LIZ]
Pop

[ANNIE]
Six

[JUNE]
Squish

[HUNYAK]
Uh uh

[VELMA]
Cicero

[MONA]
Lipschitz!

[LIZ]
Pop

[ANNIE]
Six

[JUNE]
Squish

[HUNYAK]
Uh uh

[VELMA]
Cicero

[MONA]
Lipschitz!

[LIZ]
Pop

[ANNIE]
Six

[JUNE]
Squish

[HUNYAK]
Uh uh

[VELMA]
Cicero

[MONA]
Lipschitz!

[ALL]
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

[VELMA]
I betcha you would have done the same!

[LIZ]
Pop

[ANNIE]
Six

[JUNE]
Squish

[HUNYAK]
Uh uh

[VELMA]
Cicero

[MONA]
Lipschitz!

[LIZ (Spoken)]
You know how people
have these little habits
That get you down. Like Bernie.
Bernie like to chew gum.
No, not chew. POP.
Well, I came home this one day
And I am really irritated, and
looking for a little sympathy
and there'e Bernie layin'
on the couch, drinkin' a beer
and chewin'. No, not chewin'.
Poppin'. So, I said to him,
I said, "Bernie, 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.

[GIRLS]
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!
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!

[ALL]
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 dome the same!

[ANNIE (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
mix him a drink, We'd have dinner.
Well, it was like heaven in
two and a half rooms.
And then I found out,
"Single" he told me?
Single, my ass. Not only
was he married
...oh, no, he had six wives.
One of those Mormons, you know. So that
night, when he came home, I mixed him
his drink as usual.
You know, some guys just can't hold
their arsenic.

[GIRLS]
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
He had it coming
He had it coming
He only had himself
to blame
If you'd have been there
If yo'd have seen it
I betcha you would
Have done the same!

[LIZ,ANNIE,JUNE,MONA]
Hah! 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!

[VELMA AND HUNYAK]
Pop, six, squish, uh-uh
Cicero, Lipschitz

[JUNE (Spoken)]
Now, I'm standing in the kitchen
carvin' up the chicken for dinner,
minding my own business,
and in storms my husband Wilbur,
in a jealous rage.
"You been screwin' the milkman,"
he says. He was crazy
and he kept screamin',
"you been screwin the milkman."
And then he ran into my knife.
He ran into my knife ten times!

[GIRLS]
Pop,Six,
Squish,Uh-uh,
Cicero,Lipschitz
Pop, Six,
Squish,Uh-uh,
Cicero,Lipschitz
Pop,Six,
Squish,Uh-uh,
Cicero,Lipschitz

[ALL]
If you'd have been there
If you'd have seen it
I betcha you would have done the same!

[HUNYAK (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...

[JUNE (Spoken)]
Yeah, but di you do it?

[HUNYAK]
UH UH, not guilty!

[VELMA]
My sister, Veronica and
I did this double act
and my husband, Charlie,
used to travel round with us.
Now, for the last number in
our act, we did these 20 acrobatic
four,five...splits, spread eagles,
back flips,flip flops,
one right after the other.
Well, this one night we were in Cicero,
the three of us, sittin' up
in a 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
and there's Veronica and
Charlie doing Number Seventeen-
the spread eagle.

[GIRLS]
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 tricks in a row,
one,two,three,
I betcha
You would
Have done
The same!
He had
It coming
He had it coming...

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.

They had it coming
They had it coming
They had it coming all along
I didn't do it
But if I'd done it
How could you tell me that I was wrong?

[VELMA]
They had it coming
[GIRLS]
They had it coming
[VELMA]
They had it coming
[GIRLS]
They had it coming
[VELMA]
They had it coming
[GIRLS]
They took a flower
[VELMA]
All along
[GIRLS]
In its prime
[VELMA]
I didn't do it
[GIRLS]
And then they used it
[VELMA]
But if I'd done it
[GIRLS]
And they abused it
[VELMA]
How could you tell me
[GIRLS]
It was a murder
[VELMA]
That I was wrong?
[GIRLS]
But not a crime!

[MONA]
I loved Alvin Lipschitz
more than I can possibly say.
He was a real artistic guy...
sensitive... a painter.
But he was troubled.
He was always trying
to find himself.
He'd 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 or artistic differences.
He saw himself as alive
and I saw him dead.

[GIRLS]
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!

[ALL]
The dirty bum, bum, bum, bum, bum
The dirty bum, bum, bum, bum, bum

[LIZ,ANNIE,MONA]
They had it comin'
[VELMA,JUNE,HUNYAK]
They had it comin'
[LIZ,ANNIE,MONA]
They had it comin'
[VELMA,JUNE,HUNYAK]
They had it comin'
[LIZ,ANNIE,MONA]
They had it comin'
[VELMA,JUNE,HUNYAK]
They had it comin'
[LIZ,ANNIE,MONA]
All along
[VELMA,JUNE,HUNYAK]
All along
'Cause if they used us
'Cause if they used us And they abused us
And they abused us
[LIZ,ANNIE,MONA]
How could you tell us
[VELMA,JUNE,HUNYAK]
How could you tell us That we were wrong?
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!

[LIZ (Spoken)]
You pop that gum one more time!

[ANNIE (spoken)]
Single my ass.

[JUNE (Spoken)]
Ten times!

[HUNYAK (Spoken)]
Miert csukott Uncle Same bortonbe.

[VELMA (Spoken)]
Number seventeen-the spread eagle.

[MONA (Spoken)]
Artistic differences.

[ALL]
I betcha you would have done the same


Lyrics submitted by Rosiega1218

Chicago- Cell Block Tango song meanings
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8 Comments

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  • +1
    General Comment

    english trnslation of hunyak in case you're interested.. What am I doing here? They say my famous lover held down my husband while I cut off his head. But this isn't true! I am guiltless! I don't know why Uncle Sam thinks I did it. I tried to explain at the police station but they didn't understand me..

    chicago is amazing. if you are EVER in new york, and have any money, do anything and everything you possibly can to go see it. iv you ever have a chance to see it period, do it.

    little_greenon November 25, 2004   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    This song so rocks! it's one of the more morbid songs from broadway but it's still so much fun. The sound is awesome and the lyrics crack me up. GO BROADWAY! i'm so glad i started this catagory. It started with 3 braodway songs and look how many there are now. thank you to all you people who share my love of musicals. Let's keep this catagory rolling!

    Rosiega1218on June 18, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I love this song. Yes it's about murder but it's hilarious. It fits in perfectly with the jazz theme of chicago.

    alouiseon July 30, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    wee for chicago and songs about killing people. oh, how i do love fred ebb, and bob fosse, and bebe neuwirth. weeeeeeeeeeeeeee

    chickonstageon March 07, 2003   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    i love this song. especially the "It wasn't until later, when I was washing the blood off my hands I even knew they were dead." llmao

    blueon March 26, 2003   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    This has got to be one of the best murder songs ever!

    MayorMenleyon December 04, 2004   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I originally heard this song as a remake for the anime Naruto. But then I figured it was from Chicago and listened to the original song and cracked up. I think think this is the best murder song ever! I love the first murder story with the gum popping.

    tokyo_loveron August 03, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I like how Liz says it in the movie version of this song.

    "Ernie liked to chew gum."

    Lmao. Get's me every time.

    Salmonnerdzon December 22, 2009   Link

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