Up to the Stars Lyrics
Up to the Stars
[NOGUCHI]Marilyn Monroe
When she left the show
Came to my table
Not long ago
Our final scene
Me and Norma Jean
End of the fable
Tag on her toe
When Elvis broke
That earthly tether
I tied together
It'll be in my memoirs
In which I write
I wonder whether
He floated like a feather
Up to the stars
Oh, Natalie Wood
Oh, Natalie won’t
Leave a legend
When she left that boat
Who, when, and why
Did this person die?
Go fish the ocean
Where the answers float
Poor Sharon Tate!
So goddarn scary!
So arbitrary!
It left some nasty scars
But set me straight
These things you bury
It ain't what you carry
Up to the stars, hey!
(Dance break, NOGUCHI scats)
[NOGUCHI]
Once I get you up here
On the stainless steel
I'll take the wheel
And watch us right
Once I get you up here
Where it’s all so real
You can't conceal
What's deep inside
Of you
Ah, dead, dead, dead
Blind, deaf, and dumb
You're just a mummy
So you're mum, mum, mum
Can't make you walk
But I'll make you talk
Tell me what you were
Tell me where you're from
The cause of death
For now, is pending
Soon, I’ll be sending
Off to the lab in jars
Pieces of you
That need some tending
For that happy ending
Up to the-
Truth, when we conceive it
And we believe it
That’s when your story's finally ours
A lofty goal
’Til we achieve it
We'll have to leave it
Up to the stars
Up to the stars
Those shiny stars
Twinkle, twinkle stars!
Song Overview
Song Credits
- Featuring: Thom Sesma
- Producers: David Yazbek & Dean Sharenow
- Writers: David Yazbek & Erik Della Penna
- Release Date: May 2, 2025
- Album: Dead Outlaw (Original Broadway Cast Recording, Part 1)
- Track #: 7
- Genre: Country, Musical Theatre
- Language: English
- Style: Jazz-infused autopsy cabaret
Song Meaning and Annotations
Glitter, Gore, and the Anatomy of Fame
“Up to the Stars” closes the first act of *Dead Outlaw* not with tragedy or triumph, but with a scalpel and swing. Thom Sesma, as the real-life coroner to the stars, Dr. Thomas Noguchi, delivers a flamboyant autopsy-as-aria number that dances across pop culture corpses with morbid glee.Marilyn Monroe / When she left the show / Came to my tableNoguchi isn’t just performing autopsies — he’s curating celebrity exits. Monroe, Elvis, Natalie Wood — all pass through his morgue like fallen angels queued at a velvet rope. Death becomes stardom’s final performance.
It ain't what you carry / Up to the starsHere’s the song’s emotional stinger. In death, the trophies and traumas are discarded. All that’s left is essence — and story. What gets carried “up to the stars” is less forensic and more philosophical.
Ah, dead, dead, dead / Blind, deaf, and dumbThis section is part nursery rhyme, part post-mortem roast. It’s funny until it’s not. The line between carnival and crucifixion blurs as bodies become punchlines and puzzles.
Once I get you up here / On the stainless steelNoguchi’s table becomes a confessional. In this twisted metaphor, the body speaks — not literally, but through clues, scars, remnants. This isn't just medicine. It's narrative necromancy.
Truth, when we conceive it / And we believe it / That’s when your story’s finally oursAnd there it is — the point. What really happened doesn’t matter as much as what people believe. It's a commentary on myth-making, media, and how history gets embalmed with interpretation.
Similar Songs
- "The Worst Pies in London" – *Sweeney Todd*
Like Mrs. Lovett’s grotesque charm, Noguchi mixes morbidity with musicality. Both characters make the macabre oddly mouthwatering — until the bite hits back. - "Epiphany" – *Sweeney Todd*
Another solo descent into obsession, where the tools of death become instruments of power. “Up to the Stars” mirrors this with its glinting scalpel and stardust dream. - "The Schmuel Song" – *The Last Five Years*
Tonally lighter, but similarly obsessed with legacy and time. Both songs ask: what do we leave behind? And who writes our story when we’re gone?
Questions and Answers
- Who is Noguchi in real life?
- Thomas Noguchi was the real Los Angeles County coroner known for autopsying celebrities like Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley. Dubbed “coroner to the stars,” his career inspired both fame and controversy.
- What is the tone of this song?
- It’s both flamboyant and eerie — a jazzy, slightly vaudevillian solo number that dances on the edge of satire and sincerity. Equal parts spectacle and sermon.
- What’s the meaning of “up to the stars”?
- It’s a euphemism for death, but also a metaphor for legacy. Whether through fame, mystery, or myth, the dead rise — not spiritually, but through storytelling and public imagination.
- Why mention Monroe, Elvis, and Sharon Tate?
- They embody tragic celebrity myth. Their deaths became pop-cultural autopsies in their own right — debated, romanticized, sold. Their inclusion blurs the line between the famous and the forgotten outlaw.
- How does this song fit in the show?
- As the act one closer, it zooms out — reframing Elmer’s death as part of a larger pattern. It ties the outlaw’s story into American obsession with celebrity, mystery, and death as entertainment.
Fan and Media Reactions
"Thom Sesma delivers this with Broadway swagger and morgue-side madness. Just brilliant." — Commenter: AutopsyAria
"This song is like CSI: The Musical... set in a jazz club. What a concept." — YouTube User: ForensicFunk
"Every name-drop in this track hit like a stiletto to the heart. Glamorous and grotesque." — TheatreBlog: LightsOutWest
"‘Up to the Stars’ made me laugh, cringe, and stare into the void. Isn’t that peak Broadway?" — Viewer: TwinkleTwisted
"It’s not just about Elmer. It’s about *us*. Our obsession with who dies, how, and why. Chilling." — Review: PlaybillUnderground