10 Musical Theater List Songs for Your List-ening Pleasure
It's been a big week for list songs (numbers where the lyrics are just a laundry list of things that all manage to tie together) in the theatrical popular culture. First, Jonathan Larson's classic "La Vie Bohème" got national exposure as part of Fox's pre-taped broadcast of Rent. Then, it was announced that Ariana Grande's "7 Rings," a riff on Rodgers and Hammerstein's beloved "My Favorite Things" from The Sound of Music made it to the top spot of the Billboard Hot 100. This got us thinking about our favorite list songs from the musical-theater, and, apropos of everything, we're going to list them for you now.
1. "All About the Green" from The Wedding Singer
Music by Matthew Sklar, Lyrics by Chad Beguelin
Sample Lyric: "It's all about the big bucks/fat checks/midnight flights to LAX"
2. '"Conga!" from Wonderful Town
Music by Leonard Bernstein, Lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green
Sample Lyric: "What do you think of the USA…NRA…TVA?/What do you think of our Mother's Day?/What do you think of the/Conga!"
3. "I Got Life" from Hair
Music by Galt MacDermot, Lyrics by Gerome Ragni and James Rado
Sample Lyrics: "I got my hair/I got my head/I got my brains/I got my ears…"
4. "I'm Still Here" from Follies
Music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Sample Lyric: "I've been through Gandhi, Windsor and Wally's affair, and I'm here"
5. "Joseph's Coat" from Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, Lyrics by Tim Rice
Sample Lyric: "It was red and yellow and green and brown and scarlet and black and ochre and peach"
6. "Mix Tape" from Avenue Q
Music and lyrics by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx
Sample Lyric: "'A Whole New World'/'Kiss The Girl'/'My Cherie Amour'"
7. "Prologue" from Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812
Music and lyrics by Dave Malloy
Sample Lyrics: "Marya is old-school/Sonya is good/Natasha is young/and Andrey isn't here"
8. "Seasons of Love" from Rent
Music and lyrics by Jonathan Larson
Sample Lyrics: "In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights, in cups of coffee"
9. "Tchaikovsky (and Other Russians)" from Lady in the Dark
Music by Kurt Weill'', Lyrics by Ira Gershwin
Sample Lyric:''' "There's Maliszewski, Rubinstein, Arensky, and Tchaikovsky…"
10. "We Open in Venice" from Kiss Me, Kate
Music and lyrics by Cole Porter
Sample Lyric: "We open in Venice/We next play Verona/Then onto Cremona…"
