Lyrics for Dr Horrible's 'Commentary! The Musical' - Dr. Horrible

Thanks Simon, lightning fast as ususal :)

Not a problem:). I'm still waiting for my DVD but those lyrics are hilarious. And telling.

I'm (pleasantly) surprised at how many songs show Joss as writer of the music and/or lyrics. Because of Dollhouse I had assumed that Jed took the lead on much of the Commentary! composition, but it seems that Joss put a lot of his own time into the writing.

SteveP | January 05, 13:16 CET

so amazing. I finally understand every word of it. :)

wiesengrund | January 05, 13:18 CET

I was out of the country until yesterday, and I finally got to hear the commentary yesterday. I'd just like to know... How do people get so talented? Is there hard work involved?
I loved every second of it!

Valentyn | January 05, 13:41 CET

Huzzah! I was considering a transcribing effort today, but now I don't have to.

nanceoir | January 05, 14:20 CET

Greatness. I listened to it twice, so far, but couldn't quite catch every word. I'll be listening to it again with these lyrics on the screen as soon as I get home from work :)

GVH | January 05, 14:27 CET

Yay! I loved Commentary! The Musical but had a hard time sometimes following the lyrics.

loa | January 05, 14:31 CET

I LOVE Felicia Day! Her commentary/singfest was hysterically funny. I will never look at 9-inch heels the same way again!

Dana5140 | January 05, 14:47 CET

I've been trying to decide which my favourite songs on - I find that Zack's Rap, Ninja Ropes and curiously, the chorus of Heart, Broken are what I keep hearing in my head.
So good to have to official lyrics available. Thanks to the Whedon clan for getting these out.

Lioness | January 05, 15:14 CET

I think "Without these things you spit upon" in "Heart, Broken" achieves Jack Blackness.

ETA Not to burst into symbol-key swearwords again, but the second line on the linked-to page is more than slightly impressive. The production/orchestration/playing on Commentary! is witty/funny/bodacious.

[ edited by Pointy on 2009-01-05 16:30 ]

Pointy | January 05, 15:38 CET

I think, melodically, $10 solo is still my favorite. The best lyrics would probably go to "Heart, Broken". And you've got to love Zack's Rap as well.

Overall though, however much I love the songs in Commentary!, none of them get to the level of the songs in Dr. Horrible itself, in my opinion. But that doesn't really matter all that much, because with all the injokes and Whedon-y goodness, it's exactly what it should be: a huge heap of fun for us fans.

GVH | January 05, 16:13 CET

I love the "no" at the end of Steve's Song.

deadbessie | January 05, 16:20 CET

I love that "no" too, deadbessie. I also love finally knowing all the lyrics - some had eluded me no matter how often I listened. Adding my very big thanks to the Horribles for putting these out. It's not like they had to. I'm grateful for that, plus for "Commentary!" in general. It's a gorgeous, lyrical gift of gorgeousness. I just love it.

My choice of favorite song rotates every time I listen but I probably am most stirred by Heart, Broken.

I wonder if the Horrible team have plans to release "Commentary!" as downloadable/purchasable mp3s or whatever file format. I wonder if it'd be worth their while? I'd be crazy-happy if they did.

Edited to add: shouldn't it be "days of yore?" Sorry. Can't help myself. Comes from a few years spent in publishing in the days of....yore.

[ edited by phlebotinin on 2009-01-05 17:01 ]

phlebotinin | January 05, 16:31 CET

I also get a big kick out of the intro to Better Than Neil. They nail that 60's sound.
Has anyone yet done a list of influences? I hear them but can't place them. I read one person who said that Neil's Turn is based on Gypsy, which makes sense as Joss wrote it.

Lioness | January 05, 17:15 CET

phlebotinin: "Yore" not wrong... ;) I noticed it too, (publishing in my days of yore, too) and have been fighting back and forth between highlighing it, and not saying anything. And, while I was being a coward, you bravely stepped forward. "Everyone has demons," right?

k8cre8 | January 05, 17:22 CET

edited 'cause it repeated somehow.

[ edited by Lioness on 2009-01-05 17:28 ]

Lioness | January 05, 17:27 CET

I don't have time to go over all the lyrics just now, but I think the fan transcriptions, led by Megan Lynch (spidra) over at the doctorhorrible.net forums, have proven extremely accurate. There were a few lines that were known to be in question, and we even got a couple of those right.

In terms of errors on the official version, yes, "days of yore." Also I believe it is properly spelled "Purell" not "Purelle" in Better than Neil. And if you listen to the start of Zack's Rap, I think he quite definitely sings "I don't do songs" not "I don't write song". That's as far as I've got.

AlanD | January 05, 17:36 CET

Oh, definitely, k8cre8. Definitely with the demons having. I also realize that it's easy for me to criticize spelling but it's in no way easy for anyone to create brilliant music and lyrics. I certainly couldn't. No sirree. Nope. I stick to spelling, and I sometimes suck at that, too.

phlebotinin | January 05, 17:37 CET

Wow, I *just* watched this last night for the first time... and was completely blown away. I hung on every word, enjoyed every song, the Dr. Horrible DVD purchase is worth every penny just for this commentary. The most brilliant extra, I believe, of all time (on any dvd, ever). I can't believe how much work must have gone in to writing this whole new batch of songs, let alone performing them to get the timing just right (for those rare occasional references to what is on screen).

And these songs are every bit as catchy - and hilarious - as the mushortio itself. :-)

I'm glad the lyrics are finally posted, I was searching for them - just last night after watching/listening to it. Sadly there are no subtitles for this commentary track. ;-) I caught a good deal of it, but I'm sure I missed quite a few things in the songs, so it's great to have these. Will they release a second soundtrack cd with Commentary!?

AnotherFireflyfan | January 05, 18:00 CET

Now all's right with the world. Or...almost all. Is there a transcript out there somewhere of the actual commentary? The non-singing, "normal people-speak" commentary?

QuanticoMVP | January 05, 18:11 CET

I love it. And am also surprised by how much input Joss had. But I shouldn't be, should I? This is what he does- invest in his projects. And "Heart, Broken" moves me. But I also love "$10 Solo", "Better than Neil", Felicia's song, and "Neil's Turn", of course. Or all of them. Ah, if only this could stretch us until February... :)

korkster | January 05, 18:13 CET

I'm so glad I finally got my copy of the DVD. Whenever my friends are over, we tend to have it playing in the background, either as the normal Sing-Along-Blog, or as COMMENTARY!
I really dig "Ninja Ropes". Having heard that song, made me go find the game, and it is wicked addicting.

Astonishing_Chaos | January 05, 19:07 CET

The Commentary! songs are even catchier than the songs in the movie itself (yes, I consider Dr. Horrible to be a movie, not a TV show).

< singing/ > Ten dollar lame-o... Are those the words now? < /singing >

electricspacegirl | January 05, 19:26 CET

I'm so excited I can now rename all the MP3s in iTunes to the correct title! I think I got about 50% of them right.

RachVG | January 05, 19:27 CET

So, this is just a quick headcount:

1) Creating, running, writing, directing and giving about eight billion interviews about this season's most anticipated (and discussed, and prophecized-about) TV show of the season.

2) Working in some fashion on "Cabin in the Woods."

3) Running and occasionally writing a comic book.

4) Composing and writing the lyrics for six or seven commentary songs.

Joss, if you are reading this, and feel the urge to give some sort of symposium on multi-tasking (or if you would like to share the time-turner I must conclude you have tucked away) I would be greatly appreciative.

streetartist | January 05, 19:44 CET

Aww, they didn't include my favorite part of "Moist": "What's that, Ma? I have to solo? Okay!"

But the rest is utter brilliance, and I'm glad to finally understand everything that was sung. As for favorite song...hmm..."Better Than Neil," "Zack's Rap," and "Ten Dollar Solo" have been in my head for some time now.

UnpluggedCrazy | January 05, 20:19 CET

Here, here, streetartist! I was thinking the same thing (but the time-turner was cleverly all yours). Your list just reminded me of how much Joss is Joss. :)

korkster | January 05, 20:24 CET

I'm thrilled to have the official lyrics up, but I thought the fan lyrics posted were actually very good... I love all the songs in the Commentary! It really is amazing, and I love re-listening to the whole thing over and over again! I love all things Whedon!

embers | January 05, 20:52 CET

Have I actually missed whether or not the songs from "Commentary!" will be released as a soundtrack in the midst of everything else? I really would love to just listen in the car whilst driving (okay well sing along REALLY loudly in the car if I am honest!) I checked on iTunes UK but to no avail. I will just have to keep hoping...

fade2dust | January 05, 21:02 CET

fade2dust, to my knowledge you've missed nothing. There's been no announcement one way or another. However, and this is just me theorizing, it seems reasonable for the Horribles to hold off for a while on releasing a "Commentary!" CD or selling downloadable "Commentary!" tracks. "Commentary!" is one of the selling points of the DVD, and DVD sales are one way to turn a profit on this project or make a profit already turned bigger. Speaking of which, I just checked Amazon and Dr. Horrible is still at #2 on the bestselling Movies & TV DVDs. Wow. "Dark Knight" has fallen below "Horrible."

But 'tis my fond wish and obviously the fond wish of many others to buy a separate audible form of "Commentary!" Sure, it's not too hard to create homemade mp3s from the DVD (don't ask me, I'm not going there), but I wish to contribute more to the "Horrible" coffers by actually buying the music.

Maybe the Horribles will address this issue sometime soon? It looks like everywhere you go on the web, people are clamoring for "Commentary!" (Funny, every time I type "Commentary!" I hear the cast singing it.)

[ edited by phlebotinin on 2009-01-05 21:21 ]

phlebotinin | January 05, 21:16 CET

Where's the love for "Asian in the Movies"? I love that song so very much. And Maurissa's got a great voice, and she sings it with a lot of passion.

pat32082 | January 05, 21:34 CET

And ironic, given the lack of actual Chinese people in Firefly.

The One True b!X | January 05, 21:38 CET

Don't you think that was sort of part of the "joke," b!x?

pat32082 | January 05, 21:41 CET

I imagine they would have noticed, but I have no way of knowing whether or not it was a deliberate part of the joke going in.

The One True b!X | January 05, 21:45 CET

Astonishing_Chaos: I'm glad to finally understand everything that was sung

I'm not sure we're there yet, as some of Felicia's lines are cryptic in-jokes.

Then there's "SEVENTY SIX THOUSAND SIX HUNDRED AND SIX POINT SEVEN SIX TWO THREE FIVE NINER SQUARED" which roughly works out to what could be a phone number in Michigan. It apparently rings busy, and Michigan is a hotbed for telemarketers, so I think it's either some telemarketer who pestered Jed, or he's just throwing around random numbers to mess with us.

ETA spelling and to add:
There are plenty of Asians on The Guild. Catch Guild Fever!

[ edited by AlanD on 2009-01-05 21:57 ]

[ edited by AlanD on 2009-01-05 21:58 ]

AlanD | January 05, 21:49 CET

Thank you Simon for posting that. I've been able to enjoy it twice today and the sheer enjoyment has been massive. Laughter is the best medicine as they say.

mirrorshades | January 05, 22:21 CET

b!x, by acknowledging the lack of Asians in Dr. Horrible I believe they were acknowledging the lack of Asians in all of Joss' work since they contribute to all the TV shows and all the movies Maurissa sings about.

UnpluggedCrazy | January 05, 22:27 CET

I think Maurissa did say that they would "keep us posted" on a soundtrack release.

I love Maurissa's song so much. But there are so asians on TV! I saw Kim Evey on Journeyman. As a nurse.

hacksaway | January 05, 22:33 CET

A wacky, funny nurse?

UnpluggedCrazy | January 05, 22:34 CET

Lovely to read the lyrics. I listened to Commentary! for the first time on Saturday and didn't catch all the words at all. Okay, I could have gone back and just listened hard... but I couldn't have done that at work today. Reading things is much easier. :)

skittledog | January 05, 22:40 CET

Okay, I'm casting about for exceptions, but what about Sun and Jin on Lost? What stereotyped categories do they fall into? I guess Jin is an Asian gangster type. But Sun? Or hey, how about Daniel Dae Kim's lawyer on Angel? Hey, he was just a nasty lawyer on Angel with, and this is important, no ties to Asian gangs of any kind. And he was no scientist and his humor was not wacky. Hey, did that character transcend stereotypes?

The Asian character (spacing on the name) on Dexter is indeed a "nerdy, funny scientist." Urgh. Maurissa's right.

Ooh, but then again, there *is* a key Asian character in Joss's Season 8, isn't there? Satsu wasn't wacky or funny or scientistlike or playing her violin...and math.

Perhaps all these exceptions do is prove the rule.

phlebotinin | January 05, 22:47 CET

Well it does seem like Daniel Dae Kim plays at least 75% of the Asians on TV (and George Takei plays about 10% of them himself... with Sandra Oh and Masi Oka being pretty much all the rest of them... yeah, an exaggeration but not by much). Joss was given a hard time for not having any Chinese actors on Firefly (he did have some Asian extras...). So pretty much Maurissa's song was very much on the nose; all these songs on Commentary! seem to cut pretty close to the bone IMO.

embers | January 05, 23:17 CET

Although I think the line about the violins and math was double edged as that of course also describes Felicia.

Lioness | January 05, 23:39 CET

Right true.

korkster | January 06, 00:13 CET

I love most of the songs (although the discordant parts of Neil's Song are so... discordant).

Favourites change with every listen, but one song that always tugs at my psyche is Joss's Heart, Broken. Poor Joss. Because of us, he is constantly having to pick apart and examine his works in order to satisfy our insatiable fanish hunger. At least I think that's what the song means. I wish he would post here and clarify.

AlanD | January 06, 00:49 CET

This stuff does indeed cut close to the bone. The portrait painted of actors in Commentary, and fans in both musicals is humorous, sure, but it stings, too. Same with Maurissa's song. The underlying ambivalence/cynicism coming out in all this half-kidding is fascinating.

shambleau | January 06, 01:24 CET

Yes, it cuts close to the bone, but it gives us more meat to chew on. Which give them substance. *currently listening to "ASIAN IN THE MOVIES"*

Who gets it? A Mexican.

korkster | January 06, 01:31 CET

Fantastic!! To have both the actual lyrics and song names!
I really,really love "Asian in the movies" is one of my favourites, along with "Strike! and "Zack's rap" which is just so funny . Oh and "Heart,Broken" too.

Maurissa's song is very true. it always reminds me of Tosh (in Torchwood) She is after all the computer technician. Tosh also reminds me of Tara's song in OMWF. She'd be great singing "I live my life in shadows..."

So what do you think of the song's content? are they serious? tongue-in-cheek?

okelay | January 06, 02:03 CET

So what do you think of the song's content? are they serious? tongue-in-cheek?

Yes.

The One True b!X | January 06, 02:07 CET

Yes

PaulfromSunnydale | January 06, 02:21 CET

2:33

ETA: Dammit, a better answer was "snap"

Seriously though, I think there has to be some truth behind it, otherwise it's just fluff. But the humour reminds us not to get too bent out of shape over it.

[ edited by AlanD on 2009-01-06 02:35 ]

AlanD | January 06, 02:32 CET

Which makes me wonder about the "TOLD YOU HOW I F#!KED YOUR MOTHER" line in "Ninja Ropes".

korkster | January 06, 02:36 CET

That line killed me. I wonder if NPH got any flack over that from the HIMYM suits.

AlanD | January 06, 03:00 CET

Why would he?

The One True b!X | January 06, 03:05 CET

phlebotinin Indeed. Spelling skills do fade in comparison to lyrics and harmony. I'd rather be good at that, then, well, admittedly, mediocre at spelling...

I've had "I'm better, better than Neil" as my earworm today, thanks to reading through that old sea shanty. And, you know? I'm not entirely displeased.

k8cre8 | January 06, 03:15 CET

There is one episode about FGM in Angle.I remember it very clearly because the guest star is Chinese and the story is very relevant.
Hi~newbie here...I'm Chinese and shy...

Ningjing | January 06, 03:31 CET

I can imagine a sponsor or some humourless suit not appreciating one of their stars twisting the title of the show into an f-bomb profanity.

AlanD | January 06, 03:41 CET

Great to have these posted - I had several lines I couldn't quite catch. The "It's"/"Its" confusion in the last verse of Ninja Ropes is a little painful, though.

Mercenary | January 06, 03:57 CET

Welcome, Ningjing!

Pointy | January 06, 04:16 CET

Good catch Mercenary. So after carefully going through my final version of the lyrics and correcting all of my mistakes (and there were many), I also find a dozen lines in the official version that could probably be ammended, mostly minor spelling issues, and deviations from script (and please forgive me everyone for being such a "huge f#!king nerd" :-) I do this out of love):

COMMENTARY
DAYS OF YOR - should be YORE

BETTER THAN NEIL
PURELLE - should be PURELL

ZACK'S RAP
I DON'T WRITE SONGS - Zack sings I DON'T DO SONGS
TWEETIE BIRD - usually spelled TWEETY
WEREN'T YOU THE TIN MAN ONCE - the word ONCE isn't sung
YOU CAN'T OUT RUN YOUR PAST - OUTRUN
WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN TO THESE KIDS?! - Zack sings GOING TO

NINJA ROPES
EACHOTHER - EACH OTHER
HURDLE - should be HURTLE
SIMPLE IN IT'S GAME PLAY AND YET EPIC IN IT'S SCOPE - ITS x2

ALL ABOUT ME
Stacey: THEY'LL NEVER KNOW HOW MUCH I GAVE - Stacy with no 'e'

HEART, BROKEN
COMICON - Should be COMIC-CON

BTW, after dozens and dozens of repeat listenings, the one thing that kills me every time are Zack's gleeful interjections during his rap outro: "Yes!" "I agree!" "Come on!" "Sure!" "Here we go!" "That's a funky beat!" "Zack!" "I'm the youngest!"

Also, the "What is he doing here?" in the background when Simon comes in.

I love these folk.

ETA: spelled f#!king wrong

[ edited by AlanD on 2009-01-06 08:46 ]

AlanD | January 06, 08:42 CET

Just in case anyone missed it:

so there are a few mistakes in the official lyrics...maybe more than a few. well nobody's perfect! life is hard! m y dog ate my...and

The One True b!X | January 06, 09:00 CET

After one listen through I love "Better Than Neil" best, firstly because Nathan sang so much better than I expected and secondly because I heard a bit of an electro/Brazilian influence in there. I was just listening to Electro Coco last night and there are parts of "BTN" that reminded me strongly of some of their songs. Weird. :)

cabri | January 06, 09:01 CET

My favourite is probably '$10 Solo', though I also really like 'Better Than Neil', 'Nobody's Asian In The Movies', 'Heart, Broken' and 'Neil's Turn' (and pretty much all the others ;) ). I'm gonna need to watch it again now with the lyrics. :D

snowinhell | January 06, 10:06 CET

For anyone who already owns a legal copy of the DVD and wants to pull the Commentary! soundtrack onto an iPod, pull video track-3/audio track-3. It's Commentary! (the full movie + musical soundtrack). Worked for me... now I can listen in the car. When the team sells a soundtrack I'll buy it, but this gives me a stopgap solution.

SteveP | January 06, 13:49 CET

I woke up with Heart, Broken in my head & a smile in my heart.

korkster | January 06, 16:15 CET

Hmmm... repeat post from phone. Will work on that. The double-sided knife: more fans love Joss now (yay!)... more fans will be at Comic-Con (...oh.)

[ edited by korkster on 2009-01-06 16:55 ]

korkster | January 06, 16:17 CET

Korkster, They are going to need a bigger Comic Con!

Jayne's Hat | January 06, 19:10 CET

Joss mentions "J-Mo" in Heart, Broken. Who is he referring to?
Is it like a hybrid of Jed and Maurissa?

savagenapkin | January 07, 22:17 CET

Yes, that's the Jed-Maurissa-combo.
Does anyone know the origin of that name?

wiesengrund | January 07, 22:25 CET

Well, depending on who you believe, Pointy claims its coining, yes?

The One True b!X | January 07, 22:27 CET

Off topic: I just got a server overload/nemesis-message. It's still the old one from the time Dr. Horrible was released.

wiesengrund | January 07, 22:43 CET

Don't they use J-Mo over on 24B?

korkster | January 08, 04:12 CET

I just got my DVD (late, I know, but I got it as a birthday present), and during Felicia singing "The Art" I was thinking how Sondheim-inspired the song was, and then at the end there's the direct shout-out with her singing "art's really easy"... which is the opposite of what they sing in Sunday in the Park with George ("art isn't easy"). Loved it!

fortunateizzi | January 26, 04:29 CET

January 05 2009