Leslie Odom Jr.
Why Bother?
[BIRDIE, spoken]
(Stammering) You doing a music thing? You need violin? It seems like you need violin.
[OWEN, spoken]
Yes. I need all of it.
[BIRDIE, spoken]
It's finally happening!
[WARD, sung]
The trees will get cut down anyway
So why bother?
Why bother?
The birds will eventually all fly away
So why bother?
Why bother?
I found it doesn't really matter what you do
One day your funding turns into a pile of poo
Looks like it's every man for himself after all
[OWEN, spoken]
And that's what it would look like if we lost hope, but, fortunately, there's lots to be hopeful about!
[OWEN and WARD, sung]
Flowers spread beauty everywhere
But why bother?
Why bother?
Trees give us shade and hеlp clean the air
But why bother?
Why bothеr?
[OWEN and BIRDIE]
The Earth may go on no matter what we do
But we don't wanna leave it all covered in goo
Take a nature vacation without any cost
[ELWOOD]
And there are so many places to hide from your boss!
[OWEN, spoken]
Wait, what?
[BIRDIE and ELWOOD, OWEN, BIRDIE, ELWOOD (sung)]
Why bother?
Because the grass feels great on your toes
Why bother?
And you can use the leaves if you forget your clothes
Why bother?
Because we need the breeze and the bees and the geese
Need may be a strong word regarding the geese
[BITSY, spoken]
Even without a memoir, I'm still way better than my brother.
(sung)
So why bother?
Is it really so important
To impress my father or my mother?
Why bother?
[HELEN, spoken]
Hm?
[BITSY, spoken]
Was I speaking out loud or to myself?
[HELEN, spoken]
Which would you prefer?
[BITSY, spoken]
To myself.
[HELEN, spoken]
Then that's what it was.
[OWEN, sung]
We need to pollinate, not contaminate
Let me set it straight and illustrate
That we could all suffocate
I hate to pontificate or castigate
But the fate of our state isn't great if we wait
And the weight'll be great if we all hesitate
So if you're on my side just say "Yeah!"
[SCHOOLCHILDREN]
Yeah!
[OWEN]
I can't believe you just said "Yeah"
Say "Yeah" again!
[SCHOOLCHILDREN]
Yeah!
[OWEN]
Do you love the sun?
[SCHOOLCHILDREN]
Yeah!
[OWEN]
Do you love the rain?
[SCHOOLCHILDREN]
No!
[OWEN]
But the rain helps things grow
[SCHOOLCHILDREN]
Okay!
[OWEN, BIRDIE AND ELWOOD]
Join the refrain!
That's why we bother
The earth may go on no matter what we do
But we don't want to leave it all covered in goo
That's why we bother
It's a nice green oasis where we make our escape
Oh, that's why we bother
When the hustle and the bustle starts to aggregate
That's why we bother
That's why I bother
So we can pass along the parks to our sons and our daughters
That's why I bother
At all