You And Me (But Mostly Me) Lyrics — Book of Mormon, The

Song Overview

Review and Highlights

Quick summary

1. Act I duet for Elder Price and Elder Cunningham, written as a bright mission pep-talk.
2. Appears right after assignment news, before Uganda changes the rules of the game.
3. Built as a comic buddy-cop dynamic: one dreamer, one eager shadow.
4. Its hook is self-flattery disguised as teamwork, a key character tell for Price.

The Book of Mormon (2011) - stage musical - diegetic. Early Act I, as the pair accepts a shared posting. The number works like a handshake and a résumé at once: it bonds the duo while quietly showing that Price is auditioning for sainthood in his own head.

The craft is sly. The melody glows with classic Broadway confidence, the sort of forward-leaning tune that makes you think everything will go according to plan. Then the lyric keeps tilting: cooperation, yes, but on a smaller plate. That tilt is the engine of the scene. As stated in the 2011 Rolling Stone review of the cast album, the score is tuned to spotlight both the jokes and the tunefulness, and this duet is a clean example of that balancing act.

Creation History

The song was developed for the show’s original leading men and locked into the cast recording sessions in New York in March 2011, with the album released later that spring. It was shaped to sound effortlessly sunny while slipping in character friction, and the recorded arrangement keeps the diction crisp so the punchlines land without slowing the tempo.

Song Meaning and Annotations

Plot

Elder Price believes he is destined to be a headline-making missionary, while Elder Cunningham is thrilled to be chosen as a partner. The duet is their first real self-definition as a unit. It sounds like unity, yet it keeps revealing a hierarchy: Price narrates the future; Cunningham applauds from the passenger seat.

Song Meaning

At its core, the number is about ambition dressed up as fellowship. Price sells a vision of changing the world, but he also needs a witness. Cunningham supplies the witness, the warmth, the constant yes. The humor is not just in the ego, it is in how perfectly the music frames ego as inspirational leadership.

Annotations

"You and me - but mostly me."

The slogan is the mission statement and the confession. In one breath, it claims partnership, and in the next it draws a line between the hero and the helper. The show does not argue with the line here - it lets later scenes do that work.

"Every hero needs a sidekick!"

This is the duet’s guiding metaphor. It borrows pop storytelling logic, which fits Cunningham’s worldview, but it also reveals Price’s need for a supporting role to make the lead role feel real.

"I can do most anything."

Confidence becomes a rhythm. The lyric rides the beat like a marching cadence, turning self-belief into choreography. That is why the song can sound uplifting even when the subtext is self-regard.

Genre and rhythm

The writing fuses musical-comedy brightness with patter-like clarity, powered by a brisk tempo that keeps the dialogue moving. It plays like a training-room anthem, but the harmony and phrasing leave space for Cunningham’s eager interjections, which is where the scene breathes.

Emotional arc without the sentimentality

Price starts in certainty and stays there, which is the point: the song is less about change and more about diagnosis. Cunningham, meanwhile, sings with the relief of belonging. Two different needs, one melody - and the mismatch is the comedy.

Technical Information

• Artist: Josh Gad, Andrew Rannells (Original Broadway Cast)
• Featured: Original Broadway Cast ensemble (as applicable in stage context)
• Composer: Trey Parker; Robert Lopez; Matt Stone
• Producer: Stephen Oremus; Trey Parker; Robert Lopez; Matt Stone
• Release Date: May 17, 2011
• Genre: Musical theatre; musical comedy
• Instruments: Orchestra; rhythm section; ensemble vocals
• Label: Ghostlight Records
• Mood: Bright; driven; comic braggadocio
• Length: 2:43
• Track #: 3
• Language: English
• Album: The Book of Mormon: Original Broadway Cast Recording
• Music style: Contemporary Broadway pastiche with classic show-tune polish
• Poetic meter: Iambic-leaning lines with patter-style variations and internal rhyme

Questions and Answers

What is the dramatic job of the duet?

It locks in the partnership while revealing that Price thinks of the partnership as a platform.

Why does the song sound so traditional?

Classic Broadway brightness sells confidence, which makes the ego twist funnier and sharper.

Is Cunningham being mocked?

Not as a target - more as the perfect mirror for Price. His eagerness makes the imbalance visible.

What is the key comedic device in the lyric writing?

Reframing teamwork language as self-praise, then snapping back to a polite duet texture.

How does the arrangement support character?

Price gets the long-line declarations; Cunningham gets quick, supportive answers that function like applause.

Does the number foreshadow later conflict?

Yes. It implies that belief and leadership are the same thing, a claim the story later tests hard.

Why has it become popular for auditions?

It offers clear acting beats, comic timing, and brisk phrasing that show personality fast.

What makes it tricky to perform well?

It demands clean diction at speed while keeping the charm light, not forced.

Is it meant to be sung as a pure comedy song?

Comedy is the wrapper. The duet also plays as a sincere pledge, which keeps it theatrical rather than sketch-like.

What is the line that carries the character thesis?

The hook that claims unity while grabbing credit is the whole portrait in miniature.

Awards and Chart Positions

The song is best known as an album track, but the cast recording around it became a bona fide pop-chart event. The Book of Mormon: Original Broadway Cast Recording climbed to No. 3 on the Billboard 200 in June 2011, a rare showing for a Broadway album. The recording later won the 2012 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album, and industry lists have also cited a US gold certification for the cast album.

How to Sing You and Me (But Mostly Me)

Most singers treat this as a tenor-leaning comic duet, and practice libraries often label it for baritone or tenor use. Tempo markings in widely shared audition materials place it around quarter note equals 152, which means breath planning matters as much as notes.

1. Tempo first: Speak the lyric in rhythm at performance speed. If consonants blur, slow down and rebuild.
2. Diction: Bright vowels, crisp plosives, and clean final consonants. Comedy dies when the words smear.
3. Breathing plan: Mark quick catch-breaths after shorter phrases, not before the big declarations.
4. Rhythm and groove: Keep the pulse steady, especially when the lyric feels like dialogue. Do not push ahead of the beat to sound excited.
5. Character contrast: Price sings like he is presenting a life plan. Cunningham sings like he is grateful to be included. Make that contrast audible.
6. Accents and turns: Land the self-crediting hook with a slight lift, not a shout. Let the orchestra do the heavy lifting.
7. Ensemble awareness: In staged versions, leave space for reactions. Micro-pauses can read as leadership, not hesitation.
8. Mic and placement: Aim for a forward, speech-like placement on the fast lines, then open into a more sung tone for longer phrases.
9. Pitfalls: Overplaying the joke, swallowing endings, and turning excitement into strain.
10. Practice materials: Work with a clean piano track in your chosen key, then rehearse once without accompaniment to prove internal time.

Additional Info

There is no released film adaptation of the stage musical as of late 2025, though creators and press reports have periodically floated the idea. That matters for this song because it is built for the stage: it relies on the visible power dynamic, the shared space, and the audience catching the hook as a character tell in real time.

In audition culture, the duet has a second life. Services sell cut-down packets and accompaniment tracks, and singers use it as a compact way to show comic timing plus fast phrasing. According to Playbill reporting about the cast album’s commercial run, the recording’s mainstream traction helped move these songs from theatre circles into everyday listening, which is how a duet like this becomes a standard.

Key Contributors

Sources: Playbill, Billboard, GRAMMY.com, Apple Music, Ghostlight Records, CS Music accompaniments