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 approached by Laurents and Robbins for a musical version of Gypsy Rose Lee's memoir after Irving Berlin and Cole Porter turned it down. Sondheim agreed, but Ethel Merman – cast as Mama Rose – had just finished "Happy Hunting" with an unknown composer (Harold Karr) and lyricist (Matt Dubey). Although Sondheim wanted to write the music and lyrics, Merman refused to let another first-time composer write for her and demanded that Jule Styne write the music. Sondheim, concerned that writing lyrics again would pigeonhole him as a lyricist, called his mentor for advice. Hammerstein told him he should take the