I feel you
Johanna
I feel you
I was half convinced I'd waken
Satisfied enough to dream you
Happily, I was mistaken
Johanna

I'll steal you
Johanna
I'll steal you
Do they think that walls can hide you?
Even now I'm at your window
I am in the dark beside you
Buried sweetly in your yellow hair

I feel you
Johanna
And one day
I'll steal you
'Til I'm with you then, I'm with you there
Sweetly buried in your yellow hair


Lyrics submitted by garnica456, edited by phaasch

Johanna [2023 Broadway Cast Recording] Lyrics as written by Stephen Sondheim

Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.

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Johanna song meanings
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    My Interpretation

    It's less of Todd excepting that he'll never see Johanna, but more that he no longer feels he needs to see her, that it will make him feel better. He's found a way of revenge and a way to purge the world of what he believes to be evil. So he no longer needs to see Johanna, it's not important while he can just kill and dream of her, and the more he kills, the closer he gets to his revenge, the more Johanna is no longer needed. Also, there's this whole thing where he compares her to his wife, knowing that Johanna has grown up by now. Most likely, if he did see Johanna at this time, he'd see only his wife, heightening his descent into madness. He probably doesn't want the memory of his wife there, as well, just wants to remember Johanna, not as the woman she is, but as a young girl, if anything, because then she couldn't look like his wife. It's a song that very much defines the true madness of Sweeney Todd.

    MacabreSmileon May 02, 2013   Link

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