Prologue: Into the Woods Songtext
von Stephen Sondheim

Once upon a time
In a far-off kingdom
(I wish)
Lived a fair maiden
(More than anything)
(More than life) And a sad young lad
(More than jewels) (I wish)
A childless baker
(More than life) (I wish)
And his wife (More than anything)


More than the moon (I wish)
The king is giving a festival
(More than life) (I wish)
I wish to go to the festival (More than riches)
And the ball (I wish my cow would give some milk)
More than anything
I wish we had a child
(I want a child) (Squeeze, cow)
I wish to go to the festival (I wish you′d give us some milk)
I wish we might have a child (I wish)

You wish to go to the festival?!
(The poor girl's mother had died)
You, Cinderella, the festival? (What you, Cinderella, the festival?)
You wish to go to the festival?
The festival? The King′s festival?
(And her father had taken for his new wife)
The festival!
(A woman with two daughters of her own)

Look at your nails!
Look at your dress!
People will laugh at you!

Nevertheless
I still wish to go to the festival (She still wish to go to the festival)
And dance before the prince
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh!

All three were beautiful of face
But vile and black of heart


Jack, on the other hand, had no father
And his mother (I wish)
Well, she was not quite beautiful

I wish my son were not a fool
I wish my house was not a mess
I wish the cow was full of milk
I wish the walls were full of gold
I wish a lot of things

(Why, come in, little girl) I wish
It's not for me, it's for my granny in the woods
A loaf of bread, please
To bring my poor old hungry granny in the woods
Just a loaf of bread, please

Cinderella′s stepmother had a surprise for her

I have emptied a pot of lentils into the ashes for you
If you have picked them out again in two hours′ time
You shall go to the ball with us

And perhaps a sticky bun
Or four

Birds of the sky
Birds in the eaves and the leaves and the fields
And the castles and ponds
(And a few of those pies) Come, little birds
Out of the eaves and the leaves, of the fields (Please)
Of the castles and ponds
(Now squeeze, pal) Ah, ah
Ah, ah
Ah, ah

Pick, little birds
Into the ashes
Pick and peck but swiftly
Sift through the ashes
Into the pot

Listen well, son
Milky White must be taken to market

But Mother, no!
He's the best cow!

Look at her!
There are bugs on her dugs
There are flies in her eyes
There′s a lump on her rump
Big enough to be a hump
(But) Son
We've no time to sit and dither
While her withers wither with her
And no one keeps a cow for a friend
Sometimes I fear you′re touched!

Into the woods it's time to go
I hate to leave
I have to, though
Into the woods
It′s time, and so
I must begin my journey

Into the woods and through the trees
To where I am
Expected, ma'am
Into the woods to Grandmother's house
Into the woods to Grandmother′s house
(You′re certain of your way?)
The way is clear
The light is good
I have no fear nor no one should

The woods are just trees
The trees are just wood
I sort of hate to ask it
But do you have a basket?

Into the woods and down the dell
The path is great
I know it well
Into the woods and who can tell
What's waiting on the journey

Into the woods to bring some bread
To Granny who is sick in bed
Never can tell what lies ahead
For all that I know
She′s already dead

But into the woods
Into the woods, into the woods
To Grandmother's house
And home before dark

Fly, birds
Back to the sky
Back to the eaves and the leaves
And the fields and the -

Hurry up and do my hair, Cinderella
Are you really wearing that?
Here I found a little tear, Cinderella
Can′t you hide it with a hat?
(You look beautiful)
I know (She means me!)
Put it in a twist!
(Who will be there?)

Mother said "Be good"
Father said "Be nice"
That was always their advice
So be nice, Cinderella
Good, Cinderella
Nice, good, good, nice (Tighter!)
What's the good of being good
If everyone is blind
And you′re always left behind?

Never mind, Cinderella
Kind Cinderella
Nice, good, nice, kind, good, nice!
(Not that tight!)
Sorry
(Clod)

Who might that be?
It's the witch from next door!

In the past, when you were no more than a babe
Your father brought his young wife and you to this cottage
Your mother was with child
And she had developed quite an unusual appetite
She took one look
At my beautiful garden
And told your father
That what she wanted more than anything in the world
Was greens, greens, and nothing but greens

Parsley, peppers, cabbages and celery
Asparagus and watercress and fiddleferns and lettuce
He said, "All right"
But it wasn't, quite
′Cause I caught him in the autumn in my garden one night
He was robbing me!
Raping me
Rooting through my rutabaga
Raiding my arugula
And ripping up the rampion!
My champion! My favorite!

I should have laid a spell on him
My mistake
Could′ve turned him into stone
Or a chair
Or a snake!

But I let him have the rampion
I'd lots to spare
In return however, I said, "Fair is fair
You can let me have the baby that your wife will bear
And we′ll call it square"
(I had a brother?!)
No! But
You had a sister

But the witch refused to tell him any more of his sister
Not even that her name was Rapunzel

I thought that I had been more than reasonable
And that we all might be able to live happily ever after
But how was I to know what your father had also hidden in his pocket?
You see, when I inherited that garden
My mother warned me
That I would be punished
If I ever were to lose any of the beans

(Beans!) The special beans!
I let him go! I didn't know
He′d stolen my beans
I was watching him crawl back over the wall, and then
Bang, crash, and a lightning flash
And well, that's another story, never mind
Anyway

The big day came
And I made my claim
"Oh don′t take away the baby!"
They shrieked and screeched
But I did and I hid her
Where she'll never be reached
Your father cried, your mother died

When for extra measure
I admit, it was a pleasure
I said, "Sorry, I'm still not mollified"
And I laid a little spell on them
You too, sir
That your family tree
Would always be a barren one
Ha! (No! Oh!)

So there′s no more fuss and there′s no more scenes
And my garden thrives
You should see my nectarines
But I'm telling you the same I tell kings and queens
Don′t ever never ever mess around with my greens
Especially the beans!

Now listen to me, Jack
Lead Milky White to market and fetch the best price you can
Take no less than five pounds

Jack, Jack, Jack
Head in a sack
The house is getting colder
This is not a time for dreaming
Chimney stack starting to crack
The mice are getting bolder
The floor has gone slack
Your mother's getting older
Your father′s not back
And you can't just sit here dreaming pretty dreams

To wish and wait
From day to day
Will never keep the wolves away
So into the woods, the time is now
We have to live
I don′t care how
Into the woods to sell the cow
You must begin the journey

Straight to the woods and don't delay
We have to face the marketplace
Into the woods to journey's end
(Into the woods to sell a friend)
Someday you′ll have a real pet, Jack
(A piggie?)

Meanwhile, the witch
For purposes of her own
Explained how the baker might lift the spell

You wish to have the curse reversed?
I′ll need a certain potion first
Go to the wood and bring me back
One: The cow as white as milk
Two: The cape as red as blood
Three: The hair as yellow as corn
Four: The slipper as pure as gold
Bring me these before the chime of midnight
In three days' time, and you shall have a guarantee
A child as perfect as child can be

Go to the wood!

Ladies!
Our carriage waits!
(Now may I go to the festival?)
The festival?!
Darling, those nails
Darling, those clothes
Lentils are one thing, but darling, but those
You′d make us the fools of the festival!
And mortify the prince!
(The carriage is waiting)
We must be gone!

Good night, Father
(Good night)
I wish
(Look what I found in Father's hunting jacket!)
Six beans?!
(I wonder if they are the -)
Witch′s beans! We'll take them with us!
(No. You are not coming)
I know you are fearful of the woods at night

The spell is on my house
Only I can lift the spell
The spell is on my house (No, no, the spell is on our house)
(We must lift the spell together) No! You are not to come
(The spell is on our house!) And that is final!

Now, what am I to return with?

You don′t remember?
The cow as white as milk
The cape as red as blood
The hair as yellow as corn
The slipper as pure as gold

The cow as white as milk
The cape as red as blood
The hair as yellow as corn
The slipper as pure as gold

And so the Baker set off to meet the Witch's demands
As for Cinderella
(I still wish to go to the festival) The cow as white as milk
(But how am I ever) The cape as red as blood
(To get to the festival?) The hair as yellow as corn, the slipper as pure as gold
(I know! I'll visit Mother′s grave)

The grave at the hazel tree (The slipper)
And tell her I just want to go to the King′s festival (The cow, the cape, the slipper)
(The hair!)

Into the woods, it's time to go
It may be all in vain, I know
Into the woods, but even so
I have to take the journey

Into the woods the path is straight
I know it well, but who can tell?
Into the woods to lift the spell
Into the woods to visit Mother
Into the woods to fetch the things
To make the potion
To go to the festival

Into the woods without regret
The choice is made
The task is set
Into the woods, but not forgetting
Why I′m on the journey

Into the woods to get my wish
I don't care how
The time is now
Into the woods to sell the cow
Into the woods to get the money
Into the woods to lift the spell
To make the potion
To go to the festival
Into the woods to Grandmother′s house
Into the woods to Grandmother's house

The way is clear
The light is good
I have no fear
Nor no one should
The woods are just trees
The trees are just wood
No need to be afraid there
There′s something in the glade there
Ooh

Into the woods without delay
But careful not to lose the way
Into the woods
Who knows what may
Be lurking on the journey?
Into the woods to get the thing
That makes it worth the journeying
Into the woods to see the King
To sell the cow
To make the potion

To see, to sell
To get, to bring
To make, to lift
To go to the festival
Into the woods
Into the woods
Into the woods, then out of the woods
And home before dark!