Noël Coward

About this book

Playwright, actor, composer, poet, painter and songwriter, Noel Coward was perhaps the most complete entertainer the twentieth century - or any other - produced. But with his sophisticated manner and his clipped wit he became something more ... an icon of his times, the embodiment of "cool" before the term was ever thought of. On the centenary of his birth, amid the revival of his complete works, it is time to take stock of Coward the songwriter. For sixty years he produced a steady stream of words and music that was both lyrical and literate, romantic and satirical. Arguably only Cole Porter matched his reach and range. "I'll See You Again," "Some Day I'll Find You," "Mad Dogs and Englishmen," "A Room With A View," Don't Put Your Daughter On The Stage, Mrs. Worthington," "I'll Follow My Secret Heart," "I Went To A Marvellous Party," "London Pride" ... all the Coward classics are here, arranged chronologically show by show. But editor Barry Day - with the cooperation of the Coward Estate - has researched Coward's personal archives as well as other sources to compile 500 songs - over 200 more than the original 1965 volume. None of them have been published and most are totally unknown. Among them are songs from his unrecorded collaboration with Jerome Kern ... four unfinished musicals ... numbers dropped from shows ... and additional verses for well known favorites. The Complete Lyrics are lavishly illustrated throughout with more than 280 photographs of people and productions - many from his personal albums - as well as program covers, sheet music and Coward's own handwritten manuscripts. Barry Day's text, augmented by Coward's own comments, set the songs in the context of their times.