About Sheldon Harnick: Sheldon Harnick is an American lyricist best known for his collaborations with composer Jerry Bock on hit musicals such as Fiddler on the Roof.
I started writing lyrics out of desperation. I was broke and wondering where my next job, my next meal was coming from, although I had had several successful revue songs on Broadway.
I have a lot of unknown songs.
When you collaborate, you have to be willing to scrap a lot.
Where you learn things, really, is watching it in front of an audience.
I feel in my own life I've made many mistakes. I've failed in many directions.
I like editing. Generally, you work under the assumption that everything can be shorter. I like to see if I can reconstruct a sentence. I find that enjoyable work.
