Rent
Original Broadway Cast Lyrics

How do you document real life
How do you accurately capture the essence of reality

When real life's getting more
When real life is becoming increasingly complex

Like fiction each day
Resembling a work of fiction with each passing day

Headlines, bread-lines
Newspaper headlines and food shortages

Blow my mind
Seem unbelievable or shocking

And now this deadline
A looming eviction notice deadline

"Eviction or pay"
Either pay the rent or face eviction

How do you write a song
How do you create music

When the chords sound wrong
When the musical composition feels off

Though they once sounded right and rare
Despite once being a unique and fitting tune

When the notes are sour
When the sounds seem unpleasant

Where is the power
Where is the power to create

You once had to ignite the air
The spark you had to create something powerful has faded

And we're hungry and frozen
We are starving and feeling the effects of the cold

Some life that we've chosen
This is the life we have chosen to live

How we gonna pay
How will we find the money to pay

Last year's rent
The unpaid rent from the previous year

We light candles
We light candles for warmth and light

How do you start a fire
How do you begin to create heat

When there's nothing to burn
When there is no fuel to burn for heat

And it feels like something's stuck
A blockage that prevents progress

In your flue
In the chimney used to vent smoke from a fire

How can you generate heat
How can you create warmth

When you can't feel your feet
When you're unable to feel sensations in your feet

And they're turning blue!
When your feet turn blue due to the lack of warmth

You light up a mean blaze
You create a strong fire

With posters
Paper advertisements

And screenplays
Movie scripts

Don't screen, Maureen
Don't ignore, Maureen

It's me Joanne
It's me, Joanne

Your substitute production manager
I'm the temporary production overseer

Hey hey hey! Did you eat?
Hey, did you have anything to eat today?

Don't change the subject Maureen
Don't divert the discussion Maureen

But darling! You haven't eaten all day
But dear, you did not eat today

You won't throw up
You won't vomit

The digital delay
Audio mixing effect that produces echoes and repeats

Didn't blow up, exactly
Didn't malfunction completely

There may have been one teeny tiny spark
It might have had a minor flaw

You're not calling Mark!
You're not contacting Mark!

How do you stay on your feet
How to remain physically standing

When on every street
When everywhere

It's 'trick or treat'
It's the Halloween tradition of trick or treat

And tonight its 'trick'
And tonight it's the trick part

'Welcome back to town'
Welcome back to the area

I should lie down
I should rest until I feel better

Everything's brown
Everything seems bleak and lifeless

And uh-oh
And oh no,

I feel sick
I feel ill

Where is he?
Where would he be?

Getting dizzy
Feeling disorientated

Allison, baby you sound sad
Allison, you sound upset

I don't believe those two
I don't trust those two

After everything I've done
After all the work I've put in

Ever since our wedding
Since our marriage

I'm dirt, they'll see
They'll view me as insignificant

I can help them all out in the long run
I can aid them overall in the future

"The music ignites the night with Passionate fire"
The music sparks the night with strong emotions

Maureen, I'm not a theatre person
Maureen, I don't have a passion for theatre

The narration crackles and pops with Incendiary wit
The storytelling is full of clever and provocative quips

Could never be a theatre person
I am not and will never be a theatre enthusiast

Zoom in as they burn the past to the ground
Focus in on the destruction of the past

And feel the heat of the future's glow
And sense the warmth of what is yet to come

(Hello?) Hello? Maureen?
(Hello?) Is anyone there? Maureen?

Your equipment won't work?
Is your gear malfunctioning?

Okay, all right, I'll go!
Okay, I will go and deal with the problem

How do you leave the past behind
How do you move past the past

When it keep finding ways to get to your heart
When it keeps reminding you of what was

It reaches way down deep and tears you inside out
It seeps into your soul and breaks you apart

'Til you're torn apart
Until you're completely destroyed

How can you connect in an age
How can you relate to others in the modern era

Where strangers, landlords, lovers
Where acquaintances, property owners, and partners

Your own blood cells betray
Even your own body's cells deceive and hurt you

What binds the fabric together
What holds everything together like a fabric

When the raging, shifting winds of change
When the storms of change rage and churn

Keep ripping away
Keep tearing apart

Draw a line in the sand
Take a stand

And then make the stand
And then stick to your position

Use your camera to spar
Use your camera to argue and debate

Use your guitar
Use your guitar to argue and prove a point

When they act tough
When they become difficult

You call their bluff
You expose their deception

We're not gonna pay
We refuse to pay

Last year's rent
The rent from last year

This year's rent
The rent for this year

Next year's rent
The rent for the upcoming year

We're not gonna pay rent
We refuse to pay the rent

'Cause everything is rent
Because ultimately everything involves paying rent