The Whole ‘Being Dead’ Thing Pt. 4 Lyrics - Beetlejuice

Song Overview

Review and Highlights

Quick summary

1. Late Act II stinger that collides with Barbara’s exorcism and forces Lydia into a marriage bargain.
2. Functions as a bite-sized reprise of Beetlejuice’s brand - snark, menace, crowd work - now weaponized.
3. Transitions directly into the mock-celebration of “Good Old-Fashioned Wedding.”
4. Not on the 2019 commercial cast album and rarely issued as a standalone track.
5. Typical staging: Beetlejuice taunts, Lydia breaks, the door to the Netherworld becomes the next move.

Creation History

The musical’s score is by Eddie Perfect, developed with director Alex Timbers and the Broadway team as the show moved from D.C. to New York. This compact cue tightened the stakes around the exorcism sequence, teeing up the forced-wedding plot that powers the next scene. It remained a stage-only beat - a narrative button rather than a commercial song cut.

Song Meaning and Annotations

Plot

During Delia and Otho’s botched intervention, Lydia reads a passage from the Handbook that she thinks will reunite her with her mother. It instead starts killing Barbara. Beetlejuice crows about outplaying everyone, then corners Lydia into agreeing to marry him so he will halt the exorcism. The cue ends on her desperate consent.

Song Meaning

This is the show’s moral fork. The lyric frames Beetlejuice as a chaos salesman who uses grief as leverage. The music snaps like a reprise - quick, punchy, half celebration and half threat - while the scene exposes the cost of shortcuts. Tonally, it braids Broadway patter with rock-band drive and a carnival edge the franchise is known for.

Annotations

“Hey guys, awesome seance”

Lydia thinks she is casting a reunion spell. The line rubs salt in that misunderstanding - a victory lap as Barbara’s life drains.

“In your faces!”

Stage business often has Beetlejuice pointing at the room to own the moment. It is taunt-as-comedy, which keeps the tension bright and ugly.

“The pooch has been screwed”

A blunt idiom for total screwup. It underlines that the ritual cannot be cleanly undone without Beetlejuice’s cooperation.

“I don’t have a choice”

Lydia’s pivot. She started the exorcism. She takes the guilt on the chin and trades autonomy for Barbara’s safety.

“You wanted your mom”

He weaponizes the lie that lured her into the spell, twisting longing into consent - a classic coercion beat in the show.

“You messed with the wrong book”

The Handbook is a running gag and a loaded prop. Here, it is the trap - and Beetlejuice knows the fine print.

(“Barbara screams”)

The audio sting that pushes Lydia to say yes. The cue is short because the decision is fast.

Genre and feel

Broadway rock with vaudeville bite. Fast setup, sharp rhymes, a drum-fill style button. The patter energy keeps the scare playful until it is not.

Emotional arc

Start - Beetlejuice gloating. Middle - Lydia’s guilt cracks through. End - bargain struck, lights snap to the next scheme.

Touchpoints

The scene links three anchor moments: the exorcism, the forced-wedding bargain, and the leap toward the Netherworld chase. Tradecraft-wise, it is a hinge - a narrative connector that primes the next number without lingering.

Key Facts

• Artist: Original Broadway Cast of Beetlejuice
• Featured: Lydia, Barbara, ensemble dialogue
• Composer: Eddie Perfect
• Producer: Broadway production music team
• Release Date: April 25, 2019 stage context
• Genre: Broadway rock, comic patter
• Instruments: Rhythm section, guitars, keys, reeds, ensemble vocals
• Label: Not issued on the standard 2019 cast album
• Mood: taunting, urgent
• Length: under 1 minute on most recordings
• Track #: Appears as a non-album stage cue in Beetlejuice Apocrypha lists
• Language: English
• Album: Beetlejuice Apocrypha (fan-compiled context)
• Music style: reprise fragment with hard scene turn
• Poetic meter: mixed, patter-forward

Canonical Entities & Relations

• Eddie Perfect - composer-lyricist of the score.
• Alex Timbers - Broadway director shaping pacing and transitions.
• Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures - lead producer on Broadway.
• Beetlejuice - character delivering the taunt and leverage.
• Lydia Deetz - character who agrees to marry Beetlejuice to stop the exorcism.
• Barbara Maitland - character being exorcised during the cue.

Questions and Answers

Where does this cue sit in the story?

Late Act II, during Barbara’s exorcism, right before the mock-wedding sequence kicks off.

Why is it not on the commercial album?

It is a short narrative hinge with heavy spoilers. Many albums skip brief transitional cues.

How does it affect Lydia’s arc?

It forces a choice under pressure, clarifying her guilt and resolve while setting up her later jailbreak.

What musical tricks sell the moment?

Patter taunts, tight band hits, a hard button line that launches the next scene without a breath.

Does it quote music from earlier in the show?

Yes - it echoes Beetlejuice’s signature rhythms and attitude so the threat feels branded and immediate.

What number follows?

“Good Old-Fashioned Wedding,” Beetlejuice’s giddy turn to celebration and mayhem.

Any official single or chart history?

No. It is a stage-only interlude with no single campaign.

Awards and Chart Positions

This specific cue has no chart footprint. The Broadway production that houses it earned multiple 2019 nominations, including Best Musical and Best Original Score, and picked up design honors that season.

Additional Info

New York Theatre Guide’s song-by-song overview lines up the late-Act II flow, noting that Beetlejuice pressures Lydia into the marriage to stop the ritual. The Wikipedia synopsis also maps this exact domino run. It is a clean example of how the show uses short musical tags to propel big plot turns. As stated in roundups of the score’s development, Perfect often uses brisk reprises to thread story beats without pausing momentum.

Sources: New York Theatre Guide; Wikipedia; YouTube; Tony Awards; Outer Critics Circle.