording of Sweeney Todd
original Broadway cast recording of Sweeney Todd
includedInSoundtrack Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007 film soundtrack) NERFINISHED
language English
lyricalDevice black humor
fantasy versus reality
irony
lyricalTheme comic escapism
fantasy of an idyllic seaside life
romantic obsession
lyricist Stephen Sondheim NERFINISHED
musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street NERFINISHED
musicalContrastWith the darker, more dissonant score of Sweeney Todd overall
notableMedium film
stage
orchestrationStyle light and lilting compared to surrounding numbers
partOfWork Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street NERFINISHED
primaryVocalistInStageVersion Mrs. Lovett NERFINISHED
productionType Broadway musical number
recurringMotif domestic bliss by the sea
settingInLyrics a seaside cottage
sungToCharacter Sweeney Todd NERFINISHED
tone darkly comic
whimsical
workCreator Stephen Sondheim NERFINISHED

Referenced by (2)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.