By the Sea

devinelynew: Perhaps because these are the lyrics from the original musical.

Because, like many people I'm sure, I tried to find the lyrics from the Movie and not the original cast recording, here are the lyrics from the movie.

Ooh, Mr. Todd! (kiss) I'm so happy! (kiss) I could (kiss) Eat you up, I really could! You know what I'd like to do, Mr. Todd? (kiss) What I dream (kiss) If the business stays as good? Where I'd really like to go, In a year or so? Don't you want to know? Do you really want to know?

By the sea, Mr. Todd, that's the life I covet, By the sea, Mr. Todd, ooh, I know you'd love it! You and me, Mr. T, we could be alone In a house wot we'd almost own, Down by the sea!

TODD: Anything you say...

Wouldn't that be smashing?

LOVETT: Think how snug it'll be underneath our flannel When it's just you and me and the English Channel! In our cozy retreat kept all neat and tidy, We'll have chums over ev'ry Friday! By the sea! Don'tcha love the weather? By the sea! We'll grow old together! By the seaside, Hoo, hoo! By the beautiful sea!

It'll be so quiet, That who'll come by it, Except a seagull Hoo, hoo! We shouldn't try it, Though, 'til it's legal for two-hoo! But a seaside wedding could be devised, Me rumpled bedding legitimized! Me eyelids'll flutter, I'll turn into butter, The moment I mutter I do-hoo!

Down by the sea, Married nice and proper! By the sea, Bring along your chopper! To the seaside, Hoo, hoo! By the beautiful sea!

In terms of what this song means to me, I think what it means to me isn't nearly as important as what it means to Mrs. Lovette as this is a song that reveals her true obsession with Todd and her fantasy to run away and leave London with him.

Imahollowplay, thank you for posting the soundtrack version.

I feel absolute cringe when that wedding scene came on and they bowed to kiss each other. Plus, you could see the body signs. 1. He leaned forward to kiss her, not stepped closer. 2. She said "I do" while he just shook his head. 3. He was in his own little world and not paying attention.

This is one of my favourites in the soundtrack. Love singing along to it :) I agree with Imahollowplay, this really does show how much she wants to be with Todd. But you can see in the movie, this is mostly a one-way obsession. Todd is too wrapped up in his hatred and thirst for revenge to think about starting a new relationship with Mrs. Lovett. Though there was that one time where he looked at her deeply, even if it was just a moment, maybe he could've learned to love her in return. But things didn't go like she'd planned...

alexial39: this, I think, is the central tragedy of this musical. It's also evident from the very beginning. In the song "My Friends" you get her singing lines like "silver's good enough for me" meanwhile he is still focused on his knives (and the revenge that they represent). It's clear that while she is obsessed with him, he will never be obsessed with anything other than revenge.

sad all around

Her love for him is tragic from the start: He wants revenge, she wants him. I cried in the last scene when he killed her...

this song makes me feel so awkward. i always feel embarrassed for mrs. lovett.

Read on for my full analysis of the lyrics :)

1 Ooh, Mr. Todd! kiss 2 I'm so happy! kiss 3 I could kiss 4 Eat you up, I really could! (Silly to mention it, but depending on the way the actress interprets line 4, she may choose to deliver it in a suggestive way, as can be seen in the film) 5 You know what I'd like to do, Mr. Todd? kiss 6 What I dream kiss 7 If the business stays as good? 8 Where I'd really like to go, 9 In a year or so? 10 Don't you want to know? 11 Do you really want to know?

(10-11: Lovett pines comedically for gloomy Todd's attention)

12 By the sea, Mr. Todd, that's the life I covet, 13 By the sea, Mr. Todd, ooh, I know you'd love it! 14 You and me, Mr. T, we could be alone

(14: Lovett looks forward to a time when Todd puts his revenge behind him/ focuses more of his attention on her)

15 In a house wot we'd almost own,

(15: Lovett looks forward to the day her financial success allows her to pay for a house)

16 Down by the sea!

17 TODD: Anything you say...

(17: Todd isn't outright cruel to Lovett, which is evident even in his clearly unenthusiastic response. His motivation to respond at all despite his disinterest in the topic can have different meanings. He either has some real consideration for her feelings, or humors her only because he feels he must as they are business partners)

18 Wouldn't that be smashing?

LOVETT: 19 Think how snug it'll be underneath our flannel 20 When it's just you and me and the English Channel! 21 In our cozy retreat kept all neat and tidy, 22 We'll have chums over ev'ry Friday! 23 By the sea! 24 Don'tcha love the weather? 25 By the sea! 26 We'll grow old together! 27 By the seaside, 28 Hoo, hoo! 29 By the beautiful sea!

(19-29: Lovett describes her idealistic hopes for a future with Todd, an oddly picturesque dream for two murderers)

30 It'll be so quiet, 31 That who'll come by it, 32 Except a seagull 33 Hoo, hoo!

(Lovett again describes a home where she and Todd will be alone and uninterrupted, beside maybe a seagull)

34 We shouldn't try it, 35 Though, 'til it's legal for two-hoo!

(34-35: She might mean living together isn't legal until they marry, but I'm honestly not sure since they already live together on Fleet Street)

36 But a seaside wedding could be devised, 37 Me rumpled bedding legitimized!

(36-37: This is one of the most disputed lyrics in the entire musical. It raises the question: Does Todd sleep with Lovett? Or are they almost completely platonic? Brace for a looonngg analysis of this line, lol. It seems impossible to say for certain, but it is very open to interpretation. As far as I'm concerned, Todd at least considers starting a romantic relationship with Lovett in the film. This is made clear in the scene when she tells him it won't be like what he remembers he had with Lucy, "But we could get by." Todd turns to Lovett and they share a look that can be roughly described as deep mutual understanding. In Todd's face, you can see that his expression softens (a rare occurrence in the film) after Lovett makes her statement. Anyway, while Todd is generally cold interacting with Lovett beside that scene, they tend to be somewhat physically touchy throughout the movie, and refer to each other with arguably more non-platonic terms. My dear, darling, my love, my pet, etc. For these reasons it is sensible to interpret their relationship as either platonic or romantic. This being said, the line can also be interpreted one of two main ways. 1- "Rumpled bedding" is simply another of Lovett's dreams that isn't reality. 2- Lovett is referring to her already "rumpled bedding" which she dreams to "legitimize" by getting married. (Marriage being her unrealized dream) Of course, whether he slept with Lovett or not, one thing that can be said with certainty is that he is far more concerned with getting his revenge than building a new legitimate relationship, and the mystery of their relationship adds an instersting aspect to the story)

38 Me eyelids'll flutter, 39 I'll turn into butter, 40 The moment I mutter I do-hoo!

(38-40: Lovett describes the future wedding she hopes to have)

41 Down by the sea, 42 Married nice and proper!

(42: To me, Lovett's using "nice and proper" gives the impression that she and Todd are already in a loose/unofficial romantic relationship that Lovett would like to make proper through marriage. Still, it really is all about individual interpretation.)

43 By the sea, 44 Bring along your chopper!

(44: Chopper refers to Todd's murder razors. Lovett implies here that they could continue doing business as they have been after moving)

45 To the seaside, 46 Hoo, hoo! 47 By the beautiful sea!

That's all I have to say for now. Thanks for reading. I'm open to further discussion :)

why does every lyric site have these different lyrics? this isn't by any means what's being sung on the movie soundtrack?!?