album cover
album cover
Release DateAugust 1, 1996
LabelGeffen
LanguageEnglish
Melodicness
Acousticness
Valence
Danceability
Energy
BPM176

Credits

PERFORMING ARTISTS
Anthony Rapp
Anthony Rapp
Performer
Various Artists
Various Artists
Performer
Adam Pascal
Adam Pascal
Performer
Daphne Rubin-Vega
Daphne Rubin-Vega
Performer
Jesse L. Martin
Jesse L. Martin
Performer
Wilson Jermaine Heredia
Wilson Jermaine Heredia
Performer
Idina Menzel
Idina Menzel
Performer
Fredi Walker
Fredi Walker
Performer
Taye Diggs
Taye Diggs
Performer
COMPOSITION & LYRICS
Jonathan Larson
Jonathan Larson
Songwriter
PRODUCTION & ENGINEERING
Arif Mardin
Arif Mardin
Producer
Steve Skinner
Steve Skinner
Producer

Lyrics

[Verse 1]
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
[Verse 2]
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?
[PreChorus]
And we're hungry and frozen, some life that we've chosen
[Chorus]
How we gonna pay?
How we gonna pay?
How we gonna pay last year's rent?
[Chorus]
We light candles
[Verse 3]
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?
[PreChorus]
You light up a mean blaze with posters and screenplays
[Chorus]
How we gonna pay?
How we gonna pay?
How we gonna pay last year's rent?
[Verse 4]
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
[Bridge]
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
[Verse 5]
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, oh, I should lie down
Everything's brown and uh-oh, I feel sick
[PreChorus]
Where is he? Getting dizzy
[Chorus]
How we gonna pay?
How we gonna pay?
How we gonna pay last year's rent?
[Verse 6]
Allison, baby, you sound sad
I don't believe those two, after everything I've done
Ever since our wedding, I'm dirt, they'll see
I can help 'em all out in the long run
[Bridge]
The music ignites the night with passionate fire
Maureen, I'm not a theatre person
The narration crackles and pops with incendiary wit
Could never be a theatre person
Zoom in as they burn the past to the ground
And feel the heat of the future's glow
[Verse 7]
Hello?
Hello? Maureen?
Your equipment won't work?
Okay, alright, I'll go
[PreChorus]
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
Till you're torn apart, rent
[PreChorus]
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?
[PreChorus]
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
[Chorus]
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
Written by: Jonathan Larson
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