You Did It
My Fair Lady Lyrics


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Pickering Tonight, old man, you did it!
You did it! You did it! You said that you would do it,
And indeed you did. I thought that you would rue it;
I doubted you'd do it. But now I must admit it
That succeed you did. You should get a medal
Or be even made a knight. Henry It was nothing.
Really nothing. Pickering All alone you hurdled
Ev'ry obstacle in sight. Henry Now, wait! Now, wait!
Give credit where it's due, A lot of the glory goes to you.
Pickering But you're the one who did it,
Who did it, who did it! As sturdy as Gibraltar,
Not a second did you falter. There's no doubt about it,
You did it! I must have aged a year tonight.
At times I thought I'd die of fright.
Never was there a momentary lull Henry
Shortly after we came in I saw at once we'd easily win;
And after that I found it deadly dull. Pickering
You should have heard the ooh's and ah's;
Ev'ry one wondering who she was. Henry
You'd think they'd never seen a lady before. Pickering
And when the Prince of Transylvania
Asked to meet her,
And gave his arm to lead her to the floor...! I said to him:
You did it! You did it! You did it!
They thought she was ecstatic
And so damned aristocratic,
And they never knew
That you
Did it! Henry Thank Heavens for Zoltan Karparthy.
If it weren't for him I would have died of boredom.
He was there, all right. And up to his old tricks.
Mrs. Pearce Karparthy? That dreadful Hungarian?
Was he there? Henry Yes.
That blackguard who uses the science of speech
More to blackmail and swindle than teach;
He made it the devilish business of his
"To find out who this Miss Doolittle is."
Ev'ry time we looked around
There he was, that hairy hound From Budapest.

Never leaving us alone, Never have I ever known
A ruder pest Fin'lly I decided it was foolish
Not to let him have his chance with her.
So I stepped aside and let him dance with her.
Oozing charm from ev'ry pore
He oiled his way around the floor.
Ev'ry trick that he could play,
He used to strip her mask away.
And when at last the dance was done,
He glowed as if he knew he'd won!
And with a voice to eager,
And a smile too broad, He announced to the hostess
That she was a fraud! Mrs. Pearce No!
Henry Ja wohl! Her English is too good, he said,
Which clearly indicates that she is foreign.
Whereas others are instructed in their native language
English people aren't.
And although she may have studied with an expert
Di'lectician and grammarian, I can tell that she was born
Hungarian! Not only Hungarian, but of royal blood,
She is a princess! Servants Congratulations,
Professor Higgins, For your glorious victory!
Congratulations, Professor Higgins!
You'll be mentioned in history! Rest of Servants
(Simultaneously) Congratulations, Professor Higgins!
For your glorious Victory! Congratulations,
Professor Higgins! Sing hail and hallelujah!
Ev'ry bit of credit For it all belongs to you!
Footman (Simultaneously with Rest of Servants)
This evening, sir, you did it! You did it! You did it!
You said that you would do it And indeed you did.
This evening, sir, you did it! You did it! You did it!
We know that we have said it,




But-you did it and the credit
For it all belongs to you!

Overall Meaning

The song "You Did It" is a celebratory number from the musical My Fair Lady, in which Pickering and Henry congratulate each other for successfully transforming Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower girl, into an elegant lady. The lyrics overflow with pride and admiration, as the two men acknowledge the challenges they overcame and the obstacles they conquered. Pickering expresses his amazement at Henry's triumph while Henry maintains a modest approach and defers the praise to his colleague. However, the song changes its tone for the last verse, in which Henry reveals that Professor Karpathy, a Hungarian language expert, has uncovered Eliza's true origins, turning the whole situation upside down.


The song reveals the depth of the characters' relationship, both professionally and personally. Pickering's admiration towards Henry is apparent, as he praises him as if he were a national hero. At the same time, Henry's gratitude towards Pickering is noticeable, acknowledging the role his colleague played in achieving this feat. The song also harks back to the themes of class, language, and identity present throughout the musical. The idea that a person's character, value, and social standing are determined by their accent is challenged, questioning the intrinsic worth of language as a marker of identity.


Line by Line Meaning

Tonight, old man, you did it!
Congratulations, tonight you have succeeded in your goal!


You said that you would do it, and indeed you did.
You promised that you could do it, and you have delivered on that promise.


I thought that you would rue it; I doubted you'd do it. But now I must admit it that succeed you did.
I had doubted your ability to accomplish what you had set out to do, but now I must admit that you have succeeded.


You should get a medal or be even made a knight.
Your accomplishment deserves recognition and honor, such as a medal or knighthood.


All alone you hurdled Ev'ry obstacle in sight.
You overcame every obstacle in your way, all by yourself.


Give credit where it's due, A lot of the glory goes to you.
While others may have helped, you deserve the majority of the credit for your success.


As sturdy as Gibraltar, Not a second did you falter.
You remained strong and unwavering throughout the entire process and never wavered or faltered.


There's no doubt about it, You did it!
There is no doubt that you achieved your goal successfully.


At times I thought I'd die of fright. Never was there a momentary lull.
There were times when I was terrified and anxious, but the excitement never died down throughout the entire endeavor.


Shortly after we came in I saw at once we'd easily win; And after that I found it deadly dull.
At the beginning, I knew we would win easily, and once that was accomplished it became uninteresting and boring.


You should have heard the ooh's and ah's; Ev'ry one wondering who she was.
People were impressed and amazed by the transformation, and were curious about the identity of the person who underwent the makeover.


You'd think they'd never seen a lady before.
Despite their excitement and curiosity, it was clear that these people had never seen someone who embodied true ladylike qualities.


And when the Prince of Transylvania Asked to meet her, And gave his arm to lead her to the floor...! I said to him: You did it! You did it! You did it!
When someone as important as the Prince wished to meet and dance with her, it only solidified the success of the transformation.


They thought she was ecstatic And so damned aristocratic, And they never knew That you Did it!
Everyone assumed that the transformed individual was naturally ecstatic and came from a wealthy, aristocratic background, never realizing that this change had been brought about through your work.


Thank Heavens for Zoltan Karparthy. If it weren't for him I would have died of boredom. He was there, all right. And up to his old tricks.
Despite the danger of Zoltan Karparthy's true motives, his presence and interference added some excitement to the otherwise boring endeavor.


That blackguard who uses the science of speech More to blackmail and swindle than teach; He made it the devilish business of his To find out who this Miss Doolittle is.
Zoltan Karparthy is a dishonest man who uses his knowledge of linguistics to manipulate and blackmail people. He took it upon himself to investigate the identity of Miss Doolittle and sabotaged the project in the process.


Never leaving us alone, Never have I ever known A ruder pest.
Zoltan Karparthy was relentless in his pursuit of information, and was incredibly rude and unpleasant throughout the entire process.


Fin'lly I decided it was foolish Not to let him have his chance with her.
You ultimately decided that it was not worth the trouble to deny Zoltan the chance to dance with Miss Doolittle, even though his intentions were almost certainly nefarious.


So I stepped aside and let him dance with her. Oozing charm from ev'ry pore He oiled his way around the floor.
Zoltan was smooth and charming, gliding across the dance floor with ease.


Ev'ry trick that he could play, He used to strip her mask away. And when at last the dance was done, He glowed as if he knew he'd won!
Zoltan used every underhanded trick at his disposal to figure out the truth about Miss Doolittle, and he emerged from the dance with the confidence of someone who was successful in his mission.


And with a voice to eager, And a smile too broad, He announced to the hostess That she was a fraud!
Zoltan eagerly declared to everyone present that Miss Doolittle was not who she claimed to be.


Her English is too good, he said, Which clearly indicates that she is foreign. Whereas others are instructed in their native language English people aren't.
Zoltan falsely claimed that Miss Doolittle could not be English since her English was too good and argued that foreign people were given more instruction in English than those who are actually English.


And although she may have studied with an expert Di'lectician and grammarian, I can tell that she was born Hungarian! Not only Hungarian, but of royal blood, She is a princess!
Zoltan has taken his theories to the more extreme end, speculating that Miss Doolittle is not only Hungarian but also of royal heritage, without any evidence to support his claims.


Congratulations, Professor Higgins, For your glorious victory! Congratulations, Professor Higgins! You'll be mentioned in history!
You are rightfully praised for your success and accomplishments, and your name will live on in history books.


For your glorious Victory! Congratulations, Professor Higgins! Sing hail and hallelujah! Ev'ry bit of credit For it all belongs to you!
Your victory is celebrated, and all credit for it belongs to you.


This evening, sir, you did it! You did it! You did it! We know that we have said it, But-you did it and the credit For it all belongs to you!
Once again, it is emphasized that you are solely responsible for the success of this evening and are deserving of all of the credit that accompanies it.




Contributed by Dominic K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
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Comments from YouTube:

@MrJamieMurph4141969

I think we can all relate to Eliza's feelings here, whenever someone, or a bunch of people, does nothing but completely IGNORE us, not saying a single word about us, especially when we're RIGHT THERE, and yet they refer to us in third person, as if we're not there, or something. Especially the way Higgins does not much less say A word about Eliza's recent big accomplishment, having gone "from rags to riches,"so to speak.

@inkheart151

MrJamieMurph4141969 exactly! She helped pull it off as well! She deserves some credit for fooling the pupil!

@Joseph-gg8if

Yeah but Higgins did it

@davidpo5517

"Oozing charm from every pore, he oiled his way around the floor..." I love the rhyming poetry in this movie!!

@drstorm

This has always been one of my favorite musicals. I don't know if this has already been commented on before, but I love the instrumentation and voice leading of the staff as they sing at the end. The whole score for this film is exquisite.

@jasminnemcdonald94A

Professor Higgins!! Eliza is standing right there!! You should give her credit!! She deserves it!!

@kyolover16

I was in a production of this musical last month, now it's one of my all-time favorite musicals.

@StevenTorrey

One of the great movies of all time. Far more complex than it appears on the surface.

@WitchKing-Of-Angmar

They made a song about saying you did it into something absolutely unforgettable. That's takes the true musical effort to get, and they did it!

@oreodog

Even though no one is really singing in this song per se, the lyrics are awesome and the music goes so well with the acting and everything, plus it's hilarious as hell.

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