He was born Seymour Kaufman on June 14, 1929, in New York City to Eastern E… Read Full Bio ↴He was born Seymour Kaufman on June 14, 1929, in New York City to Eastern European Jewish parents, and was raised in the Bronx. His mother, Ida (née Prizent) was an apartment landlady and his father was a brickmason. He was a child prodigy who gave piano recitals at Steinway Hall, Town Hall, and Carnegie Hall between the ages of six and nine. Before beginning his fabled Broadway career, he led the Cy Coleman Trio, which made many recordings and was a much-in-demand club attraction.

Despite the early classical and jazz success, he decided to build a career in popular music. His first collaborator was Joseph Allen McCarthy (together they wrote a song called The Riviera), but his most successful early partnership, albeit a turbulent one, was with Carolyn Leigh. The pair wrote many pop hits, including Witchcraft and The Best Is Yet To Come.

One of his instrumentals, "Playboy's Theme," became the signature music of the regular TV shows and specials presented by Playboy, and remains synonymous with the magazine and its creator, Hugh Hefner.

Coleman's winning streak as a Broadway composer began when the team collaborated on Wildcat (1960), which marked the Broadway debut of comedienne Lucille Ball. The score included the hit tune "Hey Look Me Over". When Ball was unable to cope with the rigors of eight performances a week, she left the cast, and the show soon folded. Up next for the two was Little Me, with a book by Neil Simon based on the novel by Patrick Dennis (Auntie Mame). The show introduced Real Live Girl and I've Got Your Number, which became popular standards.

In 1964, Coleman met Dorothy Fields at a party, and when he asked if she would like to collaborate with him, she is reported to have answered, "Thank God somebody asked". Fields was revitalised by working with the much younger Coleman, and by the contemporary nature of their first project, which was to become Sweet Charity, again with a book by Simon, and starring Gwen Verdon, and introducing the songs If They Could See Me Now, I'm a Brass Band and Hey, Big Spender. The show was a major success and Coleman found working with Fields much easier than with Leigh. The partnership was to work on two more shows – an aborted project about Eleanor Roosevelt, and Seesaw which reached Broadway in 1973 after a troubled out-of-town tour. Despite mixed reviews, the show enjoyed a healthy run. The partnership was cut short by Fields' death in 1974.

Coleman remained prolific in the late 1970s. He collaborated on I Love My Wife (1977) with Michael Stewart, On The Twentieth Century (1978) with Betty Comden and Adolph Green, and Home Again, Home Again with Barbara Fried, although the latter never reached Broadway.

In 1980, Coleman served as producer and composer for the circus-themed Barnum, which introduced theatergoers to Jim Dale and Glenn Close. Later in the decade, he collaborated on Welcome to the Club (1988) with A.E. Hotchner, and City of Angels (1989) with David Zippel. In the latter, inspired by the hard-boiled detective film noir of the 1930s and '40s, he returned to his jazz roots, and the show was a huge critical and commercial success.

The 1990s brought more new Coleman musicals to Broadway: The Will Rogers Follies (1991), again with Comden and Green, The Life (1997), a gritty look at pimps, prostitutes, and assorted other lowlife in the big city, with Ira Gasman, and a revised production of Little Me. Coleman's film scores include Father Goose (the standard Pass Me By), The Art of Love, Garbo Talks, Power, and Family Business. In addition, he wrote Shirley MacLaine's memorable television specials, If My Friends Could See Me Now and Gypsy in My Soul.

Coleman has been the only composer to win consecutive Tony awards for Best Score at the same time that the corresponding musicals won for Best Musical: City of Angels and Will Rogers' Follies.

Coleman was on the ASCAP Board of Directors for many years and also served as their Vice Chairman Writer.

Funny
Cy Coleman Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Funny,
How'd i fail to see this little bed time tale was funny?
I could cry to think of all the irony i've missed!
What an unusual twist
Right at the end of it

Funny,
Who could see that this pathetic scene would be

So funny
Once you strain to find the grain of humor
Underneath
Life double crosses with style
Forcing you into a smile
So it can kick you in the teeth

Just desserts
We can all laugh till it hurts
At my expense
I'm accustomed to working on "spec"
I always pick up the check

I think it's funny
Who could top or make this comic op'ra more
Compelling
You could weave in some deceit to even up the
Score

You'd have us all on the floor
That would be roaringly funny
Sad enough my life's a joke that suffers in the telling
Just another hoary chestnut from the bottom drawer

I've heard so often before
That i can't laugh anymore

Overall Meaning

The song "Funny" by Cy Coleman reflects on the irony and unexpected twists that life presents. The lyrics speak of lead singer Peter Allen's realization that what he thought was a sad bedtime story was actually funny. He laments missing the humor and irony in the story until the end. He mentions finding the grain of humor underneath, which makes him smile only to be kicked in the teeth after.

The song goes on to explore the idea that we can all laugh at someone else's misfortune, and how it's funny to watch someone get their just desserts. The singer shares that he's accustomed to working on "spec" and always picking up the check, making light of his life's current situation. He suggests that even if someone were to weave in deceit to even out the score, it would still be uproariously funny.

The lyrics of the song are ripe with irony and are a commentary on the human condition. It highlights the fact that life can be unpredictable, with twists and turns and unexpected outcomes. It also speaks to the fact that humor can be found even in the most trying of circumstances. The song encourages listeners to find humor in life's struggles and to always try to see the bright side of things.

Line by Line Meaning

Funny,
It's ironic

How'd i fail to see this little bed time tale was funny?
I didn't realize that this story was funny

I could cry to think of all the irony i've missed!
I feel regretful for missing out on all the irony

What an unusual twist
The ending was unexpected

Right at the end of it
At the conclusion

Funny,
It's ironic

Who could see that this pathetic scene would be So funny
No one expected such a sad scene to be funny

Once you strain to find the grain of humor Underneath
After searching for humor

Life double crosses with style
Life deceives you in a clever way

Forcing you into a smile
Making you smile even when you don't want to

So it can kick you in the teeth
Then it hits you hard with disappointment

Just desserts We can all laugh till it hurts
We can all laugh at my misfortune

At my expense I'm accustomed to working on 'spec'
I'm used to working without guarantees of payment

I always pick up the check
I always pay for everything

I think it's funny
I find it ironic

Who could top or make this comic op'ra more Compelling
Who could make this more interesting?

You could weave in some deceit to even up the Score
You could add some deception to balance things out

You'd have us all on the floor
We'd all be laughing uncontrollably

That would be roaringly funny
That would be very amusing

Sad enough my life's a joke that suffers in the telling
My life is full of disappointments that aren't funny when I tell them

Just another hoary chestnut from the bottom drawer
Just another boring story that people have heard before

I've heard so often before
I've heard it many times

That i can't laugh anymore
To the point where I can't even find it funny anymore

Contributed by Ian L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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Most interesting comments from YouTube:

Camden Scifres

7y↑62

STINE:
Funny,
How'd i fail to see this little bed time tale was funny?
I could cry to think of all the irony i've missed!
What an unusual twist
Right at the end of it

Funny,
Who could see that this pathetic scene would be
So funny
Once you strain to find the grain of humor
Underneath
Life double crosses with style
Forcing you into a smile
So it can kick you in the teeth

Just desserts
We can all laugh till it hurts
At my expense
I'm accustomed to working on "spec"
I always pick up the check

I think it's funny
Who could top or make this comic op'ra more
Compelling
You could weave in some deceit to even up the
Score

You'd have us all on the floor
That would be roaringly funny
Sad enough my life's a joke that suffers in the telling
Just another hoary chestnut from the bottom drawer
I've heard so often before
That i can't laugh anymore

Michael William Ybarra

6y↑1

The key of this song is B-flat Minor.

Here's a Piano accompaniment video of this song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGMit1XzwdY

And here's an instrumental made out this same recording:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4pyJSUsDFk

Hope this information helps you.

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