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| Getting Married Today, a tongue twister. |
Here, we combine two styles of Broadway songs (patter and conversational) into one list, judging songs on their lyrical cleverness, musicality, theatrical impact, memorable exchanges, comic timing, and sheer enjoyment.
The patter songs are delivered rapid-fire, defying any attempt at mere conversation, as opposed to the more normally-paced conversational songs. But neither group is sung so much as it is talked or chattered away.
Therefore, this isn't simply a list of the fastest songs. Some of the greatest musical-theatre writing happens when two people are having an ordinary conversation, disagreeing, flirting, reminiscing, or trying to outwit each other.
We've arranged these chronologically rather than ranking them strictly by speed. The selections represent our recommended listening canon, not an official industry ranking and, we're pleased to say we've seen many of these numbers performed live, some in the actual Broadway production and others in concert or cabaret settings.
What a joy these songs are -- AND they're almost entirel! unique to Broadway!
The top 30
1930s–1940s: The foundations
# | Song | Musical (year) | Style |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | You're the Top | Anything Goes (1934) | Witty verbal patter |
2 | Friendship | Anything Goes (1934) | Comic conversational duet |
3 | Tchaikovsky (and Other Russians) | Lady in the Dark (1941) | Lightning-fast catalogue patter |
4 | Some Other Time | On the Town (1944) | Intimate conversational trio |
5 | Brush Up Your Shakespeare | Kiss Me, Kate (1948) | Comic verbal duet |
1950s–1960s: The golden age of musical conversation
# | Song | Musical (year) | Style |
|---|---|---|---|
6 | Ya Got Trouble | The Music Man (1957) | Classic rapid-fire patter |
7 | Rock Island | The Music Man (1957) | Rhythmic ensemble conversation |
8 | I Remember It Well | Gigi (1958) | Charming comic reminiscence |
9 | Fugue for Tinhorns | Guys and Dolls (1950) | Interwoven conversational patter |
10 | Tonight at Eight | She Loves Me (1963) | Witty conversational anticipation |
11 | The Little Tin Box | Fiorello! (1959) | Political comic patter |
12 | Comedy Tonight | A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1962) | Fast, witty theatrical patter |
1970s: The Sondheim revolution
# | Song | Musical (year) | Style |
|---|---|---|---|
13 | Getting Married Today | Company (1970) | Legendary rapid-fire patter |
14 | Barcelona | Company (1970) | Hilarious conversational duet |
15 | Have I Got a Girl for You | Company (1970) | Rapid-fire ensemble banter |
16 | Sorry-Grateful | Company (1970) | Conversational reflection |
17 | The Worst Pies in London | Sweeney Todd (1979) | Comic narrative patter |
18 | A Little Priest | Sweeney Todd (1979) | Brilliant rhyming comic duet |
19 | We Both Reached for the Gun | Chicago (1975) | Rapid-fire theatrical manipulation |
1980s–2000s: Modern verbal virtuosity
# | Song | Musical (year) | Style |
|---|---|---|---|
20 | Franklin Shepard, Inc. | Merrily We Roll Along (1981) | Explosive rapid-fire patter |
21 | Putting It Together | Sunday in the Park with George (1984) | Interwoven conversational patter |
22 | Everybody Loves Louis | Sunday in the Park with George (1984) | Fast, witty conversational storytelling |
23 | The Speed Test | Thoroughly Modern Millie (2002) | Tongue-twisting rapid-fire patter |
24 | I Speak Six Languages | The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (2005) | Character-driven verbal comedy |
25 | Therapy | tick, tick... BOOM! (2001) | Hilarious musical argument |
2010s–2020s: A new generation of patter
# | Song | Musical (year) | Style |
|---|---|---|---|
26 | Guns and Ships | Hamilton (2015) | Extraordinary rapid-fire rap |
27 | Satisfied | Hamilton (2015) | Intricate narrative and verbal virtuosity |
28 | Non-Stop | Hamilton (2015) | Overlapping rapid-fire ensemble patter |
29 | Haus of Holbein | SIX (2017) | Rapid-fire comic ensemble |
30 | A Musical | Something Rotten! (2015) | Hilarious, densely packed theatrical patter |
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