Good Old Fashioned Wedding Lyrics - Beetlejuice

Song Overview

Review and Highlights

Quick summary

1. Placement - late Act II burst that follows the pact to stop an exorcism and precedes the Netherworld runaround.
2. Function - Beetlejuice’s mock-celebration turns into a murder threat when his plan collapses.
3. Style - comic patter meets rock pit-band punch; calypso side-glances linger from the franchise’s DNA.
4. Recording status - not on the standard 2019 Original Broadway Cast album; commonly heard via fan videos and lyric sites.
5. Continuity - tees up the chase that flips the scene into the Netherworld sequence.

Creation History

The musical’s score is by Eddie Perfect, with direction by Alex Timbers and music producing by Matt Stine across the Broadway development. The number sits in the stretch where Act II accelerates - a satirical, high-tempo vignette scored to feel like a party that’s about to go off the rails. It was omitted from the commercial cast album release, likely for pacing and spoiler reasons, but it remains a fixture of stage performances.

Song Meaning and Annotations

Plot

Beetlejuice has forced Lydia into a sham engagement to stop the exorcism of the Maitlands. The moment Lydia flips the script and bolts into the Netherworld, Beetlejuice snaps, vowing to kill the rest of them. The song is his gleefully sour victory lap that’s really a threat - a party chant weaponized.

Song Meaning

It’s a satire of coercion and predatory “romance,” puncturing the idea of a sugary wedding with jokes about age gaps and “un-deading.” The mood swings from comic brashness to panic as the ensemble reacts. Underneath the gags sits a character tell - Beetlejuice wants legitimacy and visibility, and when that’s denied, he lunges for control. The style fuses Broadway patter with rock stomp and tongue-in-cheek vaudeville, echoing the franchise’s love of carnival and calypso textures.

Annotations

“With some dancing and un-deading”

He’s framing resurrection like a reception - the “un-deading” nods to his belief that marriage will restore his life status.

“And the age gap will be upsetting”

A blunt jab at the Lydia-Beetlejuice mismatch. Earlier drafts reportedly doubled down with a faux-foreign lyric - wisely cut - which tells you how far the writers were willing to push the satire before reeling it to something sharper and less gratuitous.

“When I finally say ‘I do’ ... I’ll be boring just like you”

Onstage, he’s literally drawing the Netherworld door as he sings. The line’s sneer undercuts a craving to belong - he mocks “boring” normalcy while trying to force his way into it.

“Oh boy, I’m on my way!”

He raps the door three times - the classic Beetlejuice summon cadence - turning a wedding beat into a portal gag.

“BJ’s getting married-”

He stalls to let Lydia “say goodbye,” a fake-out that lets her maneuver. Comedy buys plot time.

“Hey Beetlejuice, I’m going to the Netherworld!”

Lydia dives between the Maitlands and the door and jumps - a bait-and-switch she telegraphs in plain speech. It’s her first clean, proactive power play in this stretch.

“Classic bait and switch! Oldest trick in the book!”

She mirrors Beetlejuice’s earlier manipulation, flipping his words back at him - a mini-arc in two lines.

“Lydia! No!”

Charles follows her; the door slams on Beetlejuice and the Maitlands. That slam is the fuse for his next beat - rage masked as party chant.

“Why does everyone keep leaving me?”

The laugh line lands like a bruise. It threads back to betrayals and absences in his backstory, and the show lets that wound peek out before the chase kicks in.

“Today!”

Button line to launch chaos - he chases whoever’s left, the set spins, and we’re in the Netherworld for the next number. Snapshot storytelling by way of drum fill.

Genre and feel

Call it Broadway rock with sides of vaudeville snark. The pit band pushes a straight-ahead backbeat; lyrics sprint in patter bursts; the chorus pops like a toast raised in bad faith. According to NME magazine’s long-view on the film’s pop shadow, the franchise’s calypso and carnival lean still colors the stage tone - a party that’s always a little haunted.

Emotional arc

Start - cocky and transactional. Middle - Lydia’s feint, door slam, wounded ego. End - weaponized cheer. The music never slows to grieve; it accelerates, which makes the threat funnier and nastier.

Touchpoints

Fans trace the song’s black-comic DNA to the film’s famous possession dinner and calypso centerpiece; as stated in the 2019 Tony season coverage, the stage score riffs across pop idioms while carrying the Burton-Elfman macabre grin.

Key Facts

• Artist: Original Broadway Cast of Beetlejuice
• Featured: None
• Composer: Eddie Perfect
• Producer: Matt Stine (music producing - Broadway production)
• Release Date: April 25, 2019 (stage premiere context)
• Genre: Broadway rock, comic patter
• Instruments: Rhythm section, guitars, reeds/woodwinds, keys
• Label: N/A for standalone track (not on the 2019 OBC album)
• Mood: manic, satirical, threatening
• Length: Short stage number (under two minutes in most productions)
• Track #: 8 on the fan-circulated set Beetlejuice Apocrypha
• Language: English
• Album: Beetlejuice Apocrypha (non-album track grouping; stage use only)
• Music style: brisk patter over rock backbeat with carnival color
• Poetic meter: mixed, trochaic pulses in patter sections

Canonical Entities & Relations

• Eddie Perfect - composed and wrote lyrics for the musical.
• Alex Timbers - directed the Broadway production.
• Scott Brown - co-wrote the book of the musical.
• Anthony King - co-wrote the book of the musical.
• Matt Stine - served as music producer on the production team.
• Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures - produced the musical on Broadway.
• Beetlejuice (character) - antagonist singing the number.
• Lydia Deetz (character) - counterpart who undercuts the “wedding.”
• Adam and Barbara Maitland (characters) - endangered by the exorcism thread.

Questions and Answers

Where does the song sit in the show’s story?

Late Act II, immediately after Lydia’s forced engagement gambit and just before the Netherworld sequence.

Why does Beetlejuice want the wedding?

Marriage lets him bypass the “say my name” rule and live freely among the living - he’s after agency and attention.

Why isn’t it on the commercial cast album?

It’s brief and spoiler-heavy; many shows leave out short narrative bumpers to preserve pacing and plot surprises.

What musical tools sell the joke?

Patter lyrics, a party groove, sudden button lines, and hard scene turns that yank the set into motion mid-celebration.

How does Lydia flip the power dynamic?

She mirrors Beetlejuice’s trickery, announces the feint, then jumps through the Netherworld door before he can pivot.

Is the age-gap gag just shock?

No - it’s a satirical wince pointed at coercion and predation, undercut by Lydia’s agency in the very next beat.

Does this song appear in other media?

It’s specific to the stage musical; there’s no equivalent cue on the 1988 film soundtrack and no single release.

Any notable covers or remixes?

Unofficial covers circulate online; there’s no widely recognized commercial cover tied to the show’s releases.

What number follows it?

The story drops into the Netherworld and rolls into “What I Know Now” after the chase burst.

Awards and Chart Positions

The song itself was not released as a commercial single and has no chart history. The musical that houses it earned multiple high-profile nominations and wins across its Broadway run. Select highlights:

Additional Info

The Broadway cast album dropped digitally in June 2019 and helped propel the show’s online footprint. A separate demos set, Beetlejuice - The Demos! The Demos! The Demos!, arrived October 30, 2020, collecting Eddie Perfect’s developmental recordings - a behind-the-scenes mirror to moments like this song’s snarky sprint.

Sources: Playbill; Tony Awards; New York Theatre Guide; Wikipedia; Spotify; YouTube.