By Justine Gendron

This post may read exactly like a Buzzfeed article, but that’s ok with me! I’m going through the movie soundtrack and tell you, the reader, what my favorite line is in each song. Now, there are three soundtrack listings on Wikipedia. The off-Broadway soundtrack, the film soundtrack, and the Broadway revival soundtrack. I actually prefer the off-Broadway because the songs are listed in the order that they appear in the movie. Also, I will not be covering the songs that don’t fully make it into the movie like “The Long Grift” (which I don’t really like) and “In Your Arms Tonight” (which I do kinda like.)

Tear Me Down

I’m the new Berlin wall, try and tear me down.

This song for me, kicks it right out the gate. I mean, there are lots of lines in the song I like, especially Yitzhak’s part. I like the part where he goes, “Reviled. Graffitied. Spit upon.” and the part after where he declares, “Ladies and Gentlemen, Hedwig is like that wall!” It’s just a good story song, which gives you a lot of character information and visuals. Plus it’s totally punk rock.

The Origin of Love

Last time I saw you, we had just split in two. You were looking at me. I was looking at you.

Another great story song! Ahhhh I seriously love it. I love the second verse starting with, “And there were three sexes then,” and how that continues on the three different types of humans. I like the strong line, “Like I cut the legs off the whales, And dinosaurs into lizards.” I like how it’s sung. Each verse also has a tone shift too. I chose the lines because that’s when the song because first person, not just a story of how this happened, but a story of how this happened to ME. It just really ties into the whole story of heartbreak as they try to make love by shoving themselves together and become whole again (the big theme of Hedwig.)

Sugar Daddy

So you think only a woman can truly love a man. Well you buy me the dress I’ll be more woman than a man like you can stand.

I think this line speaks for itself. In a song about Hedwig enjoying the new American lifestyle of sweet, sweet things, this line is a reminder of the price tag.

Angry Inch

My first day as a woman and already it’s that time of the month.

Again, self explanatory. 😀 Hilarious.

Wig in a Box

Suddenly I’m this punk rock star of stage and screen. And I ain’t never, I’m never turning back.

This one was also hard to choose a line from because it’s such a good story! Not only that it’s a journey! Hedwig starts out completely down and sad and slowly, with each verse starts transforming. When at first it’s sad to be someone else she then takes ownership of it. It does have feelings of abuse though. She’s doing it, “all because of you! It’s all because of you!” and has that bit of rage in the middle of the song there. After that we get the sing-along and then final transformation, which is the lyric I have chosen. But seriously, you can see in this song she is due for a mental breakdown. “But then again, aren’t we all?” (great segue, Justine, to…)

Wicked Little Town

And if you’ve got no other choice, you know you can follow my voice.

No joke, I love every single line in this song. It is my FAVORITE Hedwig song. So there. All, all the lyrics.

Hedwig’s Lament

I gave a piece to the rock star. He took the good stuff and ran.

This song is very short 12 line poem right before the next song. I just chose this line because I relate to it personally from dating so many musicians and pretty much making other people better.

Exquisite Corpse

A montage! I’m all sewn up!

I don’t really have any favorite lines in this song. This song is harder punk than all the other songs and it’s meant to be jarring. It’s also very much about the visuals but if you take all those lovely pretty visuals of earlier and rip them up and put them together the wrong way. Hedwig in two songs has sang that she rose from the doctor’s slab and in this song she declares that she is the Monster.

Wicked Little Town (Reprise)

You think that Luck has left you there. But maybe there’s nothing up in the sky but air.

Ok some more favorite lines- “When everything starts breaking down, you take the pieces off the ground,” “And there’s no mystical design, no cosmic lover preassigned,” “‘Cause with all the changes you’ve been through it seems the stranger’s always you.” Anyway, this is Tommy’s goodbye song. It’s an apology for stealing her songs and doing the damage he did but also he’s calling her out on her beliefs. That they are no soulmates, that she’s focusing so much on literally following his voice across the country that she keeps finding herself alone again in some wicked little town. Hedwig has to move on. Ok let’s wrap it up and see what she’s learned.

Midnight Radio

All the misfits and the losers

This line is great because we’re also singing about punk rock so it is also The Misfits and The Losers. In this song Hedwig declares “Know that you’re whole.” She’s gone the fullllll transformation. This song is also about connecting with people through music, what she’s done her whole traveling show. This song is tribute to how she got here and calls out “the strange rock and rollers,” like Patti and Tina and Yoko… She heard the transmission and sought her destiny. It’s how we all got here to this point.

Ok I hope you enjoyed this Buzzfeed knock-off article. I hope you learned a little about Hedwig and maybe a little about me. Please check out our Hedwig Episode to hear more ranting about how much I love this. -Justine