Dear Evan Hansen Lyrics – All Songs from the Musical

"Dear Evan Hansen (Original Broadway Cast Recording)" Soundtrack Description

FAQ

• Is there an official soundtrack album? Yes—the Original Broadway Cast Recording, released in early 2017 on Atlantic Records.
• Who wrote the music and lyrics? Benj Pasek & Justin Paul; the book is by Steven Levenson.
• Did the album win any major awards? It won the 2018 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album.
• Is there a deluxe edition? A digital Deluxe Album arrived in 2018, adding cut songs and covers (e.g., “Part of Me”).
• What’s the band like in the show? An 8-player pit: keys (MD), strings (violin/viola/cello), two guitars, bass/double bass, and drums.

Notes & Trivia

• The cast album debuted at No. 8 on the Billboard 200—the highest debut for a cast recording since Camelot (1961).
• Recording sessions ran in December 2016; the album rolled out digitally before hitting CD and later vinyl in July 2017.
• Alex Lacamoire handled orchestrations and music supervision—he also won the Tony for Best Orchestrations.
• Katy Perry covered “Waving Through a Window” to boost the first U.S. tour.
• In 2018, Ben Platt and Lin-Manuel Miranda mashed “You Will Be Found” with “The Story of Tonight” (“Found/Tonight”) to support March for Our Lives.

Overview

Why does a pop-leaning pit band feel like a Greek chorus for a teen’s private panic? Because the score keeps translating inner chatter into melody—the DM feed in his brain becomes hooks you can hum. The album bottles the show’s central paradox: anthems about connection born from a lie. Acoustic guitars and string pads buoy Evan’s confessions; tight vocal stacks turn hallway whispers into a swelling crowd. Even without seeing screens or scrolling comments, you track a story that moves from jittery staccato to stadium-size lift and back to a whisper.

Genres & Themes

• Contemporary musical theatre pop: sleek melodies and conversational phrasing mirror teen speech patterns and online cadence.
• Acoustic & string warmth: guitars and chamber strings soften the subject matter, letting grief and guilt land without melodrama.
• Motivic callbacks: lyrical/rhythmic ideas from early numbers reappear in Act 2 (“Waving…” ? “Words Fail”), charting Evan’s unraveling.
• Choral lift as virality: ensemble swells stand in for a feed going viral—comforting, then overwhelming.

Key Tracks & Scenes

• “Waving Through a Window” — Ben Platt & Company
  Where it plays: Early Act 1, shortly after the moms’ opener. Non-diegetic; Evan’s inner monologue turns public.
  Why it matters: It’s the “I Want” song—alienation framed as a catchy loop that the show keeps answering or contradicting.
• “For Forever” — Ben Platt
  Where it plays: Dinner with the Murphys. Evan invents a friendship. Non-diegetic story-song that everyone wants to believe.
  Why it matters: Tender guitar and strings make the lie feel safe—our first ethical vertigo.
• “Sincerely, Me” — Mike Faist, Ben Platt, Will Roland
  Where it plays: Mid-Act 1 montage of forged emails; quasi-diegetic as they “compose” the receipts.
  Why it matters: Comic relief that doubles as plot engine; buoyant rhythm papers over moral slippage.
• “Requiem” — Laura Dreyfuss, Jennifer Laura Thompson, Michael Park
  Where it plays: After Connor’s death, each family member processes (or refuses) grief. Non-diegetic intercut soliloquies.
  Why it matters: Three perspectives, three grooves; the score respects contradiction.
• “If I Could Tell Her” — Ben Platt, Laura Dreyfuss
  Where it plays: Evan “quotes” Connor to Zoe; living room intimacy. Non-diegetic confession in disguise.
  Why it matters: A love song built on borrowed truth; gentle dynamics heighten the wrongness.
• “You Will Be Found” — Company
  Where it plays: Act 1 finale at the school assembly; Evan’s speech goes viral. Starts intimate, grows choral.
  Why it matters: The show’s rallying cry; comfort and complicity arrive on the same wave.
• “Only Us” — Laura Dreyfuss, Ben Platt
  Where it plays: Act 2, Zoe and Evan try to build a bubble. Quiet, mid-tempo duo.
  Why it matters: The score tests whether love can outrun truth (spoiler: it can’t).
• “Words Fail” — Ben Platt
  Where it plays: Evan’s confession to the Murphys. Bare, escalating monologue-song.
  Why it matters: Motifs from earlier resurface and crumble; this is the emotional cliff.
• “So Big/So Small” — Rachel Bay Jones
  Where it plays: Near the end, Heidi’s quiet truth. Minimal accompaniment.
  Why it matters: The album’s softest landing—parental love without varnish.

Music–Story Links (characters & plot beats as connected to songs)

• Evan’s motif drift: The rhythmic pulse of “Waving…” returns, bruised, inside “Words Fail,” tracing anxiety ? collapse.
• Grief polyphony: “Requiem” assigns each Murphy a distinct groove—Cynthia’s yearning line, Zoe’s resistant pop edge, Larry’s measured bar—so you can hear the family fracture.
• Virality as orchestration: “You Will Be Found” stacks voices like a feed—solo ? duet ? ensemble ? virtual chorus—mirroring how a message mutates once it leaves you.
• Comedy as camouflage: “Sincerely, Me” uses buoyant syncopation to hide forgery in plain sight; the beat is the alibi.
• Love song built on absence: “If I Could Tell Her” reads as a tender confession, but its gentle dynamics keep reminding you: the person speaking isn’t the one being quoted.

How It Was Made (supervision, score, behind-the-scenes)

• Songwriters & book: Score/lyrics by Pasek & Paul; book by Steven Levenson.
• Orchestrations & supervision: Alex Lacamoire shaped the show’s sound (music supervisor/orchestrator).
• Band & chair list: 8-piece: MD/keys, violin, viola, cello, two guitars, bass/double bass, drums.
• Recording & producers: Sessions in Dec 2016; produced by Alex Lacamoire with Benj Pasek & Justin Paul (with producing support from the show’s team).
• Release arc: Digital launch in early Feb 2017; CD followed later that month; vinyl in July 2017; Deluxe digital edition in Nov 2018.
• Culture ripple: Katy Perry’s cover of “Waving Through a Window” and the charity single “Found/Tonight” kept the material in the wider pop conversation.

Reception & Quotes

“This gorgeous heartbreaker of a musical.” —The New York Times, Charles Isherwood

“Leaving with about 10 great songs… is pretty much unheard of.” —Entertainment Weekly

“A few big ballads—‘You Will Be Found’—land with an eyes-to-the-sky expansiveness.” —The Guardian

Technical Info

• Title: Dear Evan Hansen (Original Broadway Cast Recording)
• Year: 2017 (for the album; Broadway production opened 2016)
• Type: Cast album / Original Broadway Cast
• Composers/Lyricists: Benj Pasek & Justin Paul
• Book: Steven Levenson
• Music Supervision/Orchestrations: Alex Lacamoire
• Label: Atlantic Records
• Release context: Digital release early Feb 2017; CD later Feb 2017; vinyl July 2017; Deluxe digital edition Nov 2018
• Band forces: 8 players (keys/strings/guitars/bass/drums)
• Selected notable placements: “Waving Through a Window,” “For Forever,” “Sincerely, Me,” “Requiem,” “If I Could Tell Her,” “You Will Be Found,” “Only Us,” “Words Fail,” “So Big/So Small”
• Awards/Charts: Grammy winner (Best Musical Theater Album, 2018); Billboard 200 debut at No. 8 (highest cast-album debut since 1961)
• Availability: Widely available on major digital/physical formats