Fun Post....The WORST lyrics for a Broadway Show?- Page 3

[Mildred Plotka]

Posted: 7/30/08 at 6:49pm

I'd say most, if not all, of the In the Heights lyrics are pretty damn negligible.

[songanddanceman2]

Posted: 7/30/08 at 7:38pm

"I'd say most, if not all, of the In the Heights lyrics are pretty damn negligible."

Im not even going to comment on how stupid that statement is

And wow you can tell how old everyone whos posting in this thread is picking shows like Wicked, Legally Blonde, Spring Awakening etc (all of which i think are ok to quite good lyrically)

Really bad lyrics are

"Its a simple little gig you help me kill a pig, and ive got some plans for the blood"
Out For Blood - Carrie

"All we ever do is park, then for hours you grope me in the dark, we would go bowling if you really cared"
Don't Waste The Moon - Carrie

[Mildred Plotka]

Posted: 7/30/08 at 7:50pm

"Im not even going to comment on how stupid that statement is "

Actually, I know I'm not alone in this. Isn't the first (or last) time it has been said. While the show is well produced, well cast, and his music is quite good, some of his rhymes are quite amateur in structure, or lack of structure, as it may be.

EDIT: Was just reading some of the lyrics, and I think the first lines of the opening number are a key example of how uninspired these lyrics are.

Lights up on Washington Heights, up at the break of day
I wake up and I got this little punk I gotta chase away
Pop the grate at the crack of dawn, sing
While I wipe down the awning
Hey ya'll good morning


Now I'm not say you're not entitled to like them, but calling someone stupid because they disagree with you is not the way to attempt to win an argument (or start one as this case may be).

Updated On: 7/30/08 at 07:50 PM

[little_sally]

Posted: 7/30/08 at 8:03pm

I'm glad someone mentioned Cry-Baby. It's the only time I recall cringing in a theatre. And I've seen a lot of shows.

I'm suprised nobody mentioned the brilliance that was Brooklyn. Yikes. Especially "Raven".

[Magica]

Posted: 7/30/08 at 9:18pm

"ahhhh ahhha ahhhh huhhhhh hahhhhhaaaaaaa aaaaaa hahahaaaaaaa"

-from all songs in "the light in the piazza"

[ashley0139]

Posted: 7/30/08 at 9:36pm

Some of these responses are blowing my mind.

The Grey Gardens cocktail hour one makes total sense.

And rhyming Concord and unconquered is not the same word. I actually love that lyric.

For all the flaws that Wicked has, I actually think the Nessa/confess - a lyric is quite clever.

I really loved Saved, but some of those lyrics were just cringe-worthy. "Even way back then when we were kids, you used to beat me up. You hit me so hard you made me cry. I thought that was love how screwed was I." and "Figured I got it close enough if it covered your butt little baby. Maybe."

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 7/30/08 at 10:01pm

songanddanceman2: Are you kidding? Wicked does not have okay to good lyrics. It has okay to terrible lyrics.

[mominator]

Posted: 7/30/08 at 11:06pm

Worst lyrics ever? "Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah...-Totally F*cked. This one make "Popular" sound like Sondheim

[Mildred Plotka]

Posted: 7/30/08 at 11:16pm

Could you point out one (or two) of these "random Sondheim lyrics"? I'm having trouble following...

[dalefully]

Posted: 7/30/08 at 11:43pm

Perhaps Princes are so superlative that they are considered to be outside the category of "human"

I actually really like that lyric. What she's saying is that Rapunzel's only view of the outside world is of perfect "Princes", which she finds to be a skewed perspective and not real, therefore not truly human. By putting it alongside "wolves", she is pointing out the cruelty of humans that Rapunzel doesn't yet know about.

[GIZMO2]

Posted: 7/31/08 at 12:42am

1. "OMIGOD, OMIGOD YOU GUYS" . . . f*ckin' BRILLIANT!!!

2. ALL lyrics from AIDA = Suck. Elton John should be shot. God only knows what has happened with/to BILLY ELLIOT.

Furthermore, Adam Pascal's guttural voice on the OBA doesn't make these already confused lyrics any more understandable.

3. If Sondheim should be put in prison for any of his lyrics, it has to be these from WEST SIDE STORY: (But even Sondheim himself admits these are bad and claims that it was Harold Prince that made him write them!)

TODAY, THE WORLD WAS JUST AN ADDRESS
A PLACE FOR ME TO LIVE IN
NO BETTER THAN BY FAR

Now, just think how wonderful these lyrics will sound when the SPANISH version of West Side comes to Broadway next year!!!

Oh, and how cool will the SPANISH version of LEGALLY BLONDE be someday:

Ai, dios mio! Ai, dios mio! Ai, mi muchachas!!!

. . . hmmm . . . (purses lips and cocks head to one side) . . . might not work, actually . . .

Posted: 7/31/08 at 1:04am

Elton John can't be shot for the lyrics to "Aida"-- he didn't write them. Tim Rice did. If you want to shoot someone for that, shoot him. Also, isn't the WSS lyric "no better than all right," not "by far?" I've always liked that one.

My least favorite lyric in any show ever--

Marius: Cosette, I don't know what to say.
Cosette: Then make no sound!

Really?

[Mildred Plotka]

Posted: 7/31/08 at 3:17am

Aren't the lyrics to "Tonight" Bernstein's?

[Weez]

Posted: 7/31/08 at 4:38am

Tim Rice, love him as I do, is responsible for some of the most horrific lyrics ever. Have a proper listen to 'Joseph', you'll see.

"Greatest man since Noah,
Only goes to show-a"

AUGH.

Your Eyes is a song "written" by Roger.

so is Your Eyes intentionally poorly written?

Yes! Bringing Mimi back to life loses the original tragedy of the show, so Larson cunningly snuck in some delayed tragedy. Mimi lives, but Roger's "career" is doomed. It's like the Maria ending of 'Silent Hill 2'. OMG, it's EXACTLY like the Maria ending of 'Silent Hill 2'! XD "Hello, angsty hero. Your squeeze is dead. Oh, but now we've brought her back to life! You can keep her, by the way. BUT YOUR HAPPINESS WILL NOT LAST, MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!". ..... hey, 'Silent Hill 2' is awesome. :P

I personally really love the lyrics of 'In The Heights'. Some of the rhymes are forced, some of the rhymes are amateurish, but it's the guy's first show, and there's some moments there that - while they may not work for everyone - I personally really love.

'Wicked' though... Schwartz and Rice should (if they don't already) get together and have Bad Lyric Writing Tea Parties. Frank Wildhorn is invited too.

Updated On: 7/31/08 at 04:38 AM

[HughLove]

Posted: 7/31/08 at 3:47pm

"I hadn't got my first shave
Until the body blow"

Sorry... not trying to step on your toes, but this line is mis-quoted.
"I hadn't got to my first shave before the bloody blow."
He's saying he wasn't very old when the Egyptians first attacked the palace.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 7/31/08 at 4:17pm

WICKED and LEGALLY BLONDE tie for first.

SPRING AWAKENING is second... easily

BILLY ELLIOTT is third, of course.

and RENT comes in fourth!

You're new to this, aren't you? If Billy Elliot and Rent are in your top 4 then you simply don't know many musicals, right?

"Im the bells of Saint Peters in Rome,
Im tissue paper on a cone"

BobbyBubby is absolutely correct (and yes, it is "comb"). Dated but very clever.

"Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah......"
-Totally F*cked

Those are actually inspired and apropos and I'm not at all a fan. For me, it was the only memorable scene in the show.

Nessa uh Nessa I got something to confess a (reason why).

Wow, it took over 9 hours for someone to mention it this time. I think that might be a record.

OH MY GOD. OH MY GOD, YOU GUYS.

It's brilliant. It's a hit!

And you're right, it is a hit. The lyrics fit the music as well as the characters. That's why they work.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. From Miss Saigon:

A song
Played on a solo saxophone
A crazy sound
A lonely sound
A sigh
That tells us love
Goes on and on
Played on a solo saxophone

They may not be "the worst", but they are truly awful. I skip that song whenever I listen to the CD.

[oohshizz146]

Posted: 7/31/08 at 4:41pm

DefyGravity777, that line was meant to be stupid/funny, but I agree its gross lol

[MisterSnow89]

Posted: 7/31/08 at 5:11pm

Personally I think some of the worst lyrics I've heard are in Tarzan. My personal favorites are in "Sure as Sun Turns to Moon"
"It's nice to see you play with the children
Why do you say that? I do it all the time
You don't
I do
You don't
I don't?
No you don't you know"

That whole song is pretty much a disaster. Well actually that show is pretty much a disaster. Oh, I absolutely love Miss Saigon, but I will agree that it does have some moments of REALLY awful lyrics. My favorite is:

"She is no whore
you saw her too
she's really...more
like the April Moon"

I cringe every time.