I've Got What You Want Lyrics
I've Got What You Want
I've got what you wantI've got what you need
I know how much you want it
Yeh! Yeh! Sanjar!
I know my father would kill me
If he knew
My heart was set, on giving
What i've got to you. Yeh ! Yeh !
I know what i know
You need what i know
What's mine is yours
You know it. Yeh! Yeh! Sanjar!
You just might die
So i will give it to you
And when i give it to you
You'll shout for joy
And so will i !!
Yes, i will give it to you
And when i give it to you
You'll shout for joy
And so will i !!
Song Overview
Review and Highlights
Quick summary
- Work: The Apple Tree (Broadway, 1966), Act Two in the "Lady or the Tiger?" playlet.
- Where it lands: After the lovers are discovered and the arena rules start steering every decision.
- Who sings it: Princess Barbara (Barbara Harris on the original cast recording).
- What makes it tick: A double-meaning patter that sounds flirtatious until you realize it is about power, information, and leverage.
The Apple Tree (1966) - stage musical - Non-diegetic. Princess Barbara turns secret knowledge into a private chant while the story pivots toward the two doors. It matters because the fable stops being about love and becomes about what love makes you do when everyone is watching.
This song is a sly little engine. On first listen it plays like a confident tease, the kind of number a performer can toss off with a smile and a raised eyebrow. But the grin is carrying something heavier: Barbara has just extracted the one thing Sanjar is desperate to know, and the music lets her enjoy the sensation of holding the room by a thread.
The best part is the tonal mismatch. The kingdom is loud, ceremonial, and hungry for spectacle. Barbara, alone, starts sounding like a person who has stepped outside the parade line for ten seconds to think. It is not calm thinking. It is the jittery focus of someone realizing that the difference between "saving him" and "losing him" might be one pointed finger.
Creation History
The score is by Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick, with the show structured as three linked playlets. According to Masterworks Broadway commentary, this number is a standout in the second act, built around a pointed double meaning and sharpened by Eddie Sauter's orchestration. That combination explains the feel: bright surface, sharper edges underneath.
Song Meaning and Annotations
Plot
In Act Two, Captain Sanjar is sentenced to the kingdom's arena trial: he must open one of two doors, one leading to marriage, the other to death. Princess Barbara, in love with him, bargains with the Royal Tiger Keeper (who overlaps with the Balladeer) to learn which door hides the tiger. Having secured that information, she sings to herself as the arena preparations intensify and new complications appear.
Song Meaning
The meaning is uncomfortable on purpose. Barbara is thrilled, terrified, and suddenly powerful. The title line is not only romantic bait, it is the thrill of holding a secret. The song captures the moment when devotion starts looking like control: she has the information he wants, but possessing it does not bring peace, it brings responsibility and a new kind of fear.
Annotations
"I've got what you want."
On its face, it is a flirtation. In context, it is a confession of leverage. The phrasing is simple enough to sound like teasing, which makes it more unsettling when you remember the stakes are life and death.
"I've got what you need."
The shift from "want" to "need" is the tell. Want suggests desire. Need suggests survival. The lyric compresses romance into an emergency, and the music keeps smiling while it does it.
"Yeah, yeah."
That little tag is all attitude, but it also reads like nerves. A performer can play it as swagger, as self-soothing, or as a quick mask before the next wave of doubt hits. It is a tiny acting choice with big payoff.
Style notes: swing, patter, and danger
The number sits in a witty, speech-forward pocket, the kind of theatre writing that rewards crisp consonants. Sheet music listings describe the tempo feel as a jazz waltz with gospel blues color, which fits the song's balancing act: a smooth glide carrying a risky thought.
Technical Information (Quick Facts)
- Song: I've Got What You Want
- Artist: Original Broadway Cast of The Apple Tree
- Featured: Barbara Harris
- Composer: Jerry Bock
- Lyricist: Sheldon Harnick
- Orchestrator: Eddie Sauter
- Music director and conductor: Elliot Lawrence
- Release Date: January 1, 1966 (digital catalog date for the cast recording)
- Genre: Musical theatre
- Instruments: Pit orchestra, solo vocal
- Label: Masterworks Broadway (catalog editions)
- Mood: Playful, tense, calculating
- Length: 2:00
- Track #: 14 (common cast recording sequence)
- Language: English
- Album: The Apple Tree (Original Broadway Cast Recording)
- Music style: Character solo with patter bite
- Poetic meter: Mixed, speech-led theatre prosody
Frequently Asked Questions
- Who sings the song on the original cast recording?
- Barbara Harris performs it as Princess Barbara in the Act Two "Lady or the Tiger?" playlet.
- What is the "want" in the title, story-wise?
- It is the secret of which door hides the tiger, the information Sanjar needs to survive the arena trial.
- Why does the song sound playful if the stakes are deadly?
- The contrast is the point. Barbara is trying to steady herself by turning panic into rhythm and wit.
- Is this a romantic number or a power number?
- Both. The lyric rides romantic language while describing leverage, the moment love starts negotiating with strategy.
- Where does it sit in the Act Two sequence?
- It follows the king catching the lovers and Barbara pressing the Tiger Keeper for the truth, right before the arena complications tighten further.
- Is there a well-known later performance?
- Yes. Kristin Chenoweth performed the number in the 2006 revival and the clip circulates widely among theatre recordings.
- What style feel does the song lean into?
- Sheet music listings describe it as a jazz waltz with gospel blues color, which matches its sly glide and sharp consonants.
- Is it typically sung in auditions?
- Often, yes, especially for performers who can sell comic intention without losing the edge underneath.
- Does it have chart history like a pop single?
- No. Its public footprint comes through cast recordings, revivals, and performance tradition rather than radio charts.
Awards and Chart Positions
This is cast-recording theatre material rather than a chart single, so the measurable milestones attach to The Apple Tree. The original Broadway production earned major Tony recognition in 1967, including a win for Barbara Harris. According to Wikipedia's awards summary and standard Broadway reference records, the show was also nominated for Best Musical.
| Year | Award | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | Tony Awards | Best Musical | Nominated |
| 1967 | Tony Awards | Best Actress in a Musical (Barbara Harris) | Won |
Additional Info
A neat behind-the-scenes detail is how often people cite the orchestration when they talk about this number. Peter Filichia, writing for Masterworks Broadway, calls out Eddie Sauter by name in a wider piece on orchestrators, and it tracks: the song needs a frame that can sparkle without turning sweet, because Barbara is not dreaming here, she is calculating under pressure.
There is also a second-life performance trail. The 2006 revival helped reintroduce the Act Two material to a newer audience, and the Kristin Chenoweth clip has become a reference point for how the song can be played: funny on the surface, restless underneath, like the mind of someone rehearsing a decision that will not stay private.
Key Contributors
| Entity | Type | Relationship |
|---|---|---|
| Jerry Bock | Person | Jerry Bock composed the song for The Apple Tree. |
| Sheldon Harnick | Person | Sheldon Harnick wrote the lyric for the song. |
| Barbara Harris | Person | Barbara Harris performed Princess Barbara and recorded the song. |
| Eddie Sauter | Person | Eddie Sauter orchestrated the number for the production. |
| Elliot Lawrence | Person | Elliot Lawrence served as music director and conductor for the cast recording listings. |
| Masterworks Broadway | Organization | Masterworks Broadway distributes catalog editions and commentary on the recording. |
| Musicnotes | Organization | Musicnotes publishes licensed sheet music listing key and vocal range details. |
How to Sing I've Got What You Want
Reliable sheet music listings put the original published key at F major and the listed vocal range at C4 to F5. That is a friendly window for many light lyric sopranos and high mezzos, but the real challenge is not the notes - it is the intention. This character is thinking fast, pretending she is not.
- Tempo feel first: Treat it like a jazz waltz with a bluesy wink, not a Broadway belt sprint. Keep the pulse steady so the text can skate.
- Diction: Land consonants cleanly, especially the hard endings. The lyric is bargaining, and bargaining needs clarity.
- Breath plan: Take quick, quiet breaths before key idea shifts. Do not over-inhale or you will sound earnest, and earnest is not the vibe here.
- Rhythm and patter: Let the patter ride the beat. If you rush, it becomes nervous. If you drag, it loses its bite.
- Color changes: On "want" versus "need," change the vocal color. Make "want" playful and "need" colder, like the thought just sharpened.
- Act the subtext: Smile with the sound, but keep the eyes (even in audio) on the door. The character is alone, yet the kingdom feels nearby.
- Mic and room: If amplified, stay conversational and let the microphone do the work. If unamplified, keep resonance forward without pushing volume.
- Common pitfalls: Do not over-cute the punchlines, and do not turn the middle into a panic spiral. The tension should flicker, not flood.
Sources
Sources: Masterworks Broadway blog (Second-Acting Your Cast Albums), Masterworks Broadway blog (Lets Hear It for the Orchestrators), Masterworks Broadway album notes (The Apple Tree - 1966), Apple Music track metadata, Discogs tracklist (Original Broadway Cast), Musicnotes sheet music listing, Wikipedia (The Apple Tree), YouTube (auto-generated audio upload), MTI show page