Album: A Chorus Line

At The Ballet



SHEILA
Daddy always thought that he married beneath him
That's what he said, that's what he said.
When he proposed he informed my mother
He was probably her very last chance.
And though she was twenty-two,
Though she was twenty-two,
Though she was twenty-two--
She married him.
Life with my dad wasn't ever a picnic
More like a "Come as you are."
When I was five I remember my mother
Dug earrings out of the car
I knew they weren't hers
But it wasn't something you'd wanna discuss
He wasn't warm, well, not to her ... well, not to us
But ev'rything was beautiful at the ballet.
Graceful men lift lovely girls in white.
Yes, ev'rything was beautiful at ballet,
Hey! I was happy at the ballet.
That's why I started ballet class

SHEILA and BEBE
Up a steep and very narrow stairway
To the voice like a metronome
Up a steep and very narrow stairway
It wasn't paradise, it wasn't paradise,
It wasn't paradise, but it was home.

BEBE
Mother always said I'd be very attractive
When I grew up, when I grew up
"Diff'rent," she said,
"With a special something
And a very, very personal flair."
And though I was eight or nine,
Though I was eight or nine,
Though I was eight or nine,
I hated her.
Now, "diff'rent" is nice, but it sure isn't pretty.
"Pretty" is what it's about.
I never met anyone who was "diff'rent"
Who couldn't figure that out.
So beautiful I'd never lived to see.
But it was clear, if not to her,
Well then to me!

BEBE and MAGGIE
That ev'ryone is beautiful at the ballet.
Ev'ry prince has got to have his swan.
Yes, ev'ryone is beautiful at the ballet,
Hey! I was pretty

SHEILA
At the ballet

SHEILA BEBE and MAGGIE
Up a steep and very narrow stairway
To the voice like a metronome
Up a steep and very narrow stairway
It wasn't paradise,
it wasn't paradise,
It wasn't paradise, but it was home.

MAGGIE
I don't know what they were for or against, really! Except each
other! I mean, I was born to save their marriage. But when my father
came to pick My mother up at the hospital, he said, "Well, I thought
this was going to help But I guess it's not." Anyway, I did have a
fantastic fantasy life I used to dance around the living room with
my arms up like this. My fantasy was that it was an Indian chief and
he'd say to me, "Maggie, do you wanna dance?" And I'd say,
"Daddy, I would love to dance!"

SHEILA, BEBE and MAGGIE
Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo
But it was clear when he proposed
That I was born to help their marriage and when
That's what he said,
That's what she said,
I used to dance around the living room
He wasn't warm, not to her

MAGGIE
It was an Indian chief and he said
"Maggie, do you wanna dance?"
And I said, "Daddy, I would love to."
Ev'rything was beautiful at the ballet.
Raise your arms and someone's always there
Yes, ev'rything was beautiful at the ballet
At the ballet... At the ballet...


SHEILA, BEBE and MAGGIE
Yes ev'rything was beautiful at the ballet
Hey!
I was pretty
I was happy
"I would love to..."
At the ballet.