That Beautiful Sound Lyrics
Beetlejuice, Lydia and EnsembleThat Beautiful Sound
[BETELGEUSE, spoken:]Do you hear that sound
[*GIRL SCOUT screams*]
[LYDIA, spoken:]
That beautiful sound
[*GIRL SCOUT screams*]
[BETELGEUSE:]
That is the sound, of clean, white, shorts turning brown
Torture and pain
[*GIRL SCOUT screams*]
[BETELGEUSE (GIRL SCOUT, spoken):]
Breaking a brain (This is so weird!)
A sound that says I will never sleep well again
[*GIRL SCOUT screams*]
[LYDIA:]
The sound of a scream, is music to me
A sound that says fifteen years full-time therapy
[BETELGEUSE:]
Trauma and fear, it sings in my ear
[BETELGEUSE & LYDIA:]
Ain't it the sweetest noise around, that beautiful sound
[*doorbell sounds*]
[BETELGEUSE, spoken:]
Ooh! Someone's at the door
[LYDIA, spoken:]
You wanna answer it this time?
[BETELGEUSE, spoken:]
More than anything!
[LYDIA, spoken:]
Don't oversell it, act natural
[BETELGEUSE, spoken:]
Come on, you're giving me advice?
[U.S. CENSUS BUREAU GUY, spoken:]
Hello, I'm with the U.S. Census Bureau, time for a few -- OH MY GOD!
[BETELGEUSE, spoken:]
Hi
[U.S. CENSUS BUREAU GUY, spoken:]
How many people live here?
[LYDIA, spoken:]
Just me
[U.S. CENSUS BUREAU GUY, spoken:]
Ohh, and you?
[BETELGEUSE, spoken:]
I don't live here, I'm dead
[*U.S. CENSUS BUREAU GUY screams*]
[BETELGEUSE (LYDIA):]
Panic and stress (Panic and stress)
Oh ain't it the best (ain't it the best)
The sound of heart (heart)
Ex-exploding inside a chest (exploding inside a chest)
[LYDIA:]
It fills you with pride
[BETELGEUSE:]
We're ruining lives
[BETELGEUSE & LYDIA:]
Ain't it the sweetest noise in town, that beautiful sound
[BETELGEUSE, spoken:]
Hey! You know what would make all this even more awesome?
[LYDIA, spoken:]
What?
[BETELGEUSE, spoken:]
More me!
[BETELGEUSE, sung:]
All we wanna do is hear that sound
All we wanna do is hear that sound
Fellas!
[ALL BETELGEUSES:]
All we wanna do is hear that sound
All we wanna do is hear that sound
All we wanna do is hear that sound
All we wanna do is hear that sound
All we wanna do is hear that sound
All we wanna do is hear that sound
[*doorbell rings*]
[BETELGEUSE, spoken:]
Ooh, ooh, somebody's at the door; alright, let's make some more people scream!
[DELIVERY MAN, spoken:]
Package for Deetz
[BETELGEUSE, spoken:]
You know overnight delivery cost extra
[LYDIA, spoken:]
What a rip off
[*doorbell rings*]
[BETELGEUSE, spoken:]
Ohh! Okay, okay - shh!
[PIZZA DELIVERY MAN, spoken:]
Pizza for Deetz
[LYDIA, spoken:]
Hey, what'd you order?
[BETELGEUSE, spoken:]
Pepperoni, mushrooms and snakes!
[PIZZA DELIVERY MAN, spoken:]
Snakes?
[*doorbell rings*]
[BETELGEUSE, spoken:]
Ugh, holy moly, a lot of people come to this house, lights!
[NEXT DOOR NEIGHBOR, spoken:]
Hello?! New neighbors?! I brought you a pie?! It's from the store! Oh I don't see anything -- Aah!
[BETELGEUSE, spoken:]
Hi there, ahahaha! Hey Lydia, check this out--
Dance break!
Lady, you're forgetting something!
[NEXT DOOR NEIGHBOR, spoken:]
My pie!
[BETELGEUSE (OTHER BETELGEUSES):]
Yes I hear that sound (Yes, we do)
[LYDIA (OTHER BETELGEUSES):]
That beautiful sound (Yes, we do, it's beautiful)
A sound that means
No more condescending adults
Hanging around
[BETELGEUSE:]
Every groan
[BETELGEUSE & LYDIA:]
Each wail and each moan
Adds up to Daddy's leavin'-
[LYDIA (BETELGEUSES):]
Me the hell alone!
Hey look at me hey (We're looking at you girl)
I'm finally free (You're finally free girl)
I was invisible (She was invisible)
[ALL BETELGEUSES & LYDIA:]
But now they all see
[LYDIA:]
They're out of my grill
Because of that
[ALL BETELGEUSES & LYDIA:]
Shrill symphony
Ain't it the
Sweetest noise around
That beautiful sound (That sound)
Sound (That sound)
Sound (That sound)
Sound
That beautiful sound
That beautiful sound
That beautiful sound
That beautiful sound
Song Overview

Review and Highlights

Quick summary
- Mid-Act 2 banger that pairs Lydia with the bio-exorcist for a gleeful scare spree.
- Recorded by Alex Brightman and Sophia Anne Caruso with company on the Original Broadway Cast Recording, released digitally June 7, 2019.
- Built around a call-and-response hook and a cloning gag where extra Beetlejuices flood the scene.
- Connects directly to the prior scene with the Girl Scout and escalates from pranks to full slapstick.
- On streaming services the track serves as the show’s rowdiest earworm, often used in promos and fan edits.
Creation History
When Ghostlight partnered with Warner for the cast album rollout, pre-order promotions led into the June 7, 2019 digital release, with CDs and vinyl following later. The show’s team also issued an official music video edit titled simply “Beautiful Sound,” cut from Broadway footage to showcase the number’s controlled chaos. The album’s broader campaign helped push the production into heavy online circulation, especially after awards season put a spotlight on the score.
Song Meaning and Annotations

Plot
Fresh off “Girl Scout,” Lydia and Beetlejuice discover they make a lethal comedy team. They ring up scares at the door, bait delivery guys, and torment the neighbors while Lydia tastes agency and Beetlejuice multiplies himself for maximum mayhem. The chorus lands as a manifesto: fear is their instrument, and tonight they play it loud.
Song Meaning
It is a duet about power and attention. For Beetlejuice, screams are currency. For Lydia, they are proof she is finally seen. The trick of the lyric is how it turns a wicked joke into a snapshot of teenage hunger for control. The noise is catharsis, but it also papers over the grief still sitting in the house.
Annotations
"[Girl Scout screams]"
A direct bridge from the previous number. Sky’s scream confirms the tonal pivot from pity to prank while slyly subverting the setup that her heart might give out.
"That is the sound, of clean, white, shorts turning brown"
Crude and effective. The show leans into gross-out humor so the audience has permission to laugh at fear rather than freeze under it.
"Don’t oversell it, act natural" / "Come on, you’re giving me advice?"
Bantery status game. Lydia plays coach for a beat, then Beetlejuice snaps the crown back. Their dynamic is a ping-pong of confidence.
"More me!" then the clone chorus
The stage fills with extra Beetlejuices, a meta-gag about attention addiction. The echo chant doubles as a rhythm engine for the dance break.
"No more condescending adults hanging around"
Lydia names the win. The noise is not just chaos - it clears space from meddling grown-ups so she can breathe.

Style, production, instrumentation
A pumped pop groove in bright F major with snare pops, punchy brass, and stacked gang vocals. Stops and doorbell stings play like sketch-comedy buttons. The arrangement invites staged bits: face snakes, pie-in-face, and lights out scares timed to percussion hits.
Key Facts
- Artist: Alex Brightman, Sophia Anne Caruso, Beetlejuice Original Broadway Cast Recording Ensemble, Kurt Deutsch, Eddie Perfect
- Composer & Lyricist: Eddie Perfect
- Producers (album): Kurt Deutsch, Eddie Perfect, Alex Timbers, Matt Stine
- Release Date: June 7, 2019
- Genre: Pop, Broadway musical
- Instruments: Rhythm section, brass, reeds, keys, ensemble voices
- Label: Ghostlight Records with Warner Records
- Mood: Rowdy, giddy, subversive
- Length: about 5:15
- Track #: 13 on the Original Broadway Cast Recording
- Language: English
- Music style: Pop showstopper with comedy interludes
- Key & Tempo: F major at roughly 179 BPM
Canonical Entities & Relations
Eddie Perfect - wrote music and lyrics - architects the scare-celebration duet |
Alex Brightman - performs Beetlejuice - originator on Broadway cast album |
Sophia Anne Caruso - performs Lydia - originator on Broadway cast album |
Ghostlight Records - released digital album June 7, 2019 |
Warner Records - distribution partner for the release |
Beetlejuice - Broadway musical context - multiple Tony nominations in 2019 |
Questions and Answers
- Where does the number sit in the story?
- Early in Act 2, after “Girl Scout,” it tilts the night toward outright mischief and bonds Beetlejuice with Lydia over shared chaos.
- Why does the hook land so hard?
- The lyric is pure onomatopoeia joy and the track keeps adding bodies and bits, so the final chant feels like a parade.
- Is there an official audio upload?
- Yes - the album cut appears in a “Provided to YouTube” upload through Ghostlight’s distribution pipeline.
- Is there a video cut built from stage footage?
- Yes - the show shared a short “Beautiful Sound” video edit to spotlight the sequence’s gags and crowd energy.
- Did international productions adapt it?
- Brazil’s production retitled it “A Forca do Som,” keeping the screaming-as-music gag with local flavor.
- How does it tie into Lydia’s larger arc?
- She treats fear like a lever that gets adults out of her space. The thrill is real, but it is also a dodge from grief.
- Any musical easter eggs?
- Doorbells and blackout hits are timed like sketch comedy tags. The clone chant lets the ensemble function as a rhythm section.
Awards and Chart Positions
Awards context: The Broadway production earned eight Tony nominations in 2019, including Best Musical and Best Original Score for Eddie Perfect. While individual tracks did not chart, the cast album became one of the most streamed Broadway releases of its season and quickly crossed major streaming milestones.
How to Sing That Beautiful Sound
At a glance: Key F major, tempo near 179 BPM. Think punchy pop with clean patter. Comedy sells when diction is crisp and the rests are honored.
- Tempo & feel: Lock a driving 4 with buoyant backbeat. Keep energy high without rushing the call-and-response bars.
- Diction: Hit consonants on scare words (panic, stress, heart) while sustaining vowels through the chorus stack.
- Character split: Beetlejuice rides swagger and sudden asides; Lydia sharpens the tone with deadpan bite before loosening into the chant.
- Breath map: Top up before the clone chant and the final “beautiful sound” repeats so the finish stays bright.
- Staging beats: Time doorbells, screams, and blackouts to musical hits. If you add prop gags, rehearse them to bar counts.
- Mic craft: Keep steady distance on shouts, step back a half-hand for gang vocals to avoid crowding the mix.
- Pitfalls: Overselling the belt, muddying the patter, and missing the rests that set up punchlines.
Additional Info
The cast album’s rollout in early June 2019 used pre-order drops and quick-turn content to juice awareness. Streaming traction snowballed, and by early 2020 the album smashed through 200 million streams in the US, helping the show’s numbers live far beyond the Winter Garden and Marquis runs. Internationally, licensed productions leaned into local jokes, including Brazil’s “A Forca do Som,” which keeps the spirit of the original while tweaking references for regional audiences.
Sources: Ghostlight Records; TheaterMania; Playbill; Tony Awards; BroadwayWorld; Tunebat; YouTube; Amazon.