As I’ve explored before here and here, it would seem there are musical theatre songs for every occasion. But how about a song for every time of year? Come along with me as I go through the seasons, Broadway-style!
1. “Camelot” (Camelot)
In the kingdom of Camelot, every season has its designated weather, and it comes and goes as soon as it should: “The winter is forbidden till December, and exits March the second on the dot.” If only things were so orderly in Iowa!
2. “This Time Next Year” (Sunset Boulevard)
Who doesn’t love a good old New Year’s Eve party? We start the year with high hopes and big promises about what we will have achieved “by this time next year.” Who knows? Maybe we'll be right!
3. “Ice and Snow” (The Spitfire Grill)
If you live in the northern hemisphere, the year starts in the middle of winter, around when we start to wonder, “Will the winter ever go?” But deep down we know that warmer days are right around the corner!
4. “Winter’s on the Wing” (The Secret Garden)
Soon the air warms, the world begins to thaw, and little green things start to appear. “Melt, ye waterfalls, part ye frozen winter walls – see, see now it's starting!”
5. “April in Paris” (Walk a Little Faster)
“I never knew the charm of spring, never met it face to face” — and then I step outside one April day and see that all the trees are covered in flowers! For me, winter's just long enough to forget what spring was like, so it’s a pleasant surprise every year.
6. “The Song of Purple Summer” (Spring Awakening)
Eventually spring shifts into summer, bringing with it new colors, new insects, and new weather. “The Earth will wave with corn…and all shall know the wonder of purple summer.”
7. “Summer Nights” (Grease)
Summer is definitely the season of love. It’s hard to find a summer showtune that isn’t also about romance! “Summer heat, boy and girl meet, but, uh oh, those summer nights!”
8. “Our Last Summer” (Mamma Mia)
Summer is also the carefree season, especially for young people, out of school. “Living for the day, worries far away, our last summer, we could laugh and play.”
9. “September Song” (Knickerbocker Holiday)
There’s something nostalgic about autumn. “The days grow short when you reach September, when the autumn weather turns the leaves to flame, one hasn't got time for the waiting game.”
10. “Try to Remember” (The Fantasticks)
Maybe the nostalgia comes from autumn being the bridge between warm summer and cold winter: “Deep in December, it's nice to remember, although you know the snow will follow…the fire of September that made us mellow.”
11. “Another Winter in a Summer Town” (Grey Gardens)
Then “the maple goes from crimson to brown,” and autumn turns into winter again, and the circle is completed.
12. “Seasons of Love” (Rent)
I couldn’t leave this one out. You did read this article’s subheadline, right? “How do you measure, measure a year?” In love, or musicals though they might be the same thing!
