Love Quote by Dorothy Fields

Fields is warning against the most seductive trap in creative work: mistaking attachment for necessity. The line sounds like a gentle craft note, but it’s really a hard-nosed philosophy of professionalism. “Mustn’t fall in love” isn’t anti-romance; it’s anti-ego. She’s talking about the moment a writer starts treating a clever lyric or melodic hook as proof of genius rather than as a tool that has to earn its keep.

The phrasing “If it doesn’t belong” is doing the heavy lifting. Belonging isn’t about quality in the abstract; it’s about function. In a show, a song isn’t just a standalone jewel - it’s narrative engineering. It has to carry character, clarify stakes, change a scene’s temperature, and land in the right emotional key. Fields is basically saying: the audience can feel when you’re forcing a showcase number into the story like a product placement for your own talent.

There’s also a quietly humane subtext: “Let him save it.” Kill your darlings, but don’t destroy them. She offers a practical alternative to vanity and despair: put the orphaned song in a drawer, and trust that craft is cumulative. Coming from a Broadway lyricist who worked in the industrial churn of mid-century musical theater, the advice reflects a world where collaboration, deadlines, and story logic outrank personal indulgence. The mature flex isn’t writing the perfect song; it’s knowing when not to use it.