A little priest
Mrs. Lovett & Sweeney Todd Lyrics
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Mrs. Lovett: [Spoken]
Well you know me, bright idea just popped into me head
and I keep thinking--
[Sung]
Seems a down right shame.
Todd:[Spoken]
Shame?
Mrs. Lovett:
Seems and awful waste--
Such a nice plump frame
What's his name has--
Had, has.
Nor it can't be traced.
Business needs a lift,
Debts to be erased.
Think of it as thrift,
As a gift, if you get my drift.
No?
Seems a awful waste--
I mean, with the price of meat,
What it is,
when get it,
If you get it.
Todd:
Aah!
Good you got it.
Take for instance Mrs. Mooney
And her pie shop.
Business never better
Using only pussycats and toast.
Now a pussy's good for maybe
Six or seven at the most.
And I'm sure they can't compare
As far as taste.
Todd:
Mrs. Lovett, what a charming notion, Mrs. Lovett:
Eminently practical, Well it does seem a waste.
And yet appropriate as always.
Mrs. Lovett, how I did without you
All these years,
I'll never know!
Think about it,
How delectable! Lots of other gentlemen'll soon be comin'
Also undetectable. For a shave, won't they?
How choice, Think of all them
How rare. Pies!
For what's the sound of the
World out there?
Mrs. Lovett:
What, Mr. Todd?
What, Mr. Todd?
What is that sound?
Todd:
Those crunching noises
Pervading the air!
Mrs. Lovett:
Yes, Mr. Todd.
Yes, Mr. Todd.
Yes all around!
Todd:
It's man devouring, man, my dear
Both:
Then who are we to deny it in here?
Todd: [Spoken]
Ah, these are desperate times Mrs. Lovett,
and desperate measures are called for
Mrs. Lovett: [Spoken]
Here we are! Hot from the oven.
Todd: [Spoken]
What is that?
Mrs. Lovett:
It's priest,
Have a little priest.
Todd:
Is it really good?
Mrs. Lovett:
Sir, it's too good, at least.
Then again they don't commit
Sins of the flesh,
So it's pretty fresh.
Todd: [Spoken]
Awful lot of fat.
Mrs. Lovett:
Only where it sat.
Todd:
Haven't you got poet,
Or something like that?
Mrs. Lovett:
No, y'see the trouble with poet
Is how do you it's deceased?
Try the priest!
Todd: [Spoken]
Mmm, heavenly! Not as hearty as bishop, perhaps,
but then not as bland as curate, either.
Mrs. Lovett: [Spoken]
And good for business. Always leaves you wanting more,
trouble is we only get it on Sundays. Lawyer's rather nice!
Todd:
It is for a price.
Mrs. Lovett:
Order something else though to follow,
Since no one should swallow twice.
Todd:
Anything that's lean.
Mrs. Lovett:
Well, then, if your British and loyal,
You might enjoy royal marine.
Anyway, it's clean,
Though, of course,
It tastes of wherever it's been!
Todd:
Is that squire on the fire?
Mrs. Lovett:
Mercy, no sir, look closer,
You'll notice it's grocer!
Todd:
Looks thicker,
More like vicar.
Mrs. Lovett:
No, it has to be grocer--
It's green!
Todd:
The history of the world, my love.
Mrs. Lovett:
Save a lot of graves,
Do a lot of relatives favors.
Todd:
Is those bellow serving those up above!
Mrs. Lovett:
Everybody shaves,
so there should be plenty of flavors!
Todd:
How gratifying for once to know--
Both:
That those above will serve those down bellow!
Mrs. Lovett:
Now, let's see Todd:
We've got tinker? Something pinker.
Taylor? Something paler.
Potter? Something hotter?
Butler? Something-- subtler.
Locksmith? Oh.
Lovely bit of clerk.
Todd:
Maybe for a lark.
Mrs. Lovett:
The again there's sweep,
If you want it cheap,
And you like it dark.
Try the financier,
Peak of his career.
Todd:
Ugh, that looks pretty rank.
Mrs. Lovett:
Well, he drank--
No, it's bank cashier!
Never really sold,
Maybe it was old.
Todd:
Have you any Beadle?
Mrs. Lovett:
Next week, so I'm told.
Beadle isn't bad till you smell it,
And notice how well it's been greased--
Stick to priest.
[Spoken]
Now this may be a but stringy, but then of
course it's fiddle player.
Todd: [Spoken]
That's not fiddle player, that's piccolo player.
Mrs. Lovett: [Spoken]
How can you tell?
Todd: [Spoken]
It's pipping hot!
Mrs. Lovett: [Spoken]
Then blow on it first!
Todd:
The history of the world, my sweet
Mrs. Lovett:
Oh, Mr. Todd,
Ooh, Mr. Todd,
What does it tell?
Todd:
It's who gets eaten,
And who gets to eat.
Mrs. Lovett:
And Mr. Todd, too, Mr. Todd
Who gets to sell.
Todd:
But fortunately it's all so clear--
Both:
That everybody goes down well with beer!
Mrs. Lovett: [Spoken]
Since marine doesn't appeal to you, how
about rear admiral?
Todd: [Spoken]
Too salty.
I prefer general.
Mrs. Lovett: [Spoken]
With or without his privates--
With is extra.
Todd: [Spoken]
What is that?
Mrs. Lovett:
It's fop-- finest in the shop.
Or we have shepherd's pie peppered
With actual shepherd on top.
And I've just began!
That's a politician so oily
It's served with doily,
Not one.
Todd:
Put it on a bun,
Well you never know
If it's going to run.
Mrs. Lovett:
Try the friar--
Fried is drier!
Todd:
No, the clergy is really
Too coarse and too mealy.
Mrs. Lovett:
Then actor--
That's compacter.
Todd:
Yes, and always arrives overdone.
[Spoken]
I'll come again when you have judge on the menu!
Mrs. Lovett: [Spoken]
Wait, true we don't have judge yet, but would
you settle for the next best thing?
Todd: [Spoken]
What's that?
Mrs. Lovett: [Spoken]
Executioner!
Todd:
Have charity towards the world, my pet
Mrs. Lovett:
Yes, yes I know, my love!
Todd:
We'll take the costumers that we can get!
Mrs. Lovett:
High born and low, my love.
Todd:
We'll not discriminate great from small.
No, we'll serve anyone--
Both:
Meaning anyone,
And to anyone,
At all!
Well you know me, bright idea just popped into me head
and I keep thinking--
[Sung]
Seems a down right shame.
Todd:[Spoken]
Shame?
Mrs. Lovett:
Seems and awful waste--
Such a nice plump frame
What's his name has--
Had, has.
Nor it can't be traced.
Business needs a lift,
Debts to be erased.
Think of it as thrift,
As a gift, if you get my drift.
No?
Seems a awful waste--
I mean, with the price of meat,
What it is,
when get it,
If you get it.
Todd:
Aah!
Good you got it.
Take for instance Mrs. Mooney
And her pie shop.
Business never better
Using only pussycats and toast.
Now a pussy's good for maybe
Six or seven at the most.
And I'm sure they can't compare
As far as taste.
Todd:
Mrs. Lovett, what a charming notion, Mrs. Lovett:
Eminently practical, Well it does seem a waste.
And yet appropriate as always.
Mrs. Lovett, how I did without you
All these years,
I'll never know!
Think about it,
How delectable! Lots of other gentlemen'll soon be comin'
Also undetectable. For a shave, won't they?
How choice, Think of all them
How rare. Pies!
For what's the sound of the
World out there?
Mrs. Lovett:
What, Mr. Todd?
What, Mr. Todd?
What is that sound?
Todd:
Those crunching noises
Pervading the air!
Mrs. Lovett:
Yes, Mr. Todd.
Yes, Mr. Todd.
Yes all around!
Todd:
It's man devouring, man, my dear
Both:
Then who are we to deny it in here?
Todd: [Spoken]
Ah, these are desperate times Mrs. Lovett,
and desperate measures are called for
Mrs. Lovett: [Spoken]
Here we are! Hot from the oven.
Todd: [Spoken]
What is that?
Mrs. Lovett:
It's priest,
Have a little priest.
Todd:
Is it really good?
Mrs. Lovett:
Sir, it's too good, at least.
Then again they don't commit
Sins of the flesh,
So it's pretty fresh.
Todd: [Spoken]
Awful lot of fat.
Mrs. Lovett:
Only where it sat.
Todd:
Haven't you got poet,
Or something like that?
Mrs. Lovett:
No, y'see the trouble with poet
Is how do you it's deceased?
Try the priest!
Todd: [Spoken]
Mmm, heavenly! Not as hearty as bishop, perhaps,
but then not as bland as curate, either.
Mrs. Lovett: [Spoken]
And good for business. Always leaves you wanting more,
trouble is we only get it on Sundays. Lawyer's rather nice!
Todd:
It is for a price.
Mrs. Lovett:
Order something else though to follow,
Since no one should swallow twice.
Todd:
Anything that's lean.
Mrs. Lovett:
Well, then, if your British and loyal,
You might enjoy royal marine.
Anyway, it's clean,
Though, of course,
It tastes of wherever it's been!
Todd:
Is that squire on the fire?
Mrs. Lovett:
Mercy, no sir, look closer,
You'll notice it's grocer!
Todd:
Looks thicker,
More like vicar.
Mrs. Lovett:
No, it has to be grocer--
It's green!
Todd:
The history of the world, my love.
Mrs. Lovett:
Save a lot of graves,
Do a lot of relatives favors.
Todd:
Is those bellow serving those up above!
Mrs. Lovett:
Everybody shaves,
so there should be plenty of flavors!
Todd:
How gratifying for once to know--
Both:
That those above will serve those down bellow!
Mrs. Lovett:
Now, let's see Todd:
We've got tinker? Something pinker.
Taylor? Something paler.
Potter? Something hotter?
Butler? Something-- subtler.
Locksmith? Oh.
Lovely bit of clerk.
Todd:
Maybe for a lark.
Mrs. Lovett:
The again there's sweep,
If you want it cheap,
And you like it dark.
Try the financier,
Peak of his career.
Todd:
Ugh, that looks pretty rank.
Mrs. Lovett:
Well, he drank--
No, it's bank cashier!
Never really sold,
Maybe it was old.
Todd:
Have you any Beadle?
Mrs. Lovett:
Next week, so I'm told.
Beadle isn't bad till you smell it,
And notice how well it's been greased--
Stick to priest.
[Spoken]
Now this may be a but stringy, but then of
course it's fiddle player.
Todd: [Spoken]
That's not fiddle player, that's piccolo player.
Mrs. Lovett: [Spoken]
How can you tell?
Todd: [Spoken]
It's pipping hot!
Mrs. Lovett: [Spoken]
Then blow on it first!
Todd:
The history of the world, my sweet
Mrs. Lovett:
Oh, Mr. Todd,
Ooh, Mr. Todd,
What does it tell?
Todd:
It's who gets eaten,
And who gets to eat.
Mrs. Lovett:
And Mr. Todd, too, Mr. Todd
Who gets to sell.
Todd:
But fortunately it's all so clear--
Both:
That everybody goes down well with beer!
Mrs. Lovett: [Spoken]
Since marine doesn't appeal to you, how
about rear admiral?
Todd: [Spoken]
Too salty.
I prefer general.
Mrs. Lovett: [Spoken]
With or without his privates--
With is extra.
Todd: [Spoken]
What is that?
Mrs. Lovett:
It's fop-- finest in the shop.
Or we have shepherd's pie peppered
With actual shepherd on top.
And I've just began!
That's a politician so oily
It's served with doily,
Not one.
Todd:
Put it on a bun,
Well you never know
If it's going to run.
Mrs. Lovett:
Try the friar--
Fried is drier!
Todd:
No, the clergy is really
Too coarse and too mealy.
Mrs. Lovett:
Then actor--
That's compacter.
Todd:
Yes, and always arrives overdone.
[Spoken]
I'll come again when you have judge on the menu!
Mrs. Lovett: [Spoken]
Wait, true we don't have judge yet, but would
you settle for the next best thing?
Todd: [Spoken]
What's that?
Mrs. Lovett: [Spoken]
Executioner!
Todd:
Have charity towards the world, my pet
Mrs. Lovett:
Yes, yes I know, my love!
Todd:
We'll take the costumers that we can get!
Mrs. Lovett:
High born and low, my love.
Todd:
We'll not discriminate great from small.
No, we'll serve anyone--
Both:
Meaning anyone,
And to anyone,
At all!
The lyrics to "A Little Priest" from the musical Sweeney Todd convey a dark, ironic sense of humor among the two main characters, Mrs. Lovett and Sweeney Todd. The song discusses the potential to use human flesh as a key ingredient in Mrs. Lovett's meat pies, while reflecting on the desperate measures that are needed in this tough economic climate. Mrs. Lovett initially suggests that they kill their recently deceased victim and bury him to avoid any unwanted investigation. However, she then considers the option of using his body for their meat pies, as it would be a waste otherwise. As they discuss their macabre plan, they consider the potential flavor profiles that certain body parts would offer to their customers.
The song is also marked by a sense of social commentary, where the two characters suggest that the class system and power dynamics in society are such that the rich literally feed off the poor. They comment on how the wealthy will never have to suffer the same fate as the poor, who are always at risk of being treated as a commodity to be eaten up by those in power. The song's humor is thus used to expose the hypocrisy and double standards at play, and to vent the pent-up anger and resentment of the marginalized.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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@UnknownDenizen
@@marina................. There are a couple things that I (respectfully) disagree with about your thesis.
In regards to the lack of emotion over the realization that Lucy’s death was on his hands: the man let himself get executed by a child whilst he held closely his dead wife’s body. His willingness to die wasn’t due to the fact that he was distraught over Mrs. Lovetts; if he knew he’d die without her, he would have spared her the fate of being thrown in a fire, maybe even said “What’s done is done” and either stayed there (potentially begrudgingly, and using Lovetts as more of a symbiotic partner of sorts- she can bask in his presence, he can use her for revenue and even as a means of lining up victims for him to release his aggression upon-), left to go brood by himself, or potentially even end his own life.
He picked the latter, but not before exacting revenge on Lovetts for her betrayal (or rather, let someone else end it so it want by his own hand). And the fact that he rushed to her aid was more for the fact that they’d just murdered a judge and his assistant, the scream came from the basement (where several bodies had been dumped) and they’d already been harassed for the stench (dead bodies) coming from their business; it was more of a “We might have just been found out…” senses are tingling, not for feelings towards her.
We do see anguish and despair that he (outwardly) expresses in the scenes when he finds out about Lucy’s rape and alleged suicide, and as he laments in “Epiphany” over how his “Lucy lies in ashes, and I’ll never see my girl again.” From there, it’s more of a cold, hardened man who’s outward appears calm, while internally he is a shaken bottle of emotions (mostly rage). He hardened himself to exact the only goal he figured he had left.
In this scene, he even uses titles like “My pet” for Mrs. Lovetts. Their relationship was essentially a Joker/Harley one, with his heart lying in ashes for the loss of Lucy and for Johanna’s imprisonment in the hands of the man who ruined his life. Mrs. Lovetts was just a useful instrument on his road to revenge, and essentially what was leftover for a consolation prize after his wife and child were gone.
(Edit: I am so sorry…I just got excited typing and discussing the psychology behind the movie that I didn’t realize how much I’d typed 😂)
@GanonGhidorah
Lovett: "Now let's see here...We've got Tinker!"
Todd: "Something...pinker."
Lovett: "How about Tailor?"
Todd: "Something paler..."
Lovett: "Maybe Butler?"
Todd: "Something subtler."
Lovett: "Perhaps some Potter?"
Todd: "Something...Hotter!"
Lovett: "......Locksmith?"
Todd: "................"
XD
@nightcoresubliminals2038
I HAVE SO MANY THOUGHTS.
"Such a nice, plump frame what's-his-name has [contemplating] had? [reaffirming] has."
Whoa, getting a tad Hamlet on us there. He ain't the quintessence of dust just yet.
"When you get it. If you get it."
"Ah..."
"Good, you got it."
I pictured more motion here, but the stiff delivery is chilling. Helena is a gift to humanity.
"Mrs. Lovett, how I've lived without you all these years, I'll never know!"
Said I to myself, listening to By the Sea
That first waltz is everything.
How she says "missa" instead of "mister" makes me so happy. I know it's just Lovett's accent, but it's borderline gleeful and I live for it.
"Who are we to deny it in here?"
PERFECTION.
"Awful lot of fat."
How doth it feel to be roasted by a barber? (All the secondary characters can answer this question.)
Question for discussion: how do you know a poet's deceased? Asking for a friend.
That little R roll in "British and loyal" is hilarious! It's a wonderful display of Lovett's subtle humor and mockery, all while talking about baking people into pies. Love her.
"It's green!"
My brain: Audrey??
"Save a lot of graves, do a lot of relatives favors."
I JUST NOTICED THIS LINE AND I'M LAUGHING TOO HARD, SEND HELP
She's so excited over "plenty of flavors" even though it's murder and corpse desecration and cannibalism. In that order.
"That those above will serve those down below!"
Wonderful pun and wonderful voices. I'm in awe.
"Shepherd's pie peppered with actual shepherd on top."
Pffft. I aspire to this lyrical and rhyming prowess.
Hot take on politics, damn.
"And to anyone at all!"
saddens for a moment before remembering I've got the song on repeat
@wynnie_draven
Tim Burton ships Johnny and Helena more than he ships himself and Helena
@jackskellington4198
Lol seriously xD There was definitely some sexual undertones in this scene despite being settle.
@dreamsandmemories4807
Jack Skellington this scene is meant to be sorta sexual since she is trying to seduce him while he only has blood lust
@phoenixduncan4750
What's funny is that Helena wanted the role of Mrs. Lovett. Tim Burton denied her the roll because she couldn't sing.. She took singing lessons and got the part.
@clayriffs_
I'm glad
@el5001
@@dreamsandmemories4807 lol ms. Lovett can barely control her lust and it's obvious XD same with sweeney but its bloodlust hes trying to control
@roberttreacy8271
That is called “canibalism”, my dear children, and is in fact frowned upon in most societies.
@crimsonknight7011
Desperate times....back then it really was desperate since people were dying of disease and hunger with many homeless and children working in factories
@erin0719
@@crimsonknight7011 he's talking about Willy Wonka
@crimsonknight7011
I know he meant Wonka which was played by him but was just saying that back then it was a real thing