What Do You Do with a B.A. in English? Lyrics — Avenue Q

Song Overview

Written as Princeton's first big spotlight moment, Avenue Q's "What Do You Do with a B.A. in English?" lyrics introduce a comic "I just graduated and now what" song that sits right at the heart of the 2003 musical. The setup is brisk - a fresh degree, no useful plan, New York rent staring him in the face - and the music moves with bright Broadway snap, piano-led momentum, and a slightly frazzled smile. The craft is sharp: conversational phrasing, simple rhymes, and a hook that sounds almost too neat for the mess it describes. That tension is the whole point. The number lands because it turns post-college panic into a joke you can sing on the walk home.

Review and Highlights

This song does a hard job and makes it look easy. It has to introduce Princeton, define the show's comic worldview, and kick off the theme of purpose before the ensemble crashes in. So the writing wastes no time. The title itself is the hook and the thesis. One line in, you know the problem: education has delivered status, not direction.

Musically, the number plays like a jaunty Broadway complaint. It is light on its feet, but there is a little sting under the grin. Princeton is not tragic. He is stranded. That difference matters. According to Music Theatre International, Avenue Q follows twenty-somethings seeking purpose in big-city life, and this song is the cleanest first expression of that hunt. It sounds cheerful because panic is funnier when dressed for graduation.

Key Takeaways:

• The song introduces Princeton's crisis in one memorable title phrase.
• Its comedy comes from the gap between academic effort and market reality.
• The writing uses quick speech-rhythm and plain language instead of ornate theater poetry.
• It works both as character setup and as the musical's first statement of purpose.

Avenue Q (2003) - opening character song - presentational rather than strictly diegetic. It arrives at the start of Act I, right after "The Avenue Q Theme," as Princeton enters with his degree and his creeping sense that he may have been sold a dud. On the original Broadway cast recording, it is paired with "It Sucks to Be Me" as track 2. Why it matters: it turns one character's complaint into the show's social thesis - adulthood is not a finish line, it is a slightly broken sidewalk.

Creation History

Avenue Q was created by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx, with a book by Jeff Whitty, first opening on Broadway in July 2003 after its Off-Broadway run. Playbill's release coverage and the Masterworks Broadway catalog place "What Do You Do with a B.A. in English?" on the 2003 original Broadway cast recording, where it appears fused with "It Sucks to Be Me" as track 2. That pairing makes sense. Princeton starts alone, asking the big useless question, and the neighborhood answers by telling him everybody else is miserable too. It is tidy stage architecture. The song's whole design points forward to the larger idea that purpose is hard to find and easy to oversell.

Lyricist Analysis

The meter leans toward conversational speech-rhythm more than strict classical scansion, though you can hear a strong iambic and anapestic push in the title phrase depending on performance stress. That wobble helps. Princeton sounds like a real person trying to sing his way through a thought, not a marble bust reciting verse. The lyric uses anacrusis well - little lead-in syllables that tumble into the beat - which creates the feeling of someone already behind on life.

The rhyme work is clean and intentionally pop-friendly. That gives the song a kind of undergraduate neatness, which fits the character. Phonetically, the repeated plosives in words like "B.A.," "bills," and "be" give the hook a bright tap at the front of the mouth, while the sibilants soften the self-pity so it never curdles. Prosodically, the natural word stress usually lines up with the musical pulse, which is why the title is so easy to remember. Breath economy stays compact. Princeton sounds keyed up, mildly desperate, and still trying to appear presentable. Very graduate-school panic. Very funny.

Song Meaning and Annotations

Plot

Princeton, a recent college graduate, arrives in New York looking for an apartment and some idea of what his degree is supposed to do for him. The song captures that hinge moment between school and life. By the end of the number, he has not solved anything. He has simply named the problem. In a musical built around purpose, that is enough to get the engine running.

Song Meaning

The meaning is blunt: credentials do not guarantee direction. Princeton has done the respectable thing, earned the respectable degree, and still finds himself standing in the street asking a question nobody can answer for him. That is the joke, and also the bruise under the joke. The mood is upbeat, but the context is economic and existential. As stated in Music Theatre International's synopsis, the show follows young adults seeking their purpose in city life. This song turns that mission into a punchline before the rest of the musical starts arguing with it.

Annotations

What do you do with a B.A. in English?

The title line works as thesis, refrain, and self-own. It is funny because it sounds like a practical question, but there is no practical answer waiting behind it. The degree becomes a symbol for deferred usefulness.

What is my life going to be?

That second question widens the frame. This is not really about one major. It is about the terrifying stretch after school when every choice suddenly feels ungraded and permanent.

Four years of college and plenty of knowledge have earned me this useless degree

The joke lands because the phrasing is so tidy. He lists time, effort, and achievement, then drops "useless" like a trapdoor. That swing from pride to collapse is classic Avenue Q writing.

Genre-wise, the number blends Broadway character-song structure with the directness of a comic pop lament. The rhythm moves quickly, almost restlessly, which mirrors Princeton's darting thought process. Historically, the song hit a nerve in the early 2000s because it spoke to a generation raised on "follow your dreams" language while facing expensive cities and fuzzy job prospects. It still travels for the same reason. Degrees change. The panic stays recognizably human.

Lyrical Themes

The central themes are aimlessness, underemployment, self-definition, and the awkward moment when merit stops giving clear instructions. There is also a sly critique of the way education gets marketed - as if knowledge and stability naturally arrive as a package deal.

Production and Instrumentation

The arrangement is brisk and theater-tight, driven by piano and ensemble support from the pit. It does not linger. It behaves like a thought spiraling in real time, which is exactly what the scene needs.

Idioms, Symbols, and Tone

The degree itself is the main symbol. It is both achievement and burden. The tone stays bright because Princeton is still at the stage where he thinks this crisis might be solvable with enough sincerity. Poor guy. That optimism is part of the comedy.

Technical Information (Quick Facts)

• Song: What Do You Do with a B.A. in English?
• Artist: Avenue Q
• Featured: Princeton; Original Broadway Cast on recording
• Composer: Robert Lopez; Jeff Marx
• Producer: Jay David Saks
• Release Date: October 7, 2003
• Genre: Show tune; musical theatre; comedy
• Instruments: Voice; piano; pit-orchestra accompaniment
• Label: RCA Victor
• Mood: anxious; witty; upbeat
• Length: commonly issued on album as part of the combined track with "It Sucks to Be Me"
• Track #: 2 on the original Broadway cast recording, paired with "It Sucks to Be Me"
• Language: English
• Album: Avenue Q (Original Broadway Cast Recording)
• Music style: Broadway character song with comic patter edge
• Poetic meter: speech-rhythm with mixed iambic and anapestic drive

Frequently Asked Questions

Who sings "What Do You Do with a B.A. in English?" in the show?

Princeton sings it as his first major solo moment, though the cast recording pairs it directly with the ensemble number "It Sucks to Be Me."

What is the song about?

It is about post-college uncertainty - the ugly little gap between finishing school and figuring out how that education fits real life.

Why did this song connect so strongly with audiences?

Because the complaint is specific but the fear is universal. Plenty of people have stared at a diploma and still felt lost.

Is this song separate on the cast album?

On the original Broadway cast recording, it is combined with "It Sucks to Be Me" as track 2 rather than issued as a separate track there.

Does the song set up the rest of Avenue Q?

Yes. It frames Princeton's search for purpose, which becomes the musical's running argument from beginning to end.

Who wrote it?

Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx wrote the music and lyrics, while Jeff Whitty wrote the book for the show.

Is the number comic or serious?

Both. The delivery is bright and funny, but the idea underneath it is bleak enough to sting.

Is it aimed only at English majors?

No. The degree is a comic detail, but the bigger subject is the mismatch between effort, expectation, and adult reality.

Did the song itself win awards?

No song-specific award for this number turned up in reliable records, but the score for Avenue Q won the 2004 Tony Award for Best Original Score.

What vocal qualities help the song work?

Clear diction, quick thought-to-thought phrasing, and a lightly exasperated tone help more than sheer power.

Awards and Chart Positions

No reliable source surfaced a stand-alone chart run for this song by itself. The recognized honors belong to the musical and its cast recording.

Additional Info

• Playbill's release notice prints the cast album track list with this number folded into track 2, which is a small detail but a telling one. The song is a launch pad, not a sealed little single.
• Musicnotes lists the published sheet music in Bb major with a vocal range of Bb3 to D5, a solid fit for a bright tenor-baritone character song.
• The song has a reprise near the end of the musical, sung by a newcomer. That callback is sly and a little cruel. Princeton's crisis is not special. It is cyclical.
• According to Playbill's score-release coverage, the number stayed part of the complete published score after the show's Broadway success, which says a lot about how central it is to the musical's architecture.

Key Contributors

How to Sing What Do You Do with a B.A. in English?

This one is more about attitude and timing than brute force. Musicnotes lists the published key as Bb major with a vocal range from Bb3 to D5, which means the notes are manageable for many singers. The real trick is sounding like you are thinking on your feet while still nailing the rhythm.

1. Set the tempo first. Start at a medium pace, then edge upward until the lyric feels conversational but alive. Too slow and the joke sags.
2. Speak the text before singing it. This song depends on thought flow. Mark where Princeton pivots from confusion to sarcasm to worry.
3. Keep diction crisp. The title phrase has to pop cleanly every time. Consonants do half the comic work.
4. Use compact breaths. Short phrases help the song sound mildly panicked. Do not overfill and bulldoze the line.
5. Aim for bright placement. A forward, speech-like tone keeps the character youthful and restless.
6. Do not oversell the misery. The writing is funny because Princeton still believes an answer might exist. Save the heavier despair for later songs.
7. Watch the top notes. The D5 should feel like an extension of speech, not a dramatic event.
8. Rehearse the transition into ensemble texture. If you are performing the combined album-style cut with "It Sucks to Be Me," the handoff in energy matters as much as the solo itself.

Practice materials: Bb major piano-vocal sheet music, metronome work for text precision, and spoken-text drills are the most useful tools here.

Sources

Data verified via Music Theatre International synopsis and song list, Playbill cast-album release coverage, Masterworks Broadway catalog notes, Tony Awards records, Grammy reporting, and sheet-music reference data from Musicnotes. Video reference checked against the official YouTube upload indexed by Masterworks Broadway.