HUGH/STEYN TALK

Mark Steyn On Winning Beyond The Margin Of Lawyer

Thursday, October 28, 2010

HH: It’s Thursday. We’re so happy to have back not quite in America, Columnist to the World, Mark Steyn. Mark Steyn, welcome back, it’s great to talk to you. 

MS: (laughing) You’re breaking out the West Side Story. You must be in a party mood.

HH: Well, there’s so much important to talk about, but I have to begin, I’ve been thinking about you since last Saturday night, because I took the Fetching Mrs. Hewitt to see West Side Story in New York when I was back there. And imagine my surprise when I sat down and I heard this (I Feel Pretty in Spanish). Now Mark Steyn, you wrote the book on Broadway. What do you think of switching the lyrics of West Side Story into Spanish?

MS: Yeah, I’m not so sure of that. I mean for a start, I think it’s very difficult to actually switch…one of the things that is so good about West Side Story, actually, Steven Sondheim, who wrote the lyrics, and I’m not a big fan of his, but what he did do there was he rhymed Hispanically, you know, with that ‘I’d like to go back to San Juan, I know a boat you can get on’. Now really, if you were writing that in a sort of English lyric feel, you’d rhyme San Juan with ban one, or something like that. But he rhymed on the San Juan and get on, and that’s what makes it sound Spanish. If you go and actually translate it into Spanish, it no longer sounds Spanish, if you see what I mean. read on---