From Michael in New York:
Hey Nan - I'm a musical theater major at Ithaca College and a huge fan of you and Frank Wildhorn. You two as well as Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens are my two favorite Broadway composing teams. I think both you and Lynn write the most brilliant lyrics and Frank and Stephen the most brilliant music.

Anyway, my question is sort of a strange one. I was bored so I decided to check out Linda Eder's message board and as I was reading it I came across a topic called "Song Words" about the lyrics to Storybook. As I clicked on it, people were discussing "golden pretending" which some thought was "goal in pretending." Some thought that when people think back on memories it has a golden tint. I know that's definitely not what you meant. Others thought you were referring to a golden seal on a storybook, but, I don't think that is right either. What exactly do you mean in that lyric?

Thanks for your time.

Dear Michael,

Thank you for the praise - it's appreciated. I don't think your question is strange. In fact, when I was growing up, it was pretty standard for friends to debate about what a lyric actually said or really meant. (For about 2 years I thought "Poetry in motion" was "Oh, a tree in motion") At any rate, as to "Golden pretending", I would say that the primary reason I used that word was because "Gold" is the color one associates with fairytales, kings and princesses, golden palaces, happy endings, etc. I definitely did not mean it to refer to memories. The singer's dilemma is that she/he wants someone right now to break her/him out of fantasy. I also think that when I used the word "Golden", I felt it as somewhat ironic in the sense of a glimmering, seemingly perfect state. The use of "Golden" is not meant as a positive thing, but rather part of what has held the singer back from living a real earth-colored life.

Thanks for your question. Hope all is going well at Ithaca.

Best,
Nan