Cool (West Side Story song) The Goodfeathers. The song is also parodied in the Flight of the Conchords episode The Tough Brets with the song "Stay Cool, Bret". The "Castle" episode "Cool Boys" has Richard Castle and Detective Slaughter sing it to distract some criminals hold them at gunpoint. British sketch show Horrible Histories parodied this song as a song about the English Civil War. Cool (West Side Story song) "Cool" is a song from the musical "West Side Story". Leonard Bernstein composed the music and Stephen Sondheim wrote the lyrics. This song is known for its fugal treatment of a jazz figure, described by
Stephen Sondheim vocals, such as the five minor characters who make up a Greek chorus in 1973's "A Little Night Music". Sondheim uses angular harmonies and intricate melodies. His musical influences are varied; although he has said that he "loves Bach", his favorite musical period is from Brahms to Stravinsky. Sondheim has been described as introverted and solitary. In an interview with Frank Rich, he said, "The outsider feeling—somebody who people want to both kiss and kill—occurred quite early in my life". The composer is in a relationship with Jeff Romley, and lived with dramatist Peter Jones for eight years (until 1999).