His best known work includes the Disney animated movies, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Pocahontas and The Hunchback of Notre Dame, as well as Little Shop of Horrors, Enchanted, Tangled and most recently, Sister Act the Musical.
The Meek Shall Inherit
Alan Menken Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Seymour Krelbourn, so finally we meet you
This is an occasion. Let's toast it. Up yours
Relax. Canape? ?? Let's talk turkey. Sign here
and we'll book you on lecturing tours
[AGENT 2]
Be a star. And we're sending photographers Thursday
Just sign this release. Need a pen? Aren't you thrilled?
It's the cover of Life magazine. Dessert?
[AGENT 3]
I'm telling you son, it's a cinch to get ratings
The title is Marvin's. The concept is mine
The first weekly gardening show on a network
and you're gonna host it, you lucky kid, sign
[CRYSTAL, RONETTE, CHIFFON]
They say the meek shall inherit
You know the book doesn't lie
It's not a question of merit
It's not demand and supply
They say the meek gonna get it
And you're a meek little guy
You know the meek are gonna get what's comin' to 'em by and by
[SEYMOUR]
My future's starting
I've got to let it
Stick with that plant, and gee, my bank account will thrive
What am I saying? No way! Forget it!
It's much too dangerous to keep that plant alive
I take these offers, that means more killing
Who knew success would come with messy, nasty strings?
I sign these contracts, that means I'm willing
to keep on doing bloody, awful, evil things
No! No! There's only so far you can bend
No! No! This nightmare must come to an end
No! No! You've got no alternative, Seymour old boy
Though it means you'll be broke again and unemployed,
It's the only solution. It can't be avoided
The vegetable must be destroyed
But then there's Audrey, lovely Audrey.
If life were tawdry and impov'rished as before,
She might not like me, she might not want me
Without my plant, she might not love me anymore
[CRYSTAL, RONETTE, CHIFFON]
They say the meek shall inherit
[SEYMOUR]
Where do I sign?
[CRYSTAL, RONETTE, CHIFFON]
You know the book doesn't lie
[SEYMOUR]
Right on the line?
[CRYSTAL, RONETTE, CHIFFON]
It's not a question of merit
[SEYMOUR]
That'll do fine.
[CRYSTAL, RONETTE, CHIFFON]
It's not demand and supply
[SEYMOUR]
This copy's mine?
[CRYSTAL, RONETTE, CHIFFON]
You'll make a fortune, we swear it,
If on this fact you rely
Bye bye. So long.
You know the meek are gonna get what's comin' to 'em,
you know the meek are gonna get what's comin' to 'em,
you know the meek are gonna get what's comin' to 'em
by and by.
"The Meek Shall Inherit" is a song from the musical Little Shop of Horrors, performed by Seymour Krelborn, his agents, and the Greek chorus (Crystal, Ronette, Chiffon). The song explores the theme of the meek inheriting the Earth, with the agents promising Seymour success and fame if he signs on to be the host of a weekly gardening show. However, Seymour realizes that this success would come at a cost, as he would have to keep feeding the bloodthirsty plant, leading to more killing. Despite the temptation of fame, Seymour ultimately decides to put an end to the plant's reign of terror, even if it means losing everything he gained.
The opening lines of the song introduce Seymour's agents, who approach him with promises of success, including booking him for lecturing tours and even landing him on the cover of Life magazine. They urge him to sign on for a television show, assuring him of high ratings and wealth. However, Seymour is torn between his desire for success and his revulsion at the thought of continuing to feed the plant human blood. The Greek chorus chimes in with the titular line "They say the meek shall inherit," emphasizing that it is not a question of merit or supply and demand, but simply the luck of the draw. Seymour eventually realizes that keeping the plant alive and going along with the agents' plans means more killing, and he decides to destroy it to put an end to the cycle of bloodshed.
The song's lyrics serve as a commentary on the allure of fame and the price that must sometimes be paid for it. Seymour is tempted by the promise of success, but ultimately realizes that the cost of sustaining it is too high. The Greek chorus also highlights the theme of the meek inheriting the Earth, suggesting that fame and success aren't always a reflection of one's worth or abilities. In the end, Seymour prioritizes his humanity over his desire for fame, choosing to destroy the plant and put an end to the destruction it caused.
Line by Line Meaning
Seymour Krelbourn, so finally we meet you
We're excited to meet you and want to do business with you
This is an occasion. Let's toast it. Up yours
Let's celebrate this meeting and drink to it. Cheers!
Relax. Canape? Let's talk turkey. Sign here and we'll book you on lecturing tours
Don't worry, have some food. Let's discuss the details of our proposal and if you sign here, we'll book you for speaking engagements
Be a star. And we're sending photographers Thursday. So get the plant ready and wear a clean shirt. Just sign this release. Need a pen? Aren't you thrilled? It's the cover of Life magazine. Dessert?
You'll be famous! We're sending photographers to take pictures of you and the plant. Just sign this release form. It's for the cover of a popular magazine. Are you excited? Let's have dessert!
I'm telling you son, it's a cinch to get ratings. The title is Marvin's. The concept is mine. The first weekly gardening show on a network and you're gonna host it, you lucky kid, sign
You're going to be a TV star! We have a great idea for a gardening show and you're going to host it. Just sign here and you're set
They say the meek shall inherit. You know the book doesn't lie. It's not a question of merit. It's not demand and supply. They say the meek gonna get it. And you're a meek little guy. You know the meek are gonna get what's comin' to 'em by and by
The Bible says that the humble will inherit the earth. It's not about deserving it or market demand. You're a humble person and you'll get what's coming to you in the end
My future's starting. I've got to let it. Stick with that plant, and gee, my bank account will thrive. What am I saying? No way! Forget it! It's much too dangerous to keep that plant alive
My future looks bright if I keep taking these offers and taking care of the plant. But wait, no! I can't do that. Keeping the plant is too risky and dangerous
I take these offers, that means more killing. Who knew success would come with messy, nasty strings? I sign these contracts, that means I'm willing to keep on doing bloody, awful, evil things
Accepting these offers means more harm and death to others. Success comes with dark consequences. Signing these contracts means I'm willing to do terrible things to keep the plant alive
No! No! There's only so far you can bend. No! No! This nightmare must come to an end. No! No! You've got no alternative, Seymour old boy. Though it means you'll be broke again and unemployed, It's the only solution. It can't be avoided. The vegetable must be destroyed
I can't keep going like this. The nightmare needs to end. But I have no other choice than to go back to being broke and jobless. Destroying the plant is the only solution and there's no getting around it
But then there's Audrey, lovely Audrey. If life were tawdry and impov'rished as before, She might not like me, she might not want me. Without my plant, she might not love me anymore
But then there's Audrey, the woman I love. If I go back to being poor, she may not want me anymore. Without the plant, she may not love me the same
You'll make a fortune, we swear it, If on this fact you rely. Bye bye. So long. You know the meek are gonna get what's comin' to 'em, you know the meek are gonna get what's comin' to 'em, you know the meek are gonna get what's comin' to 'em by and by.
Trust us, you'll make a lot of money on this deal. Goodbye. You know that the humble will eventually receive their just reward in the end.
Contributed by Tristan I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Mr Ubri
THIS is what makes the Director’s cut version of this film not work, at least for me personally.
For those who are unaware, this scene would have been fundamental in deciding Seymour’s fate, which in turn would’ve made the original darker ending more satisfying narrative wise. But because the production team had to rearrange the ending to be happier, everything regarding Seymour being malicious or blatantly selfish (this dream sequence included) had to be cut for the Theater ending to make (at least some) narrative sense. All the director’s cut does is pretty much glue the sadder ending (not even it’s approved final cut) & nothing else to the official version of the film everyone saw in theaters.
Don’t get me wrong, I still like the fully remastered dark ending as a cool novelty, but people who call other people stupid for preferring the film’s happier ending should give that precious DC of theirs another closer look.
Edit: So it turns this part of this song was cut because of aesthetic reasons before the first version of the film with the original ending that was shown to test audiences. Well, I may been inaccurate in my initial comment’s information, but it goes to show how maybe this part of the movie shouldn’t have been cut in the first place.
Still, apologies for the slight inaccuracies on my part.
P.T. B.
This is a good extended scene
but I'll agree that it's a lot darker
in tone than the rest of the movie.
And dream sequence or not, the
part where Seymour sees the
portrait of Mr. Mushnik dripping
blood, whoa!
Another way of symbolizing that
Seymour is almost in too deep
caring for the plant to back out
now.
With director Frank Oz's alt cut, I
would've been fine with these
extended or deleted scenes being
on a deleted scenes special
feature on Blu-ray or disc, but
maybe that's just me.
Jonah Falcon
The scene is so important in that it shows, for one, Seymour regrets killing Mushnik, and two, he actually decides to kill the plant but doesn't because he thinks he'll lose Audrey.
OttavaNota
Fr it was the emotional crux of his character
Jonna King
Seymour didn't kill anyone in this version though . Had the darker ending been used, this would have stayed in tact probably because it goes with it more
RoboFist's Revenge
For a long while I was like "Yeah, I can see why they cut this."
Then I got to 1:43 and...damn. That's just genuinely great filmmaking. It's INCREDIBLE that you found this.
fundifferent1
nah..i see why they cut it
RocketShift Gaming
It’s just 3 minutes…
Geovana & Giovana Horses
Seymour (Rick Moranis) without glasses is very strange
Brian Tyler
That was such a moving performance from Rick Moranis. It’s a shame it got cut out of the movie.
Fantastic Rowdy Retro Reviewer
I bet he gets that alot.
Eyes11
This is why I found the inclusion of the original ending in the director's cut off-putting. Alone, it's very bleak since you've built up these two characters, Seymour and Audrey, as sympathetic victims of circumstances only to have them die. But this cut sequence here builds up towards the original ending. Seymour wants to destroy the plant and then the image of Audrey, the insecurity and anxiety he still feels about how he'll look being broke and unemployed to her, causes him to relent and basically sign the contracts and both their death warrants. Becoming an agent in his demise instead of an innocent victim. Still irks me they kept this out of the director's cut.