Lament
Into the Woods Lyrics


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Witch
This is the world I meant
Couldn't you listen?
Couldn't you stay content?
Safe behind walls as I could not?

Now you know what's out there in the world
No one can prepare you for the world, even I
How could I, who loved you as you were?
How could I have shielded you from her
Or them?

No matter what you say
Children won't listen
No matter what you know
Children refuse to learn

Guide them along the way
Still they won't listen
Children can only grow




From something you love
To something you lose

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of "Lament" from the musical Into the Woods are spoken by the Witch to Rapunzel after the latter has fled from her tower, venturing out into the dangerous world. The Witch begins by expressing her frustration with Rapunzel, now that she has seen the world beyond the tower. She had warned Rapunzel about the dangers of the world beyond, but Rapunzel refused to heed her warnings, now the Witch mourns the loss of her precious Rapunzel to the corruptive tendencies of the real world.


The second half of the song is the Witch's realization that no matter how much she wants to protect and shield Rapunzel or any other child, they're bound to make their own mistakes. Whether or not the witch should have sheltered Rapunzel or whether she had made the right decisions, there's no absolute answer. This dilemma of guarding or not is something that has preoccupied the Witch throughout the musical. She wants to protect Rapunzel and her other charges, but in the end, she knows that they must go out and venture on their own.


Line by Line Meaning

This is the world I meant
This is the world I had always wanted you to see and experience.


Couldn't you listen?
Why didn't you pay heed to my warnings and advice?


Couldn't you stay content?
Why did you have to seek beyond what you had and be dissatisfied with what you had?


Safe behind walls as I could not?
Why couldn't you take refuge behind the cocoon of safety that I had created for you out of my own struggles?


Now you know what's out there in the world
I hope you understand the magnitude of the vast unknown liminal spaces that surround and permeate every aspect of our daily existence?


No one can prepare you for the world, even I
Even I failed to prepare you for this world because I underestimated its complexities and challenges.


How could I, who loved you as you were?
How could I have changed what I loved about you?


How could I have shielded you from her or them?
How could I have protected you from the predators that lurk in these unknown territories beyond our safety zone?


No matter what you say, children won't listen
No matter how hard you try to impart your wisdom and insight, children and youth fail to pick up and truly listen to these valuable lessons.


No matter what you know, children refuse to learn
No matter how much you know and strive to teach, the children will refuse to learn from the voices of experiences, and they have to learn from their own experiences.


Guide them along the way, still they won't listen
No matter how much guidance and instruction you impart upon them, they still will shy away from listening and forge their own paths.


Children can only grow from something you love to something you lose
As children, they will grow and mature over time, out of the realm of things that you love, eventually becoming lost to the vastness of the world's inevitable, unknown future.




Contributed by Grace R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
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