Hook Lyrics transcribed

[QuartalHarmony 543]

Thought it might be useful and/or interesting to see all of Leslie Bricusse's lyrics to the various songs from Hook written down somewhere, so here goes.

 

I'll take my best shot at transcribing what I can hear on the new Ultimate Edition 3 CD set. Anything I'm not convinced I'm not hearing as a mondegreen I'll put in italics - please take a listen to these bits in particular for yourself and see if you can hear them better than me. Anything I can't make out all all, I'll just put ??? and you're welcome to make your own suggestions.

 

Mark

 

 

We Don’t Wanna Grow Up (Disc 1, Track 2; Disc 3, Track 1)

We wanna be like Peter Pan:

We don’t wanna grow up.

Wanna stay kids as long as we can;

That’s our plan – pretty neat plan!

 

Then, when it’s time to be a man,

We’re not gonna show up.

Gonna stay kids like we began;

Just like Peter Pan!

 

Being a man means you gotta show up

For work each day in a shirt and a tie – yuck!

Being grown-up means you gotta call up

Your friends and say ‘Can’t stay, gotta fly’ – ach!

 

We’ve got an even neater plan,

Sit down and listen up:

We all oughta be like Peter Pan,

We don’t wanna grow up!

 

We never never never never

Never never never never

Never ever wanna grow up.

Yuck!

 

 

Childhood (Disc 3, Track 3)

Shadows, memories, lingering laughter.

Reach out, touch me, half my life after.

Glimpses, moments, smiling inside me.

Spirits that guide me back to the days of childhood, childhood.

 

Echoes, whispers, I can still hear them.

Something makes me long to be near them.

Places, faces, dreams I’d forgotten.

Dreams that had gotten lost in the haze of childhood, childhood.

 

Where our dreams go, who can say?

They live inside us somewhere.

And they guide us every day,

Like a friend who’ll always be there.

 

Picture childhood: summer and sunshine.

Misty memories make everyone shine.

Cherish childhood as every child should.

Gather the golden moments the way a carefree child would,

And, when the world’s asleep,

Childhood’s the dream you’ll dream and keep.

 

Cherish childhood as every child should.

Gather the golden moments the way a carefree child would

And, when the world’s asleep,

Childhood’s the dream you’ll dream and keep.

 

 

When You’re Alone – Moira’s Lullaby (Disc 3, Track 4)

There’s an angel watching you,

When you’re alone.

 

 

Presenting the Hook (Disc 3, Track 24)

Hook! Hook! Hook! Hook!

Hook! Hook! Give us the Hook!

Hook! Hook! Hook! Hook!

Hook! Hook! Show us the Hook!

(repeat ad lib)

 

 

Low Below – Pirate Sequence (Disc 3, Track 8)

Down in the deep below, full fifty fathoms, 
Dead men are sure to get to sleep tonight! 
You'll meet your mates below: hale an' hearty dead men! 
Bed, board an' keep are very cheap! Dead right!

Low below, we're food for all the fishes!
Low below, they're havin' us for lunch! 
Low below, the fishes can be vicious! 
Down at fifty fathoms where the wind don't blow! 
 

Where the sharks'll chew your bones! 
Turn your teeth to coral stones!
Near the grave of Davy Jones,

Low below!

  

Low Below, where dead men go!

Low below, the time goes slow!

Low Below, your bones’ll show!

There’s the grave of Davy Jones: low below!

 

1:39 - 'Hookers'

Look, look, ‘s got to be Hook’s hook!

(Well, you should know)

Symbol of fortune and fame

(Keep ze fame – I’ll take ze fortune)

 

James Hook, son of a sea cook,

(That’s not all he’s a son of)

Jimmy is our claim to fame.

(Him and a few hundred more I could mention)

 

Swordsman, poet, debaucher,

Hobbies: sailing and torture

Hookers, beautiful lookers,

That’s what he calls us:

Jimmy created our name!

 

James Hook, son of a sea cook,

Jimmy is our claim to fame.

 

2:25 - 'Pirate Makeover Salon'

Yo ho ho! Sir? Aye. Listen:

I want to look as fierce as Hook

No dissin’?

Homey? Mmm?

Ya got an eye patch? Show me.

Fresh! What a catch I am!

A hole? A mole?

Heads are gonna roll!
Gonna eat ‘em up whole!

Now you'll chill them to the bottom of their souls!

Yo ho ho!

 

Smee? ‘Sup? How about a Hook tattoo?

Word up!

Knock me in me mouth with a hammer.

Ooh, so rough I am.

 

A snip? A flip?

A bad boy clip with a Cap’n Hook tip?

Brother, better not trip or I’ll bust your lip

Yo ho ho!

 

This Peter Pan highboy, he ain’t no flyboy.

He'll take him and break him

And shake him and bake him

And make him give his propers to the Hook.

 

 

3:25 - In the Tavern

It’s fun to maim, kill and plunder,

Drink till you’re dead,

It’s lovely playing football with a human head,

Or dunking kids in a hot pot, p’raps two or three.

We boil ‘em one by one, they’re tasty when they’re done

Delicious eating children’s ears for tea.

Two, three, four:

 

It’s hell to lose a limb,

Like him, and him, and him.

But quite a nifty way of losing weight!

(Too true, mate!)

 

And don’t forget: your knee was once a tree.

Drinks are on Smee.

[script has ‘…on me’]

 

Low Below, where dead men go.

Low below, the time goes slow.

Low Below, your bones’ll show.

There’s the grave of Davy Jones: low below.

 [script has ‘Near the grave…’]
 

Hook! Hook! Hook!

Show us the Hook!

Hook! Hook! Hook!

Give us the Hook!

(repeat ad lib)

 

 

The Never Song (Disc 3, Track 11)

In Neverland, there’s a song we never sing: The Never Song.

At the start of Never Spring, we always never sing it

In Never Winter too; it’s the nicest Never Song we never knew.

 

And Never Food is the food we never eat in Neverland,

Every time we never meet.

We always never eat it for every Never Lunch.

It’s the finest Never Food you’ll never munch.

 

Before every meal, we never wash our faces,

Never brush our teeth, we never comb our hair.

We never take Never Trips Never Places

Because we're almost always never there.

 

In Neverland, things are always never planned,

In Neverland, things are never out of hand.

We hate to never say it, we’re always never wrong:

We always love to never sing the Never Song.

 

You’ll love ‘em – the words – if you can learn ‘em;

No way, José - never!

They’re crazy, they’re mad! So, OK, burn ’em,

We’ll learn ‘em tomorrow, like when we play our Never Games.

 

They’re the games we never play in Neverland.

Almost every Never Day.

We always never play them in Neverland Lagoon,

Every morning, when it’s never afternoon.

 

And then, every Never Night, when Never Moons are shining,

Never Stars appear, the Never Sky is clear.

We never write never home to our parents,

Because they’re always never ever here in Neverland.

 

You must never understand, we sing along

With the latest Never Band.

We sing each Never Evening, all Never Summer long,

We always love to never sing most never ever anything,

Especially the never-ending Never Song.

 

 

Mothers (Disc 3, Track 15)

Mothers are amazing things,

Mothers are angels wearing no wings.

Mothers do things just for us;

Minimum grumbling, minimum fuss

 

More than mere mothers, mothers are friends,

Their kind of caring never ends.

 

Mothers far outshine a star,

Every last one shines bright as the sun shines,

Showing the wonders mothers are.

 

It’s hard to figure, when you are seven,

What makes a mother shine.

P’raps when I’m older, ten or eleven or maybe even nine.

 

And, if you decide to roam,

While you are wandering,

If you are wondering,

Always remember: mother is home.

 

Mothers are lovely, they’re really lovely,

And they’re amazing too.

 

 

Stick With Me (Disc 3, Track 16)

 

(Come here, boy)

 

Looking at where we’re at sensibly,

Boy, if you will spend a little time with me,

You can be – I guarantee – anything you want to be.

Be a winner: stick with me.

 

‘Snot a sin, living in luxury,

Using your imagination, you will see,

Hooked to me, you’ll surely be anything you want to be

I’m a winner: stick with me.

 

Wanna be an actor? Go ahead and be an actor!

Wanna be a doctor? I approve that too!

Wanna be a neuropsychiatric etymologist?

Let me see what I can do.

 

There’s no doubt I live outrageously,

In a world the rabble never get to see.

Total raging ecstasy, everything you dreamed ‘twould be.

Be a dreamer: stick with me.

 

You can be a preacher, or a teacher teaching Nietzsche,

You can be a traitor or dictator or a waiter,

Every day, you’ll see caviar for tea,

Anything! Stick with me.

 

If you’re bright, view it quite shamelessly.

Boy, you won’t regret the time you spend with me.

You can be – I guarantee – anything you want.

Stick with me.

 

 

Believe (Disc 3, Track 19)

Great things can happen if you believe,

Greater than any make-believe.

Daydreams, we never achieve them;

Believe them and you’ll see them come true.

 

Believers have magic they love to weave,

Something given to very few.

They know the value of rainbows,

So join them and then you’ll know it too.

 

Believing above all’s a state of mind

Treasure rich as you’ll ever find.

Blessings you cannot conceive

Await you when you start to believe.

 

Believing will bring you unbounded joy,

Joy you’ll be proud to receive.

Use it, don’t ever lose it,

And each day will become Christmas Eve

 

And some day, in time, when you’ve lived and learned,

You’ll share all of the powers you’ve earned.

Wisdom will shine in your mind

And, leaving every bad thought behind,

You will find that you now truly do believe.

 

 

 

Pick ‘Em Up (Disc 1, Track 24)

Pick ‘em up! Move ‘em down.

Pick ‘em on up. Move ‘em on down.

 

Ain’t no time to celebrate,

You are old and overweight.

Gotta lose a million pounds,

Get your fat butt off the ground.

 

Reach on down and touch your toes,

How long since you looked at those?

Shape up, lose weight,

Get thin, gotta win.

 

Make your knees go up and down,

Get that belly off the ground.

Jumping Jacks are good for you,

Now your face is turning blue.

 

Swing your arms around your back,

Give yourself a heart attack.

Gotta train in the rain,

Gotta run in the sun.

 

In the snow, ten below,

Gotta moan, gotta groan,

Better yet, gotta sweat,

 

Pick ‘em up! Move ‘em down.

Pick ‘em on up. Move ‘em on down.

 

 

 

When You’re Alone (Disc 1, Track 28)

When you’re all alone, far away from home,

There’s a gift the angels send when you’re alone.

 

Every day must end, but the night’s our friend.

Angels always send a star when you’re alone.

 

At night, when I’m alone, I lie awake and wonder:

Which of them belongs to me.

Which one I wonder?

 

And any star I choose watches over me,

So I know I’m not alone, when I’m here on my own.

Isn’t that a wonder, when you’re alone?

You’re not alone – not really alone.

 

The stars are all my friends, ‘till the night-time ends,

So I know I’m not alone, when I’m here, on my own,

Isn’t that a wonder, when you’re alone?

You’re not alone – not really alone.

[Jurassic Shark 12,080]

35 minutes ago, QuartalHarmony said:

 

[I'm trying to paste in the lyrics I've got so far as separate posts, but it keeps merging my reply into one long post - how can I stop it doing this?]

 

Wait an hour since your last post, or wait for someone else to post.

[QuartalHarmony 543]

2 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said:

Wait an hour since your last post

 

Gosh, a whole hour? No, I'm not doing that for so many songs. I'll put them all in my opening post, with apologies for it becoming rather long.

[Jurassic Shark 12,080]

1 minute ago, QuartalHarmony said:

 

Gosh, a whole hour? No, I'm not doing that for so many songs. I'll put them all in my opening post

 

That's a good solution, I'd say.

[Jay 37,371]

This should help you with Low Below

[QuartalHarmony 543]

22 minutes ago, Jay said:

This should help you with Low Below

 

It already did, thanks! That's probably the hardest one to transcribe - there's so much 'poirate' talk and 'Cor lumme' Victorian prostitute schtick going on, it's difficult to make anything out at all.

[Faleel 5,359]

Sounded to me like "your bones'll Show"/"Your bones will show"

 

For Pick Em Up: I believe "Fat one" = "Fat Butt"

[QuartalHarmony 543]

5 minutes ago, Presto said:

For Pick Em Up: I believe "Fat one" = "Fat Butt"

 

Yeah, I think that's what they want you to hear, but in the group echo in particular, I can't hear a b or a t, so I wonder if they sanitised it slightly - kid's film etc. Either works!

[Holko 9,529]

2 minutes ago, QuartalHarmony said:

so I wonder if they sanitised it slightly - kid's film etc

Well the main Lost Boy that Peter talks to and names the next Pan is literally called Thud Butt.

[QuartalHarmony 543]

15 minutes ago, Presto said:

Sounded to me like "your bones'll Show"/"Your bones will show"

 

Yes, that makes much more sense! I can hear it more clearly now you've suggested it. Will edit main post - I'm going with the elided version - they slide straight from the s sound straight into the l, especially the second time around.

[BrotherSound 2,242]

5 hours ago, QuartalHarmony said:

Gotta ??? gotta grow,

Gotta moan, gotta groan

 

5 hours ago, QuartalHarmony said:

Get your fat one off the ground.

 

The song book has “fat butt” here.

[Faleel 5,359]

1 minute ago, BrotherSound said:

Gotta moan, gotta groan

Is that from the XXX Records 3-CD of Hook?

[Jay 37,371]

The lyrics to Pick Em Up have been online here for years:

 

https://www.musicnotes.com/sheetmusic/mtd.asp?ppn=MN0026518

[King Mark 3,631]

I think Mothers is funny because it sounds like a child improvising the lyrics

[QuartalHarmony 543]

Thanks for the pointers - all now incorporated into the first post.

 

Any suggestions for the Pirate Sequence especially appreciated…

[Jay 37,371]

2 minutes ago, QuartalHarmony said:

Any suggestions for the Pirate Sequence especially appreciated…

 

?

 

8 hours ago, Jay said:

This should help you with Low Below

 

[QuartalHarmony 543]

8 hours ago, QuartalHarmony said:

 

8 hours ago, Jay said:

This should help you with Low Below

 

It already did, thanks!

 

Unless further pages have been posted that I’m not aware of…

[Jay 37,371]

I think you've missed that Thomas shared all the lyrics in that post.

[QuartalHarmony 543]

*slaps forehead*

 

Quite so. I'd forgotten the script excerpt was posted as well as the page from the novelisation - I'd only consulted the former. All done now.

 

Only queries remaining are in Childhood, Mothers and the Never Song. Any offers?

[Tydirium 1,167]

10 hours ago, QuartalHarmony said:

More than mere mothers, mothers are friends,

Their kind of caring never ends.

 

Mothers far outshine a star,

Every last one shines bright as a the sun shines,

Showing the what wonders mothers are.

 

Just my two cents; give it a listen and see what you think. Thanks for this thread, btw!

[QuartalHarmony 543]

You're most welcome. Thank you for helping to fill in some gaps!

[BrotherSound 2,242]

On 27/12/2023 at 1:34 PM, QuartalHarmony said:

When You’re Alone (Disc 1, Track 28)

When you’re all alone, far away from home,

Here’s a gift the angels send when you’re alone.

Should be “There’s a gift”.

[QuartalHarmony 543]

Changed.

 

Anyone for any more, or are we happy this is now (as) definitive (as we can achieve)?

 

Childhood and The Never Song still have some bits in italics - anyone got any better offers for these bits?

[BrotherSound 2,242]

On 27/12/2023 at 1:34 PM, QuartalHarmony said:

You’ll love ‘em – the words – if you can learn ‘em.

The way was a never.

 

No way, José. Never.

[QuartalHarmony 543]

Ah, that would make more sense! I’ll have a listen and see if I hear it the same as you…

[Jay 37,371]

@BrotherSound is right.

[Datameister 2,044]

Great work in this thread. Aside from some subjective quibbles about punctuation, the only things I'd bring up are:

 

• Near the end of the Pirate Sequence, there are two discrepancies between the recording and the version in the script: In the recording, "Drinks are on Smee" is "Drinks are on me", and the last "There's the grave of Davy Jones" is "Near the grave of Davy Jones". Not sure whether you want to amend that or not, considering the version you've got is the official version.
• Agreed 100% about "No way Jose, never."
• I hear "the Never Sky is clear," not "then Never Sky is clear." But it's hard to be positive.
• "Showing the wonders mothers are" doesn't sound quite right. Maybe "Showing what wonders mothers are"? I hear a "t" sound in there. [EDIT: Oops, @QuartalHarmony already said that, sorry.]

 

Thank you for this!

[QuartalHarmony 543]

Thanks for those - I think we’re nearly there now.

 

I’ve put the script discrepancies in square brackets after each line for reference.

 

Only remaining oddities are in Childhood (D3, T3):

0:27 “Half my life after” seems clearly enunciated to me, I’m just not sure it makes much sense!

1:20 “gotten” again seems obvious to me but maybe, being British, that word always sounds slightly wrong to me!

 

Mark

[Faleel 5,359]

19 minutes ago, QuartalHarmony said:

Only remaining oddities are in Childhood (D3, T3):

0:27 “Half my life after” seems clearly enunciated to me, I’m just not sure it makes much sense!

 

Mark

Would "have my life after"?

[QuartalHarmony 543]

I don’t think so, but that did make me rethink the meaning:

 

On 27/12/2023 at 6:34 PM, QuartalHarmony said:

Shadows, memories, lingering laughter.

Reach out, touch me, half my life after.

 

Shadows, memories (and) lingering laughter (are all) reach(ing) out (and) touch(ing) me, half my life(time) after (they happened)

 

Which fits with the lyrics’ conceit of an adult reminiscing about their childhood.

 

Does that now make sense?

[Faleel 5,359]

Makes sense to me!

 

explanation slightly altered:

 

Shadows, memories (and) lingering laughter, reach out (and) touch me, half my life(time) after (they happened)

[QuartalHarmony 543]

OK, I’ll de-italicise those last bits then. I’m coming to terms with ‘gotten’, even though Bricusse was a fellow Brit and probably wouldn’t have naturally used the word. He would have been quite rightly aware of the audience he was writing for.

 

So, can we consider ourselves finished, then?

 

Mark

[Faleel 5,359]

5 minutes ago, QuartalHarmony said:

I’m coming to terms with ‘gotten’, even though Bricusse was a fellow Brit and probably wouldn’t have naturally used the word. He would have been quite rightly aware of the audience he was writing for.

 

Mark

And the melody itself.

[John Takis 206]

On 27/12/2023 at 1:34 PM, QuartalHarmony said:

Mothers (Disc 3, Track 15)
...

While you are wandering,

If you are wandering,

...

 

This should be "While you are wandering, if you are wondering..."

[GerateWohl 4,371]

After reading the lyrics I believe it was a good decision not to go that musical route. Hook is basically a story about a father who has lost the connection to his family and wins it back by gaining empathy back in remembering his own childhood. But apart from Stick with Me none of the songs really pay into that story. They are just common Peter Pan songs. Because of that Bricusse could easily repurpose them for his planned Peter Pan musical in 2001.

 

This is probably an issue similar to the Star Wars sequels: Stiffness from too much awe in front of the original.

 

This issue doesn't apply for the music, which is as great and free as can be. Just the lyrics.

[QuartalHarmony 543]

17 hours ago, John Takis said:

This should be "While you are wandering, if you are wondering..."

Having listened to it again just now, both words are pronounced/sung pretty damn-near identically! That sad, your suggestion certainly would make more sense, so I’ve changed it.

 

Talking of which, when you say ‘should be’, is that based on any ‘official’ sources you’ve seen, or is it ‘just’ your own ears? Given your experience it could be either and the former would carry significantly more weight.

[John Takis 206]

7 hours ago, QuartalHarmony said:

Talking of which, when you say ‘should be’, is that based on any ‘official’ sources you’ve seen, or is it ‘just’ your own ears?

 

You can take it as "official."

[QuartalHarmony 543]

Understood - thank you.

Can you give us any similarly “official” word on the rest of our efforts so far?

[John Takis 206]

10 hours ago, QuartalHarmony said:

Understood - thank you.

Can you give us any similarly “official” word on the rest of our efforts so far?

 

Nothing egregious caught my eye, although I admittedly haven't parsed it that minutely.