My RENT addiction continueth
How did we get here?
How the hell...
Pan left -- close on the steeple of the church
How did I get here?
How the hell...
Christmas
Christmas Eve -- last year
How could a night so frozen be so scalding hot?
How can a morning this mild be so raw?
Why are entire years strewn
On the cutting room floor of memory
When single frames from one magic night
Forever flicker in close-up
On the 3D Imax of my mind
That's poetic
That's pathetic
Why did Mimi knock on Roger's door
And Collins choose that phone booth
Back where Angel set up his drums
Why did Maureen's equipment break down
Why am I the witness
And when I capture it on film
Will it mean that it's the end
And I'm alone
....
ROGER
Who are you to tell me what I know, what to do
MARK
A friend
ROGER
But who, Mark, are you?
"Mark has got his work"
They say "Mark lives for his work"
And "Mark's in love with his work"
Mark hides in his work
MARK
But from what?
ROGER
From facing your failure, facing your loneliness
Facing the fact you live a lie
Yes, you live a lie -- tell you why
You're always preaching not to be numb
When that's how you thrive
You pretend to create and observe
When you really detach from feeling alive
MARK
Perhaps it's because I'm the one of us to survive
ROGER
Poor baby
MARK
Hi. Mark Cohen here, reporting for Buzzline.
Back to you, Alexi! Coming up next, vampire welfare queens
who are compulsive bowlers... Oh my God, what am I doing?
Don't breathe too deep
Don't think all day
Dive into work
Drive the other way
That drip of hurt
That pint of shame
Goes away
Just play the game
You're living in America
At the end of the millennium
You're living in America
Leave your conscience at the tone
And when you're living in America
At the end of the millennium
You're what you own
(Lights up on ROGER.)
ROGER
The filmmaker cannot see
MARK
And the songwriter cannot hear
ROGER
Yet I see Mimi everywhere
MARK
Angel's voice is in my ear
ROGER
Just tighten those shoulders
MARK
Just clench your jaw till you frown
ROGER
Just don't let go
BOTH
Or you may drown
You're living in America
At the end of the millennium
You're living in America
Where it's like the Twilight Zone
And when you're living in America
At the end of the millennium
You're what you own
So I own not a notion
I escape and ape content
I don't own emotion -- I rent
MARK
What was it about that night
ROGER
What was it about that night
BOTH
Connection -- in an isolating age
MARK
For once the shadows gave way to light
ROGER
For once the shadows gave way to light
BOTH
For once I didn't disengage
(MARK goes to the pay phone and dials.)
MARK
Angel -- I hear you -- I hear it
I see it -- I see it
My film!
ROGER
Mimi I see you -- I see it
I hear it -- I hear it
My song!
MARK (on the phone)
Alexi--Mark
Call me a hypocrite
I need to finish my own film
I quit!
ROGER
One song--glory
Mimi
Your eyes...
BOTH
Dying in America
At the end of the millennium
We're dying in America
To come into our own
And when you're dying in America
At the end of the millennium
You're not alone
I'm not alone
I'm not alone
Full (almost, I found a line or two missing) text of RENT can be found here.
How the hell...
Pan left -- close on the steeple of the church
How did I get here?
How the hell...
Christmas
Christmas Eve -- last year
How could a night so frozen be so scalding hot?
How can a morning this mild be so raw?
Why are entire years strewn
On the cutting room floor of memory
When single frames from one magic night
Forever flicker in close-up
On the 3D Imax of my mind
That's poetic
That's pathetic
Why did Mimi knock on Roger's door
And Collins choose that phone booth
Back where Angel set up his drums
Why did Maureen's equipment break down
Why am I the witness
And when I capture it on film
Will it mean that it's the end
And I'm alone
....
ROGER
Who are you to tell me what I know, what to do
MARK
A friend
ROGER
But who, Mark, are you?
"Mark has got his work"
They say "Mark lives for his work"
And "Mark's in love with his work"
Mark hides in his work
MARK
But from what?
ROGER
From facing your failure, facing your loneliness
Facing the fact you live a lie
Yes, you live a lie -- tell you why
You're always preaching not to be numb
When that's how you thrive
You pretend to create and observe
When you really detach from feeling alive
MARK
Perhaps it's because I'm the one of us to survive
ROGER
Poor baby
MARK
Hi. Mark Cohen here, reporting for Buzzline.
Back to you, Alexi! Coming up next, vampire welfare queens
who are compulsive bowlers... Oh my God, what am I doing?
Don't breathe too deep
Don't think all day
Dive into work
Drive the other way
That drip of hurt
That pint of shame
Goes away
Just play the game
You're living in America
At the end of the millennium
You're living in America
Leave your conscience at the tone
And when you're living in America
At the end of the millennium
You're what you own
(Lights up on ROGER.)
ROGER
The filmmaker cannot see
MARK
And the songwriter cannot hear
ROGER
Yet I see Mimi everywhere
MARK
Angel's voice is in my ear
ROGER
Just tighten those shoulders
MARK
Just clench your jaw till you frown
ROGER
Just don't let go
BOTH
Or you may drown
You're living in America
At the end of the millennium
You're living in America
Where it's like the Twilight Zone
And when you're living in America
At the end of the millennium
You're what you own
So I own not a notion
I escape and ape content
I don't own emotion -- I rent
MARK
What was it about that night
ROGER
What was it about that night
BOTH
Connection -- in an isolating age
MARK
For once the shadows gave way to light
ROGER
For once the shadows gave way to light
BOTH
For once I didn't disengage
(MARK goes to the pay phone and dials.)
MARK
Angel -- I hear you -- I hear it
I see it -- I see it
My film!
ROGER
Mimi I see you -- I see it
I hear it -- I hear it
My song!
MARK (on the phone)
Alexi--Mark
Call me a hypocrite
I need to finish my own film
I quit!
ROGER
One song--glory
Mimi
Your eyes...
BOTH
Dying in America
At the end of the millennium
We're dying in America
To come into our own
And when you're dying in America
At the end of the millennium
You're not alone
I'm not alone
I'm not alone
Full (almost, I found a line or two missing) text of RENT can be found here.