[Wonderful]

Wicked Soundtrack Lyrics
Joel Grey - Wonderful Lyrics

WIZARD I never asked for this Or planned it in advance I was merely blown here By the winds of chance I never saw myself As a Solomon or Socrates I knew who I was: One of your dime a dozen Mediocrities
Then suddenly I'm here Respected - worshipped, even Just because the folks in Oz Needed someone to believe in Does it surprise youI got hooked, and all too soon? What can I say? I got carried away And not just by balloon
Wonderful They called me "Wonderful" So I said "Wonderful" - if you insist I will be "Wonderful" And they said "Wonderful" Believe me, it's hard to resist 'Cause it feels wonderful They think I'm wonderful Hey, look who's wonderful -This corn-fed hick Who said: "It might be keen To build a town of green And a wonderful road of yellow brick!"
(spoken) See - I never had a family of my own. So, I guess I just - wanted to give the citizens of Oz everything.
ELPHABA(spoken) So you lied to them
WIZARD(spoken) Elphaba, where I'm from, we believe all sorts of things that aren't true. We call it - "history."(sung) A man's called a traitor - or liberator A rich man's a thief - or philanthropist Is one a crusader - or ruthless invader? It's all in which labelIs able to persist There are precious few at ease With moral ambiguities So we act as though they don't exist
They call me "Wonderful" So I am wonderful In fact - it's so much who I am It's part of my name And with my help, you can be the same At long, long last receive your due Long over due Elphaba - The most celebrated Are the rehabilitated There'll be such a - whoop-de-doo A celebration throughout Oz That's all to do - with you Wonderful They'll call you wonderful:
ELPHABA It does sound wonderful:
WIZARD Trust me - it's fun
When you are wonderful It would be wonderful? Wonderful, wonderful
WIZARD One! Two! And:(they dance)

These are the lyrics for the song "Wonderful" in the musical Wicked. This musical is set before the Wizard of Oz. It is about the Wicked Witch of the West, Elphaba, and Glenda when they were in school together. This song is when Elphaba finds out who the Wizard really is. I picked this song for my media portfolio because in the middle (I highlighted it in green) it talkes about how history is all dependent on the person writing it and what perspective they have, like Zinn.

In the song it says, "Elphaba, where I'm from, we believe all sorts of things that aren't true. We call it - 'history.' A man's called a traitor - or liberator. A rich man's a thief - or philanthropist, is one a crusader - or ruthless invader? It's all in which labelIs able to persist." The phrase, is a man a traitor or liberator, according to history could be both. It is all dependent on the writters interpretation and what side he is writing from. This can be referred to when Zinn said, "The historian's distortion is more than technical, it is ideological; it is released into the world of centending interests, where any chosen emphasis supports some kind of interest, whether economic or political or racial or national or sexual." The Wizard was trying to convince Elphaba that he did not lie to the people of Oz by telling her that history is all a lie. Elphaba is like Zinn in a way. She wants everyone to know the truth about the wizard, she does not agree with history being a lie. She turns down working with the wizard and having all her dreams come true because she feels so strongly about this issue. Zinn also wants everyone to know the truth about history, he says it himself that he is very blunt about telling history.

I personally love this song and musical. I agree with what is said in the song though. To tell the difference between if a man is crusader or ruthless invader, for example, it all depends on what side you are on and who you want to look good in the end. Historians tweek the truth all the time. The historians purposly do this is, in my opinion, because they want the reader to think what they want them to think, not what actually happened.