"Boom, Crunch!" is the 25th song of Act Two of Into The Woods. It is the 9th song in the Apocrypha album.
Original draft/demo for "Last Midnight", this number wasn't added until the Original Broadway Productions run, with versions found with the Original Broadway Cast. It is often believed that during this the Witch is having a type of episode due to Rapunzel's just-occurred death. She lashes out at the group after they pin the blame on her again after "Your Fault" and calling her evil - voicing her distaste for their impurities. This closely ties into the idea that the main characters are all "good" in their own way, however she doesn't believe they are good - just nice. She believes they are all evil selfish liars who pushed their way to where they are and now refuse to do anything to guarantee their safety and future in life. She won't stand for it and let everything die around her so she kills herself.
This also addresses her name as a witch, that she doesn't have to lie because she is such, and they are only blaming her due to this. With the line "get another witch" it implies that there are multiple of her (antagonists) such are the way with most fairy tales, where all antagonists such as wolves for example are replaceable or similar.
Sondheim on "Boom, Crunch!": On first reading, this lyric may not seem significantly different from "Last Midnight," but it sounded discursive when performed, and on closer examination I realize the reason for it. It spends too much time describing each lie-information we already know-and too little time on the central idea. disposed of in a single line ("Want to know what's evil? / Nice people's lies"). It was an echo of the same mistake I had made with Cinderella's, Jack's and Little Red's soliloquies: concentrating on the event rather than the notion. And instead of climaxing the song with the menace of the "Boom" passage (which I must confess I rather miss), I brought it back to the curse on the Witch herself in order to personalize it. A lot of theater buffs and theater journalists gossiped that I had changed the song to try to give Bernadette Peters, who played the Witch, a showstopper. They were wrong. [1]
Lyrics[]
[WITCH]
Shh!
(To the Baker)
Told your little lies, did you?
Naughty, naughty, now boom, crunch!
Time we all said our goodbyes, don't you think?
Pretty soon, boom, crunch!
Bit too high a price is it, but you got your wish?
Shouldn't happen if you're nice, should it?
Now boom, crunch, squish
Got your hearts' desires
Liars. (To the others) Liars, liars, liars!
Little lies for little liars, what harm is that?
Fooled a prince, break a vow, grab a bag of gold, get your cow, doesn't matter how
Anyway, it doesn't matter now!
'Cause any minute...
Boom... Splat... Smashed... Flat!
Time to call a halt, is it?
Too late now, boom, crunch!
Want to know who's fault?
Everybody's-- HERE SHE COMES!
Just a cloud!
Fooled 'em that ball, did you, and you got your prince?
Selfish little liars all, all of you
All well soon...
Minced... meat!
Just a small upheaval
Evil, evil, evil, evil!
Not to know what's evil, nice people's lives
Well, goodbye...
You could use a good witch now, but why?
You don't want me around, I'm just crushed
You're just crushed
I'm just going...
No one likes a witch!
Which is why I don't have to lie
I'm unpleasant!
No one likes a witch, but you all need someone to curse, well goodbye!
Get another witch for whatever's left of the present
Just keep getting better at making things worse!
Letting lie, lead to lie, lead to cheat a little, lead to steal a little, lead to kill a little, lead to...
BOOM... RUMBLE, RUMBLE...
Mustn't grumble!
Interested in beans, are you?
Have the whole damn bunch!
There you are!
Lots of magic beans, here you want some more, get 'em by the score, but get 'em quick before...
Uh-oh, listen to the roar... BOOM!
Uh-oh, bye everybody! BOOM!
Isn't it a shame?
Who you gonna blame this time?! BOOM!
Isn't quite the same this time!!
This time it's:
BUH-BUH-BOOM-BAM THUMP CRACKLE ROAR SLAM-BAM-BOOM-CRUNCH!!!
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ "Look I made a hat: collected lyrics (1981 - 2011) with attendant comments, amplifications, dogmas, harangues, digressions, anecdotes and miscellany" by Stephen Sondheim, book published 2011
https://genius.com/Original-broadway-cast-of-into-the-woods-boom-crunch-lyrics