Rent
"Rent" Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Mark
How Do You Document Real Life
When Real Life's Getting More
Like Fiction Each Day
Headlines - Bread-Lines
Blow My Mind
And Now This Deadline
"Eviction - Or Pay"

Rent
Roger
How Do You Write A Song
When The Chords Sound Wrong
Though They Once Sounded Right And Rare
When The Notes Are Sour
Where Is The Power You Once Had To Ignite the Air

Mark
And We're Hungry And Frozen

Roger
Some Life That We've Chosen

Together
How We Gonna Pay
How We Gonna Pay
How We Gonna Pay
Last Year's Rent

Mark
We Light Candles

Roger
How Do You Start A Fire
When There's Nothing To Burn
And It Feels Like Something's Stuck In
Your Flue

Mark
How Can You Generate Heat
When You Can't Feel Your Feet

Both
And They're Turning Blue!

Mark
You Light Up A Mean Blaze

Roger
With Posters-

Mark
And Screenplays

Roger & mark
How We Gonna Pay
How We Gonna Pay
How We Gonna Pay
Last Year's Rent

Joanne
(On phone)
Don't Screen, Maureen
It's Me - Joanne
Your Substitute Production Manager
Hey Hey Hey! (Did You Eat)
Don't Change The Subject Maureen
But Darling - You Haven't Eatin All Day

You Won't Throw Up
You Won't Throw Up
The Digital Delay--
-Didn't Blow Up (Exactly)
There May Have Been One Teeny Tiny Spark
You're Not Calling Mark

Collins
How Do You Stay On Your Feet
When On Every Street
It's 'Trick Or Treat'
(And Tonight It's 'Trick')
'Welcome Back To Town'
I Should Lie Down
Everything's Brown
And Uh - Oh
I Feel Sick

Mark
Where Is He?

Collins
Getting Dizzy

Mark & roger
How We Gonna Pay
How We Gonna Pay
How We Gonna Pay
Last Year's Rent

Benny
(On cellular phone)
Allison Baby - You Sound Sad
I Don't Believe Those Two
After Everything I've Done

Ever Since Our Wedding
I'm Dirt - They'll See
I Can Help Them All Out In The Long Run

Forces Are Gathering
Forces Are Gathering
Can't Turn Away
Forces Are Gathering

Collins
Ughhhhh-
Ughhhhh-
Ughhhhhh- I Can't Think
Ughhhhh-
Ughhhhh-
Ughhhhh- I Need A Drink

Mark
"The Music Ignites The Night With
Passionate Fire"

Joanne
Maureen - I'm Not A Theatre Person

Roger
"The Narration Crackles And Pops With
Incendiary Wit"

Joanne
Could Never Be A Theatre Person

Mark
Zoom In As They Burn The Past To The
Ground

Joanne
Hello?

Mark & roger
And Feel The Heat Of The Future's
Glow

Joanne
Hello?

Mark
(On phone)
Hello? Maureen?
-Your Equipment Wont Work?
Okay, All Right, I'll Go!

Mark & half of the company
How Do You Leave The Past Behind
When It Keeps Finding Ways To Get To
Your Heart
It Reaches Way Down Deep And Tears
You Inside Out
Til You're Torn Apart
Rent

Roger & other half of company
How Can You Connect In An Age
Where Strangers, Landlords, Lovers
Your Own Blood Cells Betray

All
What Binds The Fabric Together
When The Raging, Shifting Winds Of Change
Keep Ripping Away

Benny
Draw A Line In The Sand
And Then Make A Stand

Roger
Use Your Camera To Spar

Mark
Use Your Guitar

All
When They Act Tough - You Call Their
Bluff

Mark & roger
We're Not Gonna Pay

Mark & roger with half the company
We're Not Gonna Pay

Mark & roger with other half of
Company
We're Not Gonna Pay

All
Last Year's Rent
This Year's Rent
Next Year's Rent

Rent Rent Rent Rent Rent
We're Not Gonna Pay Rent

All
'Cause Everything Is Rent

Overall Meaning

The song Rent from the musical of the same name is a reflection on the struggles of the main characters, Mark and Roger, as they try to make ends meet in New York City while dealing with the realities of poverty and the threat of eviction. The opening lines of the song pose a question that is central to the story – how do you capture real life when it seems to be more like fiction each day? The lyrics explore the struggles of the characters as they contemplate how to write a song, pay the rent, and just survive day to day.

There’s a sense of desperation and urgency in the song, expressed through powerful lyrics and a driving beat. The characters are hungry and cold, struggling to find heat and light. They are worried about eviction and the need to pay last year’s rent, highlighting the overarching theme of the musical – the struggle to survive and thrive in the face of a society that often seems stacked against you.

The characters express their frustration and anger, but they also find moments of hope and connection with each other, holding candles and bonding over shared experiences. The song ends with a defiant declaration – “We’re Not Gonna Pay Rent” – signaling their resistance to the forces that would keep them down.

Line by Line Meaning

Mark
Facing the challenge of portraying real life in his work when the prevalent headlines and bread-lines increasingly seem like fiction.

Roger
Struggling to find the right notes for his composition, while the notes that once seemed right and unique now sound sour.

Together
Worried about how to pay the last year's rent because they are hungry, cold, and penniless.

Joanne
Talking over the phone about the substitute production manager, Maureen, who has not eaten the whole day and advising her not to throw up.

Collins
Incarnates a situation where the streets are crowded with trick-or-treaters, he is feeling sick, and everything seems brown.

Benny
Promising to help all in the long run while the forces are gathering, and the past keeps haunting everyone.

Mark & Company
They are not going to pay last year's rent this year or next year because everything, even their souls, is rent.

All
What binds them together when the winds of change keep tearing them apart, and how to connect with each other in this age of betrayal and uncertainty.

Contributed by Ellie G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

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Most interesting comment from YouTube:

@charlieposanka

3y↑3

Lyrics I guess:
Mark: How do you document real life when real life's getting more like fiction each day
Headlines Breadlines blow my mind and now this deadline "Eviction or pay Rent"
Roger: How do you write a song when the chords sound wrong though they once sounded right and rare
When the notes are sour where is the power you once had to ignite the air
We're hungry and frozen
Mark: Some life that we've chosen
Mark and Roger: How we gonna pay
How we gonna pay
How we gonna pay
Last year's rent!
Roger: How do you start a fire when there's nothing to burn and it feels like something's stuck in your flue?
How can you generate heat when you can't feel your feet and they're turning blue?
Mark: We light up a mean blaze
Roger: with posters and screenplays
Mark and Roger: how we gonna pay
How we gonna pay
How we gonna pay
Last year's rent!
Tom: How do you stay on your feet when on every street it's trick or treat and tonight it's trick?
Welcome back to town oh I should lay down
Everything's brown and uh oh, I feel sick!
Mark: where is he?
Tom: Gettin' dizzy
Mark and Roger: How we gonna pay
How we gonna pay
How we gonna pay
Last year's rent
Mark: The music ignites the night with passionate fire
Roger: The narration crackles and pops with incendiary wits
Mark: Zoom in as they burn the past to the ground
Mark and Roger: And feel the heat of the future's glow
How do you leave the past behind when it keeps finding ways to get to your heart?
It reaches way down deep and tears you inside out till you're torn apart? Rent!
How can you connect in an age where strangers, landlords, lovers, your own blood cells betray
Everyone: What binds the fabric together when the raging shifting winds of change keep ripping away?
Benny: Draw a line in the sand and then make a stand
Roger: Use your camera to spar
Mark: Use your guitar
Everyone: When they act tough you call their bluff
We're not gonna pay
We're not gonna pay
We're not gonna pay
Last year's rent!
This year's rent!
Next year's rent!
Rent rent rent rent rent!
Everything is rent cause everything is rent!

All comments from YouTube:

@kekelopez500

8y↑765

Fire department must really hate there neighborhood

@morganshane6580

7y↑23

Keke Lopez LMAO I LAUGHED HARDER THAN I SHOULD'VE XD

@AngelCintiaRockgirl

6y↑2

Keke Lopez but the "city council planning commission," loves it

@NewGuy2534

4y↑2

Well they’re young, peppy, good looking artists. Of course they hate this neighborhood.

@DelanieG-kl4xg

Lol, i am like, that is VERY realistic that they would do that!

@Homeofcrowny

Ikr 😅

3 More Replies...

@mikawhofan

8y↑901

for everyone who says they should just get jobs, obviviously missed the point of the song if not the whole musical. It isn't about paying Rent. It's about trying to live your dream and the struggles that come with it. Living with your life choices no matter the outcome. Of watching someone you call friend die before your eyes as you watch helplessly.

@amandaangelrichter6869

7y↑16

obviously missed the point of the whole movie lol

@ProfessorStuDDS

7y↑22

If you're wondering why those of us who don't like Rent think the way we do, Lindsay Ellis' deconstruction of it is a fantastic look at the major criticisms of the piece

@zeechops401

7y↑26

Marilee Boer More like living with your life choices and forcing others to have to pick up your mess.

Rent, heat, electricity...this all comes at a cost, it will NEVER be free. While they are making their crappy art in amazingly huge studio apartments, Benny is paying for their shit and homeless people are freezing to death in the streets below them. Let's not even bring up the fact that half of them are shown to come from wealthy families that can seriously just pay for their shit if they sucked it up and asked. You know what real artists who are starving over their art do? THEY STILL GET JOBS AND PAY THEIR FUCKING RENT. That means that, yeah sorry Mark, you dumb asshole, that means having to work for "the man" while making your dumb home video montage.

Everyone in rent is terrible. And yeah, that includes the dog killer.

@ProfessorStuDDS

7y↑11

I will actually contend that, of the RENT crew, Joanne is ACTIVELY not terrible as the worst thing she does is support Maureen's horrible decisions sometimes, followed by Angel who kills a dog but I'm willing to give her a pass there because that's almost directly lifted from La Boheme. But yeah, like, I really hate a TON of things about this musical but I honestly kinda feel for Joanne enduring Maureen's crap.

@Shiraishialice

7y↑23

Zee Nooo what i don't understand is why someone who dislikes the musical would be doing in a video with the musicals song

20 More Replies...

@tinajenkins7916

9y↑806

All the people on here claiming they need to get jobs, CLEARLY missed the fact that it is last YEARS rent. The manager told them they could live there for free, then turned around and smacked them with a years worth of rent without warning, in New York, where rent is ALREADY expensive, and he did it ON A HOLIDAY. :-P

@PowerGlove79

9y↑103

+Tina Jenkins Thats why that complaint from people always drove me crazy. It even says in the dialogue "What rent, you said we were golden, when you bought the building, when we were roomates. remember? you lived here"

@angelabeaunoyer8617

8y↑25

Yea didn't he do that so he could evict them all and use the building for his father in law's company?

@tinajenkins7916

8y↑3

Precisely! :)

@mollysimpson2335

so I'm an idiot. I accidently flagged your post cause I double pressed it and hit the wrong button. I'm sorry

@cenkuygur6841

7y↑6

Tina Jenkins Well, I disagree. I believe you should try to follow your dreams but at the same time you should manage your life as it is. Everybody has to do it(college). Just because you can't get a job in the field you want right now doesn't mean you don't have to work at all.

9 More Replies...

@AiyanaWolfe

8y↑833

I swear I get chills every time they say "How we gonna pay" or "We're not gonna pay"

@CreepybakeOven

8y↑2

yess

@beaugill2659

Yeah me too.

@amandaa6138

8y↑28

"feel the heat of the futures glow" gets me . EVERY.DAMN.TIME. The harmony is just... YES.

@Kinochan28

7y↑11

Ikr? It sounds kinda sinister for me, XD

@timesnewlogan2032

7y↑21

"...where strangers, landlords, lovers, YOUR OWN BLOOD CELLS, betray!"

5 More Replies...

@MeowsLikaLion

11y↑404

If you actually watched the movie you would know that their Benny, the landlord, bought the apartments and promised all the residents an entire year rent free (because they're all very poor and it would help them catch up) but he went back on his word and shut off everyone's power on Christmas eave and slapped them in the faces with an eviction notice if they didn't pay an entire years worth of rent.

@vivikipper5466

4y↑7

yeah i watched it with my mom a few years ago

@LilySaintSin

3y↑4

Exactly!

@Homeofcrowny

3y↑1

Ik lol

@1986Dams

3y↑7

Yeah landlords are shit.

@DrWhom

3y↑1

well things are tough all over

17 More Replies...

@Fake_gamer_cat

10y↑648

This is by far the best opening to a musical.

@donnaquixote7538

5y↑7

I think the musical Evita has a pretty cool opening, too, even if I didn't like the film on the whole.

@maetherabbitrose6039

4y↑6

This isn’t the opening

@sdfjhfjksdh

4y↑5

In the musical this is the opening & Seasons of love comes in the middle but at the film it’s a bit different

@UnderTheTableGremlin

3y↑5

@@frankz3595 yeah this is like the opening after the opening

@Homeofcrowny

It is tho

10 More Replies...

@clareobrien2446

8y↑327

The cinematography in this scene is so stunning, I could watch it a million times omg

@ryebread9299

8y↑4

Truly

@michaelvino8679

5y↑2

I have

@ivettexxx

11y↑86

Rent isn't only about Aids. It's a musical that focuses on the hardships of real people living a very real life. Instead of focusing on petty high school problems, it focuses on the lives and struggles of the penniless artist, the washed out musician, the drug addict. Of course not everyone can relate, but it has more depth to it then a lot of things these days.

@Jazzisa311

42w

10 years later, you still think that? Bc all I see is a bunch of entitled douchebags who could easily get a job and pay rent (Mark even gets offered a job in his field, for a decent salary), but they feel entitled to live for free because they're 'artists'.... yeah no...

@gingaddict

3y↑180

To me, Mark's first line has aged very well
'How can document real life when real life is getting more like fiction each day?'

@meganbateman5634

2y↑6

I agree with our America in shambles we're in that similar situation

@ky9933

43w↑1

KEVIN SPACEY IS A R*PIST

@AiresOrnelas-gf7ch

38w↑1

I feel like America has gone downhill since 1776

@B501M

4y↑17

RIP Jonathon Larson, you are so well loved and respected, even and esp. now in 2020. watching during COVID 19.

@LilySaintSin

Absolutely!

@amayajones68

10y↑167

Rent is by far my favorite musical

@amayajones68

9y↑5

Scratch my comment. Here's my list of favorite musicals:
1. The Lion King
2. In the Heights (Tri-Cities's production was AMAZING)
3. Hamilton (haven't seen it, but the music's AWESOME!)
4. Wicked
5. Rent (Again, I haven't seen it. Does the movie count?)

@LegionIvory

+Amaya Jones I'd have to say Rent is definitely up there in my top favorites.

However, I may have to declare Rocky Horror Picture Show my all-time favorite musical. It's just so darn good!

@amayajones68

8y↑1

+Legion Ivory Rent is one of the first musicals I had been exposed to. Next to The Lion King, it started my love of musicals, and I've loved them ever since.

@amayajones68

8y↑1

This was my favorite musical until I listened to the entire soundtrack for The Lion King. Then I listened to Hamilton. Hamilton is my favorite musical now.

@steveb987881

6y↑1

As someone who is LIVING with HIV/Aids, u have to live very day as though its your last or youre not living! Such a powerful message! Rent is not the money u pay every month to have a roof over your head, but when u let petty squabbles ruin your lives, it tears the fabric of your life in half, that's the other meaning of the word RENT< as in Rent in 2!

5 More Replies...

@sweeneypop

7y↑50

"The rent will go down if we set the neighborhood on fire, right?"

@SarahLenae1

6y↑1

More than likely

@CriticalSurvival0

4y↑1

Shut up emma

@strifeandharmony6472

I mean it'll certainly decrease property values.

@samuelwinter5256

7y↑103

We're not gonna pay last years rent!
later
Well... that backfired

@AliceInWonder98

7y↑1

Sushi Duck_ what happens

@samuelwinter5256

7y↑8

They become homeless

@megasauruss

7y↑10

thomas sanders!

@oldchannelforayoungstupidf2649

4y↑1

@@samuelwinter5256 And then Mimi manages to help them become un-homeless again by talking with Benny and getting him to change his mind.

@kylemurphy2148

3y↑1

@@oldchannelforayoungstupidf2649 also mark gets the money to pay for the rent

1 More Replies...

@teamstolen925

9y↑106

Seen the live play and watched this version so many times and STILL get goosebumps when they yell out "When they act tough, you call their bluff" and the big "were not gonna pay" build up starts

@tankmaster1018

8y↑131

00:34 just a little fun fact, the guy driving the car is Chris Columbus. He directed this film but most of you guys would know him from the Harry Potter series. He wrote the script for Gremlins, directed Home Alone, directed Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone/Chamber of secrets, produced the prisoner of Azkaban, directed the fantastic four, and directed the Percy Jackson series. Really cool to see him in a cameo!

@ECGlaceon

8y↑5

Wow I didn't know it was him.

@mmipmipmal5901

6y↑9

Why did he make the Percy Jackson movies so crappy

@DelanieG-kl4xg

3y↑1

@@mmipmipmal5901 so true

@runefaustblack

Magical fantasy wonderland school! Surely the best person to direct Rent :D

@cherries22222

10y↑221

what if the flaming paper landed in someones hair XD

@reikash48

10y↑15

hahaha I was thinking that

@albertesolveigbkgaardmorte9356

weirdly cool they would diiiiie

@kookieeec

6y↑1

ikr i was like "THIS IS SO JUST LIKE A MOVIE AND NOT RL CAUSE WITH ME, IT WOULD HAVE LANDED ON MY HAIR AND I WOULD HAVE RAN AROUND SCREAMING! XDD"

@izhaanahmed3038

5y↑3

stop, drop, rock, and roll

@marlee7389

Basically why Benny was bald.

1 More Replies...

@879SCSP

10y↑82

Having problems with paying my rent and literally put this song on full blast...kind of hope my landlord doesn't hear though...

@josephinemoser7213

5y↑2

I hope he doesn't either for your sake

@chris2shotgun

10y↑54

When the song gets from 3:37 to the end, I feel this sudden urge of power every time I watch it.

@harmonybade9163

10y↑79

I. Am. Addicted. To. This. Musical. Oh. Em. Gee.

@Homeofcrowny

3y↑1

S-same-

@meganbateman5634

You should be addicted because this musical is Broadway's important one, especially in a life we're living in now

@sageoreilly2634

9y↑77

For the people who are saying they should have just gone and gotten a job please consider this- after taking into account the different time period and inflation if you look at the apartment they have it would cost about 2500 a month for rent today- or 30000 a year. Now, assuming you have to people working decent paying jobs that would be possible to afford with serious budgeting throughout the year, however- they have been told they were not going to have to pay rent at all until someone decided that that was a bad deal and slapped them with the full years rent all at once, even worse as the fact that it was over the holidays. So if you think they should have just gone and gotten a job I would like to ask you- could you afford to pay 30000 dollars at once without being given a chance to save up?

@tiddlesletoitoise

3y↑8

If you watch the stage musical they make it clearer that they do in fact have rich parents calling them everyday but they choose to live like this for the sake of "not selling out" most of them an walk out of poverty whenever they feel like it

@DylanTheDuck18

2y↑1

@@tiddlesletoitoise I could have swore that was only Maureen

@DylanTheDuck18

2y↑1

But the again it's been a while I suppose

@drrock1304

10y↑172

lol. People wondering why the phone worked if there isn't any electricity. Let me tell you: there was a time when phones didn't work on electricity. You just needed a phone cord and you were solid. Today, most phones are cordless and for that reason, they need battery life. Along with that, they needed to charge the battery. Therefore, those phones run on electricity. But the old cord phones didn't. Hope that helps the confusion. Although,phone bill is another story.

@Jayalaw

9y↑4

I wonder if those cord phones still exist. Having one around the house during a power outage would be useful

@alcockell

8y↑1

+drrock1304 Cord phones run on phantom power fromt eh exchange.

@Petaurista13

Actually they need electricity. They just suck it from phone lines. It's little like phone chargers. You can put them in USB socket and they will connect to PC while sucking energy.

@emmabragdon5133

Priya Sridhar They do. My parents have one. They've had the same number for 50 years.

@Kamiyoda

"There was a time when phones didnt need electrcity"

7 years later and Im laughing my ass off

@suburbiasoverture845

7y↑128

WATCHING IT BURNNNNN

@sky-zy5he

7y↑1

Faye Winchester pfft

@stuartriddle919

7y↑6

Faye Winchester was that a Hamilton reference?

@kitkatcann2027

7y↑1

Faye Winchester Hamilton fan?

@freyjahuffman8630

I SEE WHAT YOU DID THERE

@fumikotsukumi017

You are sneaky and clever mate

3 More Replies...

@dionnacarter293

8y↑89

I want this song played at my wedding

@adamwalker3902

7y↑33

Dionna Carter
Here comes the br-- WHEN THE NOTES ARE SOUR WHERE IS THE POWER YOU ONCE HAD TO IGNITE THE AIRRRR

@absaellis8995

3y↑1

So you ain't gon pay rent when you married

@Homeofcrowny

3y↑3

I want the song I’ll cover you played at my wedding

@ivalicetifalucis

Why would you want to play this at the wedding? of all Rent songs 😂😂

@Riateph

5y↑14

I still wonder after all those years what hell it must have been filming this number. Aside from coordinating all the people and the sheer amount of fire, you can see the actors' breath with every note, and nobody has proper winter gear on 'cause the characters are dirt broke. It must have been FREEZING.

@PSColdFire

3y↑4

Actually, this movie was filmed over the spring and summer. All the breaths you're seeing were added in post-production.

@christopherkline2439

8y↑339

I'm not complaining about how they need jobs, I'm complaining because I'm confused on how the phone rang if they power was out....

@neos1234125

8y↑88

Old phones got power through the phone line. Ours used to work during a blackout just fine.

@cowsparks

8y↑39

landlines go through well, the landlines (telephone wires), not electricity.

@cecilbell6248

8y↑9

Christopher Kline landlines man.

@Kinochan28

7y↑5

You Sr. make me laugh XD

@cenkuygur6841

7y↑16

LANDLINES

6 More Replies...

@autumn7512

4y↑11

"How do you document real life when Real life's getting more like fiction each day?"

2020:*Nervous chuckle*

@Carmen-ni4vy

5y↑36

So we just not gonna talk bout the harmonies from 4:20 to the end

@aleagottron8634

1y↑7

" how do you leave the past behind when it keeps finding ways to get to your heart " HITS DIFFERENTLY

@Audavious

11w

It reaches way down deep .. and tears you inside out TIL your torn apart !! RENT !!! I felt that line deeply in my spirit

@mr.fahrenheit7941

6y↑14

Me: Hears the words "December 24th, 9pm" spoken, not sung
Me: TRIGGERED

@purposehall3807

8y↑88

I love this song but is no one gonna comment on how they're THROWING FIRE OUT OF WINDOWS!? The poor people walking have nothing to do with their rent and now they gotta worry about fire falling from the sky 😣😣😣

@goatpriestess1202

8y↑33

it's a movie
they are also rioting

@vampirf1539

8y↑7

...it's a movie.

@darkmagician2521

@@vampirf1539 This musical is based off of real events. Louis-Henri Murger who wrote Scenes de la vie de boheme based his stories from his life experience. One important fact to know is that he and his friends could only drink water because they couldn't afford wine.

@jackieg7501

10y↑23

This is one of my favorite songs and parts from the movie.

@Lisa-cx8wt

7y↑7

last year's rent..this year's rent..next year's rent
best part gives me chills every time

@TheTeslaFilms

9y↑18

I say this is a good use of the Hennessy Street set on the Warner Brothers Back lot in LA. Originally built for another musical, Annie (1982), this set still stands today, has been used in several movies and television shows such as Batman & Robin and Friends, and can be viewed on the Warner Bros. VIP Studio Tour.

@pandakatiefominz

9y↑1

Andrew McNamara Huh, today I learned. Thanks for sharing. Seriously, that's fascinating.

@reaperofsilk

12y↑14

This is probably the most moving musical i can think of, it has literaly helped millions of people and honestly saved people from killing themselves with its message of hope, im disapointed the new producers decided to call it quits for the musical a few years ago as im guessing if Jonathan was still alive and knew how much his work has helped the world he would have let it continue on.

@BeaMode1990

1y↑2

I love how Benny drove up like shit was sweet with a gang of pissed off tenants running towards his truck. 😭😭😭

@cenkuygur6841

7y↑16

Pretty amazing that no one was affected by the fire.

@TrappedInTartarus

12y↑4

When Benny (Roger, Mark, Collin, and Maureen's friend) bought the building he told them that they were golden. That is why they expected not to be kicked out. There was no rent. He said they would have their homes.

@albertesolveigbkgaardmorte9356

7y↑13

This place seems very dangerous, but oh my god, it's also so beautiful! And their apartment is awesome! Look at those windows.

@AntiqueBambi

3y↑5

“How can you connect in an age where strangers, land lords, lovers - your own blood cells - betray? What binds the fabric together when the raging, shifting winds of change keep ripping away?”

@whitneyvictoria

4y↑7

collins part was fire i keep replaying it

@iamrhea98

9y↑23

People in the comments be like 'what do you mean it's still hard to pay rent in a big city even if you have a job'

@Petaurista13

Oh is it? "Cause you know quite huge part of my friends thinks West is dreamland wehere everybody are rich as hell. And yes I'm seriouse.

@chi2om

4y↑8

Too hard to pick a favorite song from this beautiful play

@LilySaintSin

4y↑1

They're all amazing!

@CamDonnell3

3y↑3

Way too relatable. I never pay my rent.

@zym5435

5y↑6

all i could think was "what if one of those fires land on someone"

@LanaDelGuey

10y↑36

Why do teenagers theses days group each other so much? Back in the day all music was listened by who ever enjoyed it.

@peace21148

9y↑13

0:38 Start of the song.... just a little reminder to myself and anyone else who cares

@SkyFullOfCosplay

10y↑7

We're watching rent and le boheme (don't know how to spell that) any way we're watching them to compare the differences and this song is the only part we've seen of rent so far and I'm already loving it!

@Twistedheart619naslgbtrights

1y↑1

Literally the most amazing work of all time is anything ever done by Jonathan Larson. Life-changing forever and always. This is literally my first religion.

@myspacebitch_816

5y↑4

why is the fire flying so oddly satisfying😂

@corey-bird3489

Passionate fire 😏

@daijahcutey6073

5y↑8

I’m auditioning for rent on Monday 😍👏🏽love this song so much

@corey-bird3489

23w

What happened with it?

@renrenrenrenrenrenrenrenrenren

12y↑4

"Dearly beloved, we gather here to say our goodbyes~..."

@DRHISSYPISSY

4y↑6

fitting during these covid timess!!

@YTJRBC2

2y↑2

It's honestly the landlord's fault for letting a whole block pay rent yearly.

@clarissavaldez7091

25w↑1

My favorite musical of all time <3

@adeleperformances

9y↑10

I'm totally gonna sing this at 9 pm later.

@denisgauthier9191

4y↑4

that fucking riot was a badass

@corey-bird3489

And all you can do is use unnecessary profanity on the Internet for attention. Tsk tsk

@denisgauthier9191

2y↑1

@@corey-bird3489 my comment was going so well until your reply showed up

@dakinayantv3245

4y↑5

I'm having problems with my landlord. Listening to this song is keeping sane.

@corey-bird3489

I hope my channel soothes too 🖼

@taylortlat2214

5y↑4

Never understood why this movie didn’t get all that good reviews.

@Homeofcrowny

3y↑3

There should be a sign that says “watch out for flying paper on fire” 😂

@demieelvss

4y↑2

This was litteraly my fav movie when I was a little girl 💞

@calhuh1232

2y↑6

I dont care what anyone says, no matter how old this is, its still the best opening I've ever seen

@charlieposanka

3y↑3

@TigressWhite

12y↑1

@FromUTube2BigScreen The whole deal was that the landlord is their friend Benny, who told them they could live there for free. Then he sprung their payment on them without warning. Of course they'd be pissed.

@Ryda124

10y↑23

It shows in this scene especially that the movie benefits from, well.. being a movie. Whereas the musical was obviously bound by a stage the movie can shoot from different angles and have as many different locations as they want, which leads the awesome visual of the flaming papers raining down which you couldn't have on Broadway. However, aside from that, the cast just seems, I dunno, less passionate. In the live performances the actors bring every song to life, this movie just doesn't… If you get a chance skip the film and find a recording of the show on Broadway

@SkyFullOfCosplay

10y↑14

According to my broadway musical teacher a lot of these actors in the movie were in the original broadway show. I think the different angles helps bring it more to life since it's on a bigger stage. It's just like Broadway got an upgrade. Granted I say this first so I'm biased since I always like the version I hear first more. I honestly could listen to much of the musical version. But hey everyone's opinions are different.

@Ryda124

10y↑6

Emily Wilson Yeah, majority of the cast was the original Broadway cast. I misrepresented my point, it's not actually the actors themselves to blame, it's the directors and the filmmakers I guess. With these adaptations a lot of the time they try to make the songs sound less Broadway and more Pop so they can sell the soundtracks easier, and because of that it ends up sounding a lot less vibrant and more lifeless. Also I think the stage version is better because the movie cut a lot of important stuff out and made it 50% talking instead of being sung all the way through. But once again that's not the performers' fault

@ryebread9299

+Emily Wilson they all are from the original like idina Menzel Anthony and the man who plays Rodger along side mark and collins

@potatoman8624

7y↑6

I always feel bad for Collins

@YTJRBC2

7y↑27

so thats what joe was doing before he became a cop

@WadeGoku

Julian Barragan funny asl

@madison-fakharaalabaljamil3917

Wrong detective green was still a cop back then

@weirdorangeyankabetch

6y↑2

Anthony Rapp is so great in this!!! Adam Pascal too! 💙💚💜

@FactsDontChangeMinds

9y↑6

I always thought the song ended with "UNtil everything is fixed" lmao

@LegionIvory

That would be a nice ending, though.

@kaisle8412

3y↑2

here we are

@Horizon_Flyer

Hey there welcome to the yearly revamp of the RENT fan base.

@marceloalejandrodecon9538

20w

"How can you connect in an age where strangers, landlords, lovers, YOUR OWN BLOOD CELLS BETRAY?"

That line is immense

@thewolverine7619

41w

Man this song takes me back, my first Ipod as a kid my mom just added a bunch of songs that I didnt know because they were from her Itunes this song was one of them i never saw the movie

@MissSallyB1

5y↑3

to everyone asking how the phone's ringing when there's no power...that's the magic of musicals :lol:

@purplepawtercat

4y↑3

Jonathan Larson is a genius

@vivikipper5466

4y↑2

i watched this movie with my mom a few years ago it was like my favorite thing for months

@doratheexplorer5153

5y↑3

I just watched rent the musical at hershey theater and I loved seing it live and not watching the movie for the 10th time

@theprincevincent1996

9y↑16

urg...okay i just read some coments and i have to say...do you know how HIGH the rentvwas back then in the usa?...i gonna tell you so small falts were not cheep. and they can't just get a job. Not only because some of them have HIV/Aids-but also america back then was well...lets just say it was HARD to get money.
What do they teach you in school that you don't know such things? Even me-a german- know what america was back then xD

I just watched this musical with a friend of mine whi has alredy watched it a milion times xD from all the songs this is one of my favorits.

R.I.P greate writer of it who died bevor he could even see his own work the first time. Your work is awesome!

@ferrtur2815

4y↑4

Me to Tom nook

@Emeraldkyber

Lmao!

@Christknight1991

4y↑2

I remember seeing this in theaters with my high school buddy Chris and thinking wow amazing

@maxens_is_here

4y↑2

In my country it's illegal to evict people during the winter for obvious reasons, but doing it on Christmas Eve when you're their friend would be extra-cruel.

@corey-bird3489

4y↑1

Director cameo: “I SAID GET OFF THE WINDOW!”

@FanboyFilms

3y↑2

I need a Bully Maguire supercut set to this song.

@tomwang5413

3y↑1

This is a free country it's not rent-free country

@corey-bird3489

@@tomwang5413 Nothing is free

@Kinochan28

7y↑1

Everytime I hear all this amazing music I think about Jonathan Larson´s awesomeness <3

@ItsSiebay

19w

This song still hits to this day.

But on everything, when people talk about how great the 80s were, I bring this up.

@EZippy577

8y↑40

Love this, but they said the word rent enough times that it didn't sound like a real word at the end

@dankmemer4506

5y↑2

This was my favorite movie when i was 3

@mariefrink4130

❤❤❤ 2024 and still love it!!!

@alastairjinks6966

33w

Going to be in ensemble of rent with my local theatre group, so excited

@miaandreatta7691

Thins song is truly incredible. The guitar is so amazing

@skanda3125

4y↑2

かっこよすぎて鼻血でる

@GUMxHPxMCR940

11y

Thank you! I swear, I only watched it once (so far) and I remembered that.

@PrincessBatMan777

3y↑3

I played this song on repeat when I got evicted

@Papaya243

5y↑1

My favorite part is when everyone harmonizes on "Rent, rent, rent, rent, rent!"

@ohshctrash1410

One of my 2 favorite songs from this movie

@juliejacoby9009

Favorite musical and movie 🎵

@ravenlunatiger1052

8y↑1

love this song

@jackglassmusic1514

2y↑1

Best song ever!

@deanhakoo

4y↑1

Benny once landed a burning paper in his head lol!

@toastywarm5564

4y↑4

this song hits a little different rn huh

@demilouise815

2y↑1

I see a lot of Johnathon Larson in mark. And I know he out a lot of himself and his friends into the characters, and I love it. But I see a lot of Johnathon in this musical.