Rent

How do you document real life When real life's getting more like fiction each day? Headlines, bread-lines, blow my mind And now this deadline, "Eviction or pay" Rent How do you write a song When the chords sound wrong? Though they once sounded right and rare When the notes are sour Where is the power you once had to ignite the air? We're hungry and frozen Some life that we've chosen How we gonna pay? How we gonna pay? How we gonna pay last year's rent? How do you start a fire When there's nothing to burn And it feels like something's stuck in your flue How can you generate heat When you can't feel your feet And they're turning blue You light up a mean blaze With posters and screenplay How we gonna pay? How we gonna pay? How we gonna pay last year's rent? Don't screen, Maureen It's me, Joanne Your substitute production manager Hey-hey-hey! Did you eat? Don't change the subject, Maureen But darling, you haven't eaten all day You won't throw up, you won't throw up The digital delay didn't blow up, exactly There may have been one teeny tiny spark You're not calling Mark! How do you stay on your feet When on every street, it's "trick or treat" And tonight it's "trick" "Welcome back to town," I should lie down Everything's brown and, agh, I feel sick Where is he? Getting dizzy How we gonna pay? How we gonna pay? How we gonna pay last year's rent? Allison, baby, you sound sad I can't believe those two After everything I've done Ever since our wedding I'm dirt, they'll see I can help them all out in the long run Forces are gathering (the music ignites the night with passionate fire) Forces are gathering (Maureen, I'm not a theatre person) Can't turn away (the narration crackles and pops with incendiary wit) Forces are gathering (could never be a theatre person) Forces are gathering (zoom in as they burn them past to the ground) Forces are gathering (hello?) Feel the heat of the future's glow (hello?) Hello? Maureen? Your equipment won't work? Okay, all right, I'll go! How do you leave the past behind When it keeps finding ways to get to your heart It reaches way down deep and tears you inside out 'Til you're torn apart Rent How can you connect in an age Where strangers, landlords, lovers Your own blood cells betray What binds the fabric together When the raging, shifting winds of change Keep ripping away Draw a line in the sand And then make a stand Use your camera to spar Use your guitar When they act tough, you call their bluff We're not gonna pay We're not gonna pay We're not gonna pay Last year's rent This year's rent Next year's rent Rent, rent, rent, rent, rent We're not gonna pay rent 'Cause everything is rent