CHICAGO: The Cell Block Tango
(orchestra vamp 1)
MAMA:
(spoken)
And now the six merry murderesses of the Crookem County Jail
In their rendition of 'The Cell Block Tango'
(orchestra vamp 2)
6 GIRLS:
(spoken)
1) Pop! 2) Six! 3) Squish! 4) Uh uh, 5) Cicero, 6) Lipschitz! (1 word per bar)
1) Pop! 2) Six! 3) Squish! 4) Uh uh, 5) Cicero, 6) Lipschitz! (1 word per beat)
1) Pop! 2) Six! 3) Squish! 4) Uh uh, 5) Cicero, 6) Lipschitz! (1 word per beat)
(orchestra cue)
ALL:
(sung)
He had it coming, he had it coming
He only had himself to blame
If you'd have been there, if you'd have seen it
I betcha you would have done the same
(spoken)
1) Pop! 2) Six! 3) Squish! 4) Uh uh, 5) Cicero, 6) Lipschitz! (1 word per beat)
(orchestra vamp 3)
GIRL 1 (Pop):
(spoken)
You know how people have these little habits
That get you down like Ernie
Ernie like to chew gum, no, not chew, Pop
Like, I come home this one day and there's Ernie
Layin' on the couch chewin', no, not chewin', poppin'
So, I said to him, I said
"Ernie, you pop that gum one more time" and he did
So I took the shotgun off the wall
And I fired two warning shots into his head
(orchestra cue)
ALL:
(sung)
He had it coming, he had it coming
He only had himself to blame
If you'd have been there, if you'd have seen it
I betcha you would have done the same
(spoken)
1) Pop! 2) Six! 3) Squish! 4) Uh uh, 5) Cicero, 6) Lipschitz!
(orchestra vamp 3)
GIRL 2 (Six):
(spoken)
I met Ezekiel Young from Salt Lake city about two years ago
And he told me he was single and we hit it off right away
So, we started living together
He'd go to work, he'd come home, I'd fix him a drink, we'd have dinner.
Then I found out, single, my ass
Not only was he married, well, he had six wives
One of those Mormons, you know
So that night, when he came home
I fixed him his drink as usual
You know, some guys just can't hold their arsenic
(orchestra cue)
ALL:
(sung)
He had it coming, he had it coming
He took a flower in its prime
And then he used it and he abused it
It was a murder but not a crime
(spoken)
1) Pop! 2) Six! 3) Squish! 4) Uh uh, 5) Cicero, 6) Lipschitz!
(orchestra vamp 3)
GIRL 3 (Squish):
Now, I'm standing in the kitchen
Carvin' up the chicken for dinner
And in storms my husband Wilbrin in a jealous rage
"You been screwin' the milkman"
He says and he kept sayin'
"You been screwin the milkman"
Then he ran into my knife
He ran into my knife ten times
(orchestra cue)
ALL:
(sung)
He had it coming, he had it coming
He took a flower in its prime
If you'd have been there, if you'd have seen it
I betcha you would have done the same
(spoken)
1) Pop! 2) Six! 3) Squish! 4) Uh uh, 5) Cicero, 6) Lipschitz!
(orchestra vamp 2)
GIRL 4 (Uh-oh):
(spoken)
Mit kersek, en itt? Azt mondjok, hogy a hires
Lakem lefogta a ferjemet en meg lecsaptam a fejet
De nem igaz, en artatlan vagyok
Nem tudom mert mondja Uncle Sam hogy en tettem
Probaltam a rendorsegen megmayarazni de nem ertettek meg
(orchestra stop)
ALL:
(spoken)
But did you do it?
(orchestra vamp 3)
GIRL 4:
(spoken)
Uh uh, not guilty
GIRL 5 (Cicero):
(spoken)
My sister, Veronica and I had this double act
And my husband, Charlie traveled around with us
With the last number in our act
We did 20 acrobatic tricks in our world
One two three four five, splits, spread eagles
Flip flops, back flips, one right after the other
Well, this one night we were in Cicero
The three of us, we were in this hotel room
Boozin' and havin' a few laughs and we ran out of ice
So I went out to get some
I come back, open the door
There's Veronica and Charlie
Doing number seventeen, the spread eagle
Well, I was in such a state of shock, I completely blacked out
I can't remember a thing, it wasn't until later
When I was washing the blood off my hands
I even knew they were dead
(orchestra cue)
ALL:
(sung)
They had it coming, they had it coming
They had it coming all along
I didn't do it, in spite if I'd done it
How could you tell me that I was wrong?
(orchestra vamp 3)
GIRL 6 (Lipschitz):
I loved Alvin Lipschitz, he was a real artistic guy, sensitive, a painter
But he was always trying to find himself
He go out every night looking for himself
And on the way, he found Ruth, Gladys, Rosemary and Irving
I guess you can say we broke up because of artistic differences
He saw himself as alive and I saw him dead
(orchestra cue)
ALL:
(sung)
They had it comin', they had it comin'
They had it comin' all along
'Cause if they used us and they abused us
How could they tell us that we were wrong?
He had it coming, he had it coming
He only had himself to blame
If you'd have been there, if you'd have seen it
I betcha you would have done the same
