Wonderful Lyrics – Joel Grey

Wonderful Text

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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 you
I 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 label
Is 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 overdue
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

BOTH
When you are wonderful
It would be wonderful?
Wonderful, wonderful

WIZARD
One! Two! And:
(they dance)

[Thanks to Tontor4@cs.com for corrections]