These musicals seriously tackle issues such as multiculturalism, addiction, sexual orientation and HIV. Rent was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and won four Tony Awards. The scores of his shows reveal that he was an apt composer and lyricist.
One tick, tick...BOOM! song called "Sunday" is an homage to Stephen Sondheim, who supported Larson. It stays close to the melody and lyrics of Sondheim's own song of the same title but turning it from a manifesto about art into a waiter's lament.
Among the many awards he received during and after his lifetime were: the Pulitzer Prize for Drama (for Rent), the Richard Rodgers Production Award, the Richard Rodgers Development Grant, the Stephen Sondheim Award, the Gilman and Gonzalez-Falla Theatre Foundation's Commendation Award, the Tonys for Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, and Best Score of a Musical for Rent, the Drama Desks for Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, Best Book, and Best Lyrics (also for Rent), the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Musical (again for Rent), the Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Musical in the Off-Broadway category (another for Rent), and three Obie Awards for Outstanding Book, Outstanding Lyrics and Outstanding Music (yet again for Rent).
Among his many creative works are Rent, tick, tick...BOOM!, Sacrimoralimmorality (1981)with David Armstrong (retitled Saved for the one-week run on 42nd Street), Superbia, the music for J.P. Morgan Saves the Nation, numerous individual numbers, music for Sesame Street, music for the children's book cassettes of An American Tail and Land Before Time, music for Rolling Stone magazine publisher Jann Wenner, and four songs for the children's video Away We Go! (which he also conceived and directed).
Larson died unexpectedly of an undiagnosed aortic dissection (aortic aneurysm), believed to have been caused by Marfan syndrome, on January 25th, 1996. It was ten days before his 36th birthday, and the night before Rent's first preview off-Broadway.
After his death, Larson's family and friends started the Jonathan Larson Performing Arts Foundation.
In 2005, a film version of his most popular production Rent was released, directed by Christopher Columbus.
In September of 2008, Rent closed after 12 successful years on broadway. One of the final shows and the finale were filmed for a limited engagement film, "Rent: Filmed Live on Broadway." The DVD and Blu-Ray disc were released was in February 2009.
Currently original cast members Anthony Rapp, Adam Pascal, and Gwen Stewart are performing on the farewell broadway tour of the show.
One Song Glory
Jonathan Larson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
One Song
Glory
One Song
Before I Go
Glory
One Song To Leave Behind
One Last Refrain
Glory
From The Pretty Boy Front Man
Who Wasted Opportunity
One Song
He Had The World At His Feet
Glory
In The Eyes Of A Young Girl
A Young Girl
Find Glory
Beyond The Cheap Colored Lights
One Song
Before The Sun Sets
Glory - On Another Empty Life
Time Flies - Time Dies
Glory - One Blaze Of Glory
One Blaze Of Glory - Glory
Find
One Song
A Song About Love
Glory
From The Soul Of A Young Man
A Young Man
Find
The One Song
Before The Virus Takes Hold
Glory
Like A Sunset
One Song
To Redeem This Empty Life
Time Flies
And Then - No Need To Endure Anymore
Time Dies
The song "One Song Glory" performed by Roger in the musical Rent by Jonathan Larson is a poignant reflection on life and the desire for artistic recognition. The song begins with Roger's yearning for one moment of glory, one song to leave behind before he dies. He acknowledges that he has wasted opportunities in the past and sees this as his chance for redemption. Roger's voice is filled with emotion as he sings about the glory that he hopes to find through music.
The next verse focuses on a pretty boy front man who had the world at his feet but failed to find true glory. Roger contrasts this with the beauty of a young girl who sees glory in everything, including in his music. He calls on the listener to find "glory beyond the cheap colored lights," suggesting that true artistic success lies in the depths of the soul rather than in superficial trappings.
In the final verse, Roger reflects on the passage of time and the inevitability of death. He calls on listeners to find one song, a song about love, from the soul of a young man before the virus takes hold. The song ends with the acknowledgment that time flies and dies, but through music, we can find a moment of glory that redeems our empty lives.
Overall, "One Song Glory" is a deeply reflective song that captures the struggle of the artist to find meaning and recognition in their work. It speaks to the universal longing for immortality and the desire to leave behind a lasting legacy.
Line by Line Meaning
One Song
There is one song that is very important
Glory
It represents something worth striving for
One Song
Roger is only interested in that one song
Before I Go
This song is important to Roger before he dies
Glory
He wants this song to make him feel proud
One Song To Leave Behind
This is the one song that will be remembered after he is gone
Find One Song
He is searching for that one perfect song
One Last Refrain
He wants to sing this song one last time
From The Pretty Boy Front Man Who Wasted Opportunity
The singer of this song has let life pass him by
One Song
He only needs one song to make him happy
He Had The World At His Feet
He was successful, yet still unhappy
In The Eyes Of A Young Girl A Young Girl Find Glory
Someone else is impressed by his talent
Beyond The Cheap Colored Lights
There is more to life than just superficial things
One Song Before The Sun Sets Glory - On Another Empty Life
This song is important before he runs out of time
Time Flies Time Dies
Life passes quickly and eventually comes to an end
Glory One Blaze Of Glory
This song can bring greatness and success
Find One Song
He is still searching for that one perfect song
A Song About Love
He wants this song to be about something meaningful
From The Soul Of A Young Man A Young Man Find
This song has a deep emotional connection for the singer
The One Song Before The Virus Takes Hold Glory Like A Sunset
This song is even more important before a deadly disease strikes
One Song To Redeem This Empty Life
This song can give meaning to a meaningless life
Time Flies And Then No Need To Endure Anymore Time Dies
There is no point in enduring the hardships of life forever
Contributed by Audrey M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@inspectorjavert70
The story of him dying the night before the first showing reads like a greek tragedy - you just can't make this shit up. Before it closed on Broadway I had a chance to see the show 56 times, and if it hadn't closed, it would have been many more. Pure genius. Rest in peace man.
@isaiahbaston
56??
@inspectorjavert8802
Right after 9/11 tickets to broadway shows were cheaper than going to the movies because sheeple were too afraid to come into Manhattan. I was sitting front row mezz every Saturday night to incredible shows like Aida, phantom and rent among many others for $18/seat. Their loss, my gain.
@dantesvaljean1868
@@inspectorjavert8802 Hello Javert, We meet again.
@idkwhyimadeaccounts
"one song to leave behind" i wonder if he knew Rent was his one gift to leave behind...
@_birdie
2 gifts. We got tick tick boom. It’s been criminally underrated for too long. So thank the good Lord someone finally made it into a movie. (And an incredible one at that)!
@willberger3873
He definitely did not know which is so heartbreaking
@ElizaHamilton1780
Well, it wasn’t because we have at least two more shows. Aside from “tick, tick…BOOM!” there’s also “Superbia.” So…?
@alterbridgefan99
😭😭😭
@alterbridgefan99
@@_birdie Lin "Told his story" 🙌🙌 I was in my high school play of Tick Tick Boom. Loved being in it. I literally watched it watched it twice IN A ROW the other night. Finished it and was like "I'm watching that again" and watched it again today with my mom. She loved it and of course I belted every song all 3 times I've watched it