Maury Yeston (born October 23, 1945) is an American composer, lyricist, educator and musicologist.
He is known for writing the music and lyrics to Broadway musicals, including Nine in 1982, and Titanic in 1997, both of which won Tony Awards for best musical and best score. He also won a Drama Desk Award for Nine. Yeston also wrote a significant amount of the music and most of the lyrics to the Tony-nominated musical Grand Hotel in 1989, which was nominated for best score. His musical version of the novel The Phantom of the Opera entitled Phantom (not to be confused with Andrew Lloyd Webber's version) has enjoyed numerous productions in the U.S. and around the world. He has also written a number of other Off-Broadway musicals, including Death Takes a Holiday; a song cycle entitled December Songs; An American Cantata" (a three-movement choral symphony); a full length story-ballet: Tom Sawyer: A Ballet in Three Acts; a Cello Concerto; and other pieces.
Yeston serves on the Board of the Songwriters Hall of Fame. He is also a Lifetime member of the Dramatists Guild Council, an Honorary Ambassador of the Society of Composers & Lyricists, President of the Kleban Foundation, serves on the editorial boards of Musical Quarterly and the Kurt Weill Foundation Publication Project and on the advisory board of the Yale University Press Broadway Series. He was the Director of the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theater Workshop in New York City for two decades beginning in 1982.
In linguistics, a copula (plural: copulas or copulae) is a word used to link the subject of a sentence with a predicate (a subject complement), such as the word is in the sentence "The sky is blue." The word copula derives from the Latin noun for a "link" or "tie" that connects two different things.
A copula is often a verb or a verb-like word, though this is not universally the case. A verb that is a copula is sometimes called a copulative or copular verb. In English primary education grammar courses, a copula is often called a linking verb. In other languages, copulas show more resemblances to pronouns, as in Classical Chinese and Guarani, or may take the form of suffixes attached to a noun, as in Beja, Ket, and Inuit languages.
Most languages have one main copula, although some (such as Spanish, Portuguese and Thai) have more than one, and some have none. In the case of English, this is the verb to be. While the term copula is generally used to refer to such principal forms, it may also be used to refer to some other verbs with similar functions, like become, get, feel and seem in English (these may also be called "semi-copulas" or "pseudo-copulas").
To Be may refer to:
"To Be" is the English title of a Japanese-language song by Ayumi Hamasaki. It was released as the singer's eighth single on May 12, 1999. The song begins "Dare mo ga toorisugite...", and does not contain the phrase "to be" or any other English lyrics.
"To Be" was released less than a month after her first number one single, "Love (Destiny)." Hamasaki's first song to be composed by Do as Infinity composer DAI, "To Be" was unable to reach the top position on the Oricon, unlike its predecessor. Hamasaki re-recorded "To Be" in celebrating her 10th anniversary in the music business in 2008 and it appeared as a B-Side on her Days/Green single.
The music video for "TO BE" was directed by longtime collaborator Takeishi Wataru. It shows Hamasaki singing as seen by a little boy through a kaleidoscope. It makes use of various backgrounds, outfits, makeup, and wigs to bring as much color as possible into the world the little boy sees. At the end, the kaleidoscope lens breaks, and Hamasaki is seen in black and white.
God lift me up in mighty waters
Keep my eyes on things above
Righteousness, divine atonement
Peace and everlasting love...
Ladies and gentleman -
Everyone up and out
Follow the band and shout:
"Isn't it a lovely day?" (Yes!)
Watching all the ladies in Parisian fashions
On display
Young Mister Hartley
Is playing quite smartly
In Rhythm that could never lag
It's a musical treat
to hear a band with a beat
Performing their latest rag!
How do you do, my friends?
So good to see you once more!
How long since we first met?
It's been three days or four?
It seems like so much longer
Than a little weekend jag
On the ship, by ourselves
On this glorious afternoon
Doing the latest rag!
I love the cool of the Breeze
Feel the rhythm of the song in your knees
Promenading along at your ease
Like a feather in the air
Is that the hint of a chill?
When you're dancing out of doors it's a thrill
Keeps you hardy and healthier still
Take a partner if you dare
Everyone is bursting with emotion
Dancing as we cross the mighty ocean
Moving to the rhythm of
The latest rag!
Dance with me please (Dance)
Feel the rhythm of the song in your knees (The latest
ragtime)
Promenading along at your ease
Like a feather in the air! (Ragtime now!)
Is that a hint of a chill?
When you're dancing out of doors (Dance)
It's a thrill (The latest ragtime)
Keeps you hardy and healthier still (Ragtime)
Take a partner if you dare...
Out on the well-deck
Ship's personnel deck
Feel all the ocean spray
Get yourself upon
Port...
The upper hotel deck
Oh what a swell deck!
Great for your dejeuner
Turn the corner on
The port parallel deck
It's La Plus belle deck
All of the rest passe
Now the band is betting
This ragtime setting
Will take you away..
Everyone up and out!
Nobody lag about
Let your darker spirits climb!
Strolling with the orchestra beside you
Playing the four-four time
We've got a fellow
Who's better on cello
Than any other ship can brag
So take your girl by the hand
And lend an ear to the band
And do today's latest rag!
Come dancing!
Out on the well-deck
Oh what a swell deck!
Kick all your cares away
Turn the corner on
The port parallel deck
Great Demoiselle Deck!
Watch the girls sashay
How the ragtime music
The ragtime music
Can take you away!
How the ragtime music
The ragtime music
Can take you away!
Out on the well-deck (Dance with me please)
Ships personnel deck! (Feel the rhythm)
Feel all the ocean spray (of the song in your knees)
Upper Hotel Deck (Promenading along)
Oh what a swell deck! (At your ease)
Kick all your troubles away (Like a feather in the
air!)
The port parallel deck (Is that a hint of a chill?)
It's La Plus belle deck (When you're dancing out of
doors)
All of the rest passe (It's a thrill)
Great demoiselle deck (Keeps you hardy and)
watch all the girls (healthier still)
Sashay! (Take a partner if you dare...)
Everyone is bursting with emotion
Dancing as we cross the mighty ocean
Hasn't it been absolutely great to dance