Here's my Plan Lyrics
Here's my Plan
[Tom]In books, everybody has adventures
But for me, it's the same most everyday
And it's looks like it might be this way forever
But where there's a boy, there's a will, there's a way!
So here's my plan
One of these days
The sun will rise and it will find me on my way
I've worked it out
All in my head
And it's just like all them stories that I've read!
I'm on my way somewhere
I don't have any doubt
No telling what I'll find
But it's something I cannot live without
Nobody in this town understands
So here's my plan
I'll run away
Into the woods
Take to the trees and I will live like Robin Hood
Steal from the rich
Give to the poor
And I won't never have to go to school no more
I'll find a lady fair
Who'll offer me her heart
A single kiss we'll share
Oh the tears she will cry when I depart
On my way to far off lands!
So here's my plan
I will be a robber, I'll be a pirate too
To find my buried treasure, there's nothing I won't do
I'll navigate the river
I'll ride the wild frontier
All that's standing in my way is me just standing here
So here's my plan
Before too long
Everyone will turn around and I'll be gone
They'll search for me
Both high and low
But when they call and I don't come that's when they'll know
I'm on my way somewhere
I don't have any doubt
No telling what I'll find
But it's something I cannot live without
Nobody in this town understands
The future of the world is in my hands
Someday the boy is gonna be the man
And that's my plan
Oh don't tell me that I can't
Cause I can
And that's my plan!
Song Overview
Review and Highlights
Quick summary
- What it is: Tom's first true solo statement - a runaway fantasy that doubles as a self-portrait.
- Who sings it: Tom Sawyer.
- Where it lands: Act I, after the town has just put him on display.
- How it plays: Up-tempo boy logic - half brag, half escape hatch, with the orchestra acting like Tom's restless feet.
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (2001) - stage musical - non-diegetic. Act I solo for Tom, placed right after the show has introduced him as the town's favorite headache. Scene function: we watch him turn punishment into story, the way a kid turns a backyard into a frontier. Narrative function: it plants the stakes early - Tom is not simply naughty, he is actively plotting a life larger than the one adults have scheduled for him.
As an opening-character solo, it does the smart thing: it lets Tom be funny without making him harmless. The lyric is a plan, sure, but it is also an audition for freedom. The best productions play the number with a touch of danger - not "will he run away," but "how close is he to believing his own press." As stated in The New York Times, Ken Ludwig's book keeps the story bobbing along, and Don Schlitz supplies a handful of winning tunes - this is one of the moments where that forward motion is practically the point.
Creation History
The show was conceived and written by Ken Ludwig with music and lyrics by Don Schlitz, opening on Broadway at the Minskoff Theatre on April 26, 2001. MTI's licensing materials describe a long development path that began in the early 1990s, with Schlitz writing dozens of songs before the final score took shape. That backstory tracks with how confidently this number sketches Tom: it feels like a songwriter finally choosing the right three minutes from a larger stack of possibilities.
Song Meaning and Annotations
Plot
Tom has just been pushed toward school, church, and chores - the town's idea of shaping a boy. He counters by inventing a grand exit strategy. The number is less a literal itinerary than a private pep talk: if he can narrate his escape, he can delay the humiliation of obedience. The show uses the solo to pivot from "the town describes Tom" to "Tom describes Tom."
Song Meaning
The plan is a mask and a wish. Tom talks like a hero because hero talk protects him from being small. Under the comic swagger, there is a real ache: he wants agency, not just amusement. The song is also a thesis for the musical's version of Twain - childhood as a rehearsal for adulthood, with make-believe doing serious work.
Annotations
Running away as craft: Tom does not only want to leave - he wants to stage his leaving.
This is where directors can earn extra points. If Tom "blocks" his fantasy, moving furniture like props or turning fence posts into landmarks, the audience sees that his imagination is his real talent - and his real trouble.
Up-tempo momentum: The pace should sound like thinking on the run.
Even without quoting exact tempo numbers, the musical idea is clear: the orchestration should keep nudging him forward. When the accompaniment slows down too much, the number becomes a speech. It wants the feel of a kid sprinting ahead of consequences.
Comic surface, serious need: The laughs are the sugar, not the meal.
The number lands hardest when Tom's confidence flickers for a second. A quick, unguarded beat - then back to bravado - makes the character human rather than merely "cute."
Style and drive
Schlitz writes in a Broadway-Americana lane that favors clear storytelling and rhythmic snap. For performers, the trick is to ride the beat without rushing the words. Tom is improvising, but he is also selling. Think: kid as con artist, in the most charming sense.
Key images and subtext
Any "plan" lyric invites the actor to reveal what the plan is really for: escape from chores, yes, but also escape from being managed. If the actor lets one line land as a genuine plea before snapping back into showboating, the number suddenly has stakes.
Technical Information (Quick Facts)
- Song: Here's my Plan
- Artist: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer - Original Broadway Cast
- Featured: Tom Sawyer
- Composer: Don Schlitz
- Producer: Not reliably published for circulating audio uploads
- Release Date: April 26, 2001 (Broadway opening date)
- Genre: Musical theatre
- Instruments: Pit orchestra with solo vocal
- Label: Not reliably published
- Mood: Restless, playful, a little defiant
- Length: Estimated duration 4 min 00 sec (licensed show extraction listing)
- Track #: Act I solo
- Language: English
- Album: Licensed show materials and circulating reference audio
- Music style: Up-tempo character song with Americana color
- Poetic meter: Mixed (speech-forward character writing)
Frequently Asked Questions
- Who sings the song in the stage score?
- Tom Sawyer sings it as a solo.
- Where does it happen in Act I?
- Early, after the show establishes Tom as the town's constant topic.
- Is the plan literal or metaphorical?
- Both. It is a runaway fantasy on the surface, and a declaration of independence underneath.
- What acting choice keeps it from becoming a novelty number?
- Let one beat of vulnerability slip through, then cover it with confidence. The audience should sense why he needs the story.
- What is the starting key listed for a licensed show extraction?
- D.
- How long is it in the licensed listing?
- About four minutes.
- What vocal type is typically used for Tom?
- MTI lists Tom with a range from A2 to A4, which often suits a young baritone or flexible teen voice depending on casting.
- Does it have chart peaks or certifications?
- Not in the major public chart records typically used for pop singles.
- How should the orchestra support the lyric?
- Keep the pulse alive and light. The accompaniment should sound like motion, not weight.
Awards and Chart Positions
No credible chart history attaches to the song as a standalone commercial release. The parent production, however, has documented awards recognition: MTI lists a 2001 Theatre World Award win for Joshua Park and multiple nominations across Tony Awards, Drama Desk Awards, and other critics groups. In a number like this, that context matters because it reminds you the show was built with real Broadway resources - the kind that can make a small solo feel like a scene change.
| Award body | Year | Recognition | Named recipient(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Theatre World Awards | 2001 | Win | Joshua Park (Outstanding New Performer) |
| Tony Awards | 2001 | Nominations | Heidi Ettinger (Scenic Design), Kenneth Posner (Lighting Design) |
| Drama Desk Awards | 2001 | Nominations | Michael Starobin (Orchestrations), plus design categories |
Additional Info
MTI's production history notes a key adaptation choice: the musical avoids the novel's darker fate for the villain and lands on a communal, celebratory ending. That tonal decision reaches backward into early solos like this one. Tom's plan is not a tragic flight from society; it is a childish attempt to rewrite the terms. The show keeps faith that the town can change just enough to make room for him, which is why the song can stay comic without turning cruel.
Key Contributors
| Entity | Type | Relationship (S-V-O) |
|---|---|---|
| Don Schlitz | Person | Schlitz wrote music and lyrics for the musical. |
| Ken Ludwig | Person | Ludwig conceived and wrote the book. |
| Mark Twain | Person | Twain wrote the source novel (1876). |
| Music Theatre International | Organization | MTI licenses the show and publishes song and role information. |
| Minskoff Theatre | Venue | The Broadway production opened there on April 26, 2001. |
| Tom Sawyer | Character | Tom sings "Here's my Plan" as an Act I solo. |
Sources
Sources: Internet Broadway Database song list, Music Theatre International show page and print summary, The New York Times theatre review archive, StageAgent show listing, Wikipedia production summary