Analyzing "Lily's Eyes" from The Secret Garden

Today I'm analyzing the sheet music of one of the most beautiful male duets in musical theatre history: "Lily's Eyes" from the Secret Garden! Sung in the Original Broadway Cast by Mandy Patinkin & Robert Westenberg, with Music by composer Lily Simon and Lyrics by Marsha Norman.
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ABOUT THE CHANNEL:
Hi! My name is Mateo, I'm a professional musical theatre composer, splitting my time between Toronto & NYC right now.
On Thursdays, I post a video analyzing the music theory behind some of the great Broadway musicals of all time! In the past, I've analyzed works by Sondheim, Jason Robert Brown, Pasek & Paul, Jeanine Tesori, and Stephen Schwartz, just to name a few.
On Sundays, I post a video update of the progress I'm making on my writing projects, so you can follow along with the process as I create new musicals from scratch.
And on Tuesdays, I post a video reacting to a performance by a star of musical theatre, discussing what makes them so amazing.
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[@jobobhansen]

I could not agree more. I just finished playing Archie in our school production, and it was one of my favorite shows I’ve been a part of. I absolutely love Lily’s Eyes to pieces. It was easily my favorite song I’ve ever sung in musical theatre. That key change at the end is just so impactful, and this is a fantastic breakdown of what makes it so amazing. I would love to hear a breakdown of “How could I ever know” one of these days too, as that last section of the song is so so so beautiful.

[@joelhowe]

Great video - so happy to have found your channel. The chords you were playing at 3:58 remind me of the opening of What I Did For Love, another beautiful song. Thanks for a wonderful analysis!

[@allisonbergh4429]

I love this song - the entire show, actually - and I’m so excited for this analysis!
Edit: I think the lyric before the key change is fine, because it’s the first thing they’ve said in unison, the first thing they’ve agreed on despite saying the same words in a lot of other lines. Wishing she was still alive is the only thing they really have in common, and from there they go in their own separate directions again. I think it’s really impactful and poignant
And now I really want to see you talk about “I Heard Someone Crying” 😅

[@christopherravelbell8899]

Love the tension and release insight. Will steal.

[@hollymcl]

I'll disagree with you about "Would God had let her stay"; that is, for these reserved, wealthy Victorian gentlemen, an incredibly emotional outburst! They both are (or were) accustomed to having lots of power and control in their lives, but they could do absolutely nothing about Lily's death, and so they cry out to God in an expression of pain beyond bearing. I find it an entirely effective lyric for that moment, for these characters.
Add to that the fact that the two of them do it in unison, and it highlights so strongly that their grief over Lily (and pained reaction to Mary) is the same, they have this in common, but it is also the source of conflict between them...the contrast in the lyrics between the unison phrase and the following slightly countrapuntal section neatly mirrors the harmonic tension-and-release contrasts.

[@leadingblind1629]

Immediately I can't agree with you on at least a majority of the lyrics. However... this is sincerely the best duet in EXISTENCE for me. How many genuinely affective duets between men exist out there????
And holy crow I don't think I realized The Secret Garden essentially had a Bean theme. Lily's garden chords are all over this piano progression

[@YanagiJuniper]

Marsha Norman, as we know, is a Pulitzer winning playwright. We can very clearly see she is not a lyricist. She often plays for drama more than she does for lyrical weight. But, as you said, it hardly matters when the score is so brilliant.
Also, to elaborate on what you said in the beginning of the video about this being very much for a classical tenor and bass (which I assume you meant bass-baritone), this song was done down a half a step on Broadway because the capacity of Broadway singers is usually just a bit less on account of the fact they have to do eight shows a week. Sure, it may seem more crazy on paper to belt a bunch of high A's and A#'s like Evan Hansen, but a truly powerful dramatic tenor G is nearly impossible to pull off for so long eight times a week. Mandy Patinkin, very much a tenor, sings it down a half a step. I'm doing this for a recital soon, and I'm also a classical tenor who has the capacity for a high C, but even I struggle to keep this song under control. It's so dramatic and demanding that it really is like a piece from an opera. This is something I love about Secret Garden.

[@kabiraltaf]

Great video. Love "Lilly's Eyes". As you mentioned the big dramatic revelation "those eyes that loved my brother never me" explains so much about Dr. Craven. One minor nitpick: I don't think Dr. Craven is a bass but more of a baritone.

[@stewiegriffin993]

One more musical on here I'd never heard, my lack of knowledge is showing haha. I'll check this one out for sure, Georges Seurat and Cinderella's Prince in the same musical? Sign me up