It… Read Full Bio ↴Matilda the musical, is based on the children's novel by Roald Dahl.
It is written by Dennis Kelly, with the score & lyrics written by Tim Minchin.
The musical was first performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company, at the Courtyard Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon, England, in December 2010.
In October 2011 it made it's way to the Cambridge Theatre in the west end.
Also in October 2011, it won best musical production and best actor (Bertie Carvel) in the Theatre Awards UK, and in November 2011 it won the Ned Sherrin Award for Best Musical as part of The Evening Standard Awards.
Loud
Matilda the Musical Original Cast Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You've made an awful error.
You oughtn't blame yourself now
Come along.
You seem to think that people
Like people, what are clever.
It's very quaint, it's very sweet
People don't like smarty pants
What go round claiming
That they know stuff
We don't know.
Now, here's a tip.
What you know matters less
Than the volume with which
What you don't know's expressed!
Content, has never been less important.
So you have got to be ...
(MRS WORMWOOD and (ENSEMBLE))
Loud!
(Loud, loud, loud)
Girl, you've got to learn to stand out
And stick out from the crowd!
(Crowd, crowd, crowd)
A little less flat!
(Flat!)
A lot more heel!
(Heel!)
A little less fact!
(Fact!)
A lot more feel!
(Feel!)
A little less brains!
(Brains!)
A lot more hair!
(Hair!)
A little less head!
(Head!)
A lot more derriere!
(Derriere!)
(MRS WORMWOOD)
No-one's going to tell you when to shake your tush well.
You've got a light, don't hide it under a bushel!
Oh, no-one's going to listen if you don't stand out!
No-one's going to listen if you don't shout out!
(MRS WORMWOOD and RUDOLPHO)
No-one's going to care if you don't care!
So go and put some highlights in your hair!
'Cause you've gotta highlight what you've got!
Even if, what you've got is not a lot!
(MRS WORMWOOD and ())
You've gotta be loud!
(Loud, loud, loud)
You've gotta give yourself a mission to shine.
To stand out from the crowd!
(Crowd, crowd, crowd)
(MRS WORMWOOD)
A little less bzz!
A lot more zing!
A little less pshh!
A lot more schwang!
A little less dressing like your Mum!
A little more bum-ba-bum-bum ba-da-bum
(Spoken)
Oh, I look nice!
You Don't!
(Sung)
No-one's going to tell you when to wiggle your bum-ba!
(RUDOLPHO)
No-one's going to love you if you don't know the rhumba!
(MRS WORMWOOD)
Everyone loves a little something exotic!
(RUDOLPHO)
But learning a language is over the top it,
(MRS WORMOOD)
Doesn't really matter if you don't know, know't!
(RUDOLPHO)
As long as you don't know it with a bitter clout!
(BOTH)
The less you have to sell, the harder you sell it!
The less you have to say, the louder you yell it!
The dumber the act, the bigger the confession!
The less you have to show, the larger you dress it!
You gotta get up!
You gotta get up and be
(MRS WORMWOOD and ())
Loud!
(Loud, loud, loud)
You've gotta give yourself a mission to shine.
To stand out from the crowd!
(Crowd, crowd, crowd)
(MRS WORMWOOD)
A little less
A lot more
A little less
A lot more
No-one's gonna tell you when to, oh oh oh!
No one's gonna show you when to, ah, ah, ah!
If you want a little bit of mm, mm, mm
You can't sit around going la, la, la!
No one's gonna care if you don't care,
So go and put some highlights in your hair!
'Cause you've got to highlight what you've got.
And what do you got?
(MRS WORMWOOD and ())
You gotta be loud!
(Loud, loud, loud)
You've gotta give yourself a mission to shine.
To stand out from the crowd!
(Crowd, crowd, crowd)
(MRS WORMWOOD - Spoken)
You so need a makeover!
You gotta be loud, loud, loud, loud, loud, loud, loud!
(RUDOLPHO)
(MRS WORMWOOD)
Wooooooo!
(RUDOLPHO - Spoken)
Yeah!
(MRS WORMWOOD)
Brrrrrrrooooooo!
(RUDOLPHO - Spoken)
Nice!
(MRS WORMWOOD - Spoken)
Check out the footwork - Jennifer Littleton!
(RUDOLPHO - Spoken)
I am the sultan of samba, baby! Woo! Yeah!
(MRS WORMWOOD and ())
You gotta be loud!
(Loud, loud, loud)
(Spoken)
You're gorgeous!
You've gotta give yourself a mission to shine.
To stand out from the crowd!
(Crowd, crowd, crowd)
(MRS WORMWOOD - Spoken)
Are you listening?
(Sung)
You've got to be loud, loud, loud
Oooh!
Stand out from the crowd, crowd, crowd, crowd!
Loud, loud, loud, loud, loud, loud, loud, loud, loud, loud, loud, loud!
Ohhh, you gotta be Loud!
The song "Loud" from Matilda the Musical Original Cast is about the character Mrs. Wormwood teaching her daughter Matilda how to stand out from the crowd. She tells her that it's not enough to just be smart, and that people don't like "smarty pants." Instead, she advises Matilda to be loud, to have a big personality, and to focus on her appearance rather than her intelligence. Mrs. Wormwood believes that it's more important to make noise and to draw attention to oneself, even if it means sacrificing authenticity or substance.
The song features a catchy chorus of "Loud, loud, loud," which underscores the theme of the song and emphasizes the importance of standing out. The lyrics are delivered in a colorful and energetic manner, with Mrs. Wormwood and Rudolpho showcasing their dancing skills and adding to the overall sense of exuberance.
Overall, the song is a satire of the "just be yourself" message that is often promoted in children's media. Instead, it suggests that in order to succeed and be noticed, you need to put on a show and be loud and flashy, even if it means downplaying your true self.
Line by Line Meaning
Somewhere along the way, my dear
At some point during your life
You've made an awful error.
You've made a terrible mistake.
You oughtn't blame yourself now
Don't blame yourself for it now.
Come along.
Let's move on from it.
You seem to think that people
It appears that you believe
Like people, what are clever.
That people like those who are clever.
It's very quaint, it's very sweet
It's a charming and endearing thought,
But wrong!
But it's incorrect.
People don't like smarty pants
People don't like those who act smarter than everyone else
What go round claiming
Who go around claiming
That they know stuff
That they know everything.
We don't know.
Which we don't know.
Now, here's a tip.
Here's a bit of advice.
What you know matters less
What you know is not as important
Than the volume with which
As the loudness with which
What you don't know's expressed!
What you don't know is expressed.
Content, has never been less important.
The substance of what you say is not as important.
So you have got to be ...
So you have to be ...
(MRS WORMWOOD and (ENSEMBLE))
Loud!
Loud!
(Loud, loud, loud)
Girl, you've got to learn to stand out
You need to learn how to be noticed,
And stick out from the crowd!
And be different from everyone else!
(Crowd, crowd, crowd)
A little less flat!
Be less boring!
(Flat!)
A lot more heel!
Be more sexy!
(Heel!)
A little less fact!
Be less factual!
(Fact!)
A lot more feel!
Be more emotional!
(Feel!)
A little less brains!
Be less intellectual!
(Brains!)
A lot more hair!
Have more hair and style it!
(Hair!)
A little less head!
Be less analytical!
(Head!)
A lot more derriere!
Have a bigger butt!
(Derriere!)
(MRS WORMWOOD)
No-one's going to tell you when to shake your tush well.
No one will tell you when to dance well.
You've got a light, don't hide it under a bushel!
You have a shining personality, don't be afraid to show it off!
Oh, no-one's going to listen if you don't stand out!
No one will listen if you don't stand out!
No-one's going to listen if you don't shout out!
No one will listen if you don't shout out!
(MRS WORMWOOD and RUDOLPHO)
No-one's going to care if you don't care!
No one will care if you don't care!
So go and put some highlights in your hair!
So go and add some highlights to your hair!
'Cause you've gotta highlight what you've got!
Because you need to emphasize what you have!
Even if, what you've got is not a lot!
Even if what you have is not much.
(MRS WORMWOOD and ())
You've gotta be loud!
You have to be loud!
You've gotta give yourself a mission to shine.
You have to give yourself a mission to stand out,
To stand out from the crowd!
To be different from everyone else!
A little less bzz!
Be less plain!
A lot more zing!
Be more exciting!
A little less pshh!
Be less boring!
A lot more schwang!
Be more energetic!
A little less dressing like your Mum!
Don't dress like your mother!
A little more bum-ba-bum-bum ba-da-bum
Be more sexy and entertaining!
(Spoken)
Oh, I look nice!
Oh, I look good!
You Don't!
But you don't.
(Sung)
No-one's going to tell you when to wiggle your bum-ba!
No one will tell you how to dance!
(RUDOLPHO)
No-one's going to love you if you don't know the rhumba!
No one will love you if you don't know how to dance.
Everyone loves a little something exotic!
Everyone loves things that are exotic!
But learning a language is over the top it,
But learning a language is too much!
(MRS WORMOOD)
Doesn't really matter if you don't know, know't!
It doesn't matter if you don't know!
As long as you don't know it with a bitter clout!
Just don't be bitter about it!
(BOTH)
The less you have to sell, the harder you sell it!
The less you have, the more you need to sell it!
The less you have to say, the louder you yell it!
The less you have to say, the louder you need to say it!
The dumber the act, the bigger the confession!
The worse the performance, the bigger the reaction!
The less you have to show, the larger you dress it!
The less you have to show, the more you need to dress it up!
You gotta get up!
You need to get up!
You gotta get up and be
You need to get up and be
A little less
Be less
A lot more
Be more
No-one's gonna tell you when to, oh oh oh!
No one will tell you when!
No one's gonna show you when to, ah, ah, ah!
No one will show you when!
If you want a little bit of mm, mm, mm
If you want a little bit of something special
You can't sit around going la, la, la!
You can't just sit around and do nothing!
No one's gonna care if you don't care,
No one will care if you don't care,
'Cause you've got to highlight what you've got.
Because you need to emphasize what you have.
And what do you got?
And what do you have?
You gotta be loud!
You need to be loud!
(MRS WORMWOOD - Spoken)
You so need a makeover!
You really need to change your appearance!
You gotta be loud, loud, loud, loud, loud, loud, loud!
You need to be loud!
Wooooooo!
(RUDOLPHO - Spoken)
Yeah!
Brrrrrrrooooooo!
Nice!
Great!
Check out the footwork - Jennifer Littleton!
Look at Jennifer Littleton's dancing!
I am the sultan of samba, baby! Woo! Yeah!
I am the best samba dancer!
You're gorgeous!
You look beautiful!
Are you listening?
Are you paying attention?
You've got to be loud, loud, loud
You need to be loud!
Oooh!
Stand out from the crowd, crowd, crowd, crowd!
Be different from everyone else!
Loud, loud, loud, loud, loud, loud, loud, loud, loud, loud, loud, loud!
Be loud!
Ohhh, you gotta be Loud!
You need to be loud!
Contributed by Julia J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.