I really need this job
Not more than I do, believe me
Hi, I'm Sheila
What's your name?
Phoebe, and this is Maggie
Hi, Maggie
Hi, hi
Gosh, there's a lot of people here
Yeah, it's a cattle call
But you'll get the job for sure, Maggie, you're so pretty
Believe me, looks are overrated
It's just a different set of problems

Okay, ladies, line up
We'll start with you
You, number 24
My name is Sheila, what do you wanna know?
Why don't you tell me why you're in this business?
I wanted to be a ballet dancer, what else?
The light, by the way, is a very funny color
Do you have anything softer?
Don't worry about the light
It's very harsh

So tell me
What?
Do you always come on like this?
No, sometimes I'm aggressive
Will you just, just bring it down?
Bring what down?
Your attitude, miss
It's Sheila
Okay, Sheila, why don't you tell me about your parents?
My parents?
Yeah
Well, my mother was a ballerina until my father made her quit
Really?
Really
Tell me more
Tell you more?
Mm-hmm

Daddy always thought that he married beneath him
That's what he said, that's what he said
When he proposed he informed my mother
He was probably her very last chance
And though she was twenty-two
Though she was twenty-two
Though she was twenty-two
She married him

Life with my dad wasn't ever a picnic
More like a "come as you are"
When I was five I remember my mother
Dug earrings out of the car
I knew they weren't hers, but it wasn't
Something you'd want to discuss
He wasn't warm
Well, not to her
Well, not to us, come to think of it

But everything was beautiful at the ballet
Graceful men lift lovely girls in white
Yes, everything was beautiful at the ballet
I was happy
At the ballet

And that's when I started class

Up the steep and very narrow stairway
To the voice like a metronome
Up a steep and very narrow stairway
It wasn't paradise
It wasn't paradise
It wasn't paradise
But it was home

Okay, number 18
I'm Bebe, sir
And what's your story?
I don't know what you mean
Okay, on the subject of mothers, what about yours?
My mother?
Yes, yours
She lied to me
She lied to you?

Mother always said I'd be very attractive
When I grew up, when I grew up
"Different," she said, "With a special something
And a very, very personal flair"
And though I was eight or nine
Though I was eight or nine
Though I was eight or nine
I hated her

Now, "different" is nice, but it sure isn't pretty
"Pretty" is what it's about
I never met anyone who was "different"
Who couldn't figure that out
So beautiful I'd never lived to see
But it was clear
If not to her
Well, then, to me

That everyone is beautiful at the ballet
Every prince has got to have his swan
Yes, everyone is beautiful at the ballet
I was pretty
At the ballet

Up a steep and very narrow stairway
To the voice like a metronome
Up a steep and very narrow stairway
It wasn't paradise
It wasn't paradise
It wasn't paradise
But it was home

All right, number 6
Number 6? That's me, Maggie
Can I tell you about my parents?
Go ahead

Ah, I don't know what they were for or against, really, except each other
I mean, I was born to save their marriage
But when my father came to pick my mother up at the hospital, he said
"I thought this was going to help, but I guess not"
Anyway, I did have a fantastic fantasy life
I used to dance around the living room with my arms up like this
My fantasy was, it was an Indian Chief
And he'd say to me, "Maggie, do you wanna dance?"
And I'd say, "Daddy, I would love to dance"

But it was clear
When he proposed
That I was born to help their marriage and when
That's what he said
That's what she said
I used to dance around the living room
He wasn't warm
Not to her
It was an Indian chief and he said
"Maggie, do you want to dance?"
And I said, "Daddy, I would love to"

Everything was beautiful at the ballet
Raise your arms and someone's always there
Everything was beautiful at the ballet
At the ballet
At the ballet

Yes, everything was beautiful at the ballet
Hey
I was pretty
I was happy
"I would love to"
At the ballet


Lyrics submitted by Mellow_Harsher

At the Ballet Lyrics as written by Edward Lawrence Kleban Marvin Hamlisch

Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

At the Ballet song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

0 Comments

sort form View by:
  • No Comments

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

More Featured Meanings

Album art
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
Album art
Son Şansın - Şarkı Sözleri
Hayalperest
This song seemingly tackles the methods of deception those who manipulate others use to get victims to follow their demands, as well as diverting attention away from important issues. They'll also use it as a means to convince people to hate or kill others by pretending acts of terrorism were committed by the enemy when the acts themselves were done by the masters of control to promote discrimination and hate. It also reinforces the idea that these manipulative forces operate in various locations, infiltrating everyday life without detection, and propagate any and everywhere. In general, it highlights the danger of hidden agendas, manipulation, and distraction, serving as a critique of those who exploit chaos and confusion to control and gain power, depicting a cautionary tale against falling into their traps. It encourages us to question the narratives presented to us and remain vigilant against manipulation in various parts of society.
Album art
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
Album art
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988. "'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it." "There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
Album art
When We Were Young
Blink-182
This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.