I sometimes find it difficult to remember the words of songs I actually know if I haven't sung them for a long time, so if someone asks for them I write them out in a quiet moment - not in full, but the first couple of words of each line, and the rhymes at the end are usually enough to block amnesia. The thing about a stand is that it says in so many cases that the performer hasn't learned the song, and so is not in a position to give his full attention to the interpretation. And incidentally, Kudzuman, you will never see Pavarotti working from paper in public - he can't read music well enough!