If I Could Tell Her Lyrics – Dear Evan Hansen

Song Overview

Review and Highlights

I’ve always heard this one as the show’s quiet card trick. The lyric pretends to quote Connor; the scene really reveals Evan. Piano carries the weight, acoustic guitar pricks the air like a nervous heartbeat, and Platt’s phrasing walks a tightrope between blurting and restraint. Laura Dreyfuss answers with light, wary lines that keep the moment from tipping into fantasy. It’s a pop-ballad frame shaped by theater instincts: verse details, chorus lift, a final spill of feeling that stops just shy of confession.

Highlights

• Stealth confession: Evan’s “quotes” about Zoe double as his own unsent love note.
• Character-first writing: Specifics like the “indigo streaks” and “scribble stars” land because they feel observed, not invented.
• Hook with a catch: The refrain “If I could tell her” promises release that never comes. That tension is the point.
• Album context: Arranged to sit after “Requiem,” it pivots the Murphy family’s grief into private intimacy, setting up Act 1’s larger lie.

Creation History

Recorded for the Atlantic-issued Dear Evan Hansen (Original Broadway Cast Recording), tracked December 2016 in New York and released digitally on February 3, 2017. Producers on the cast album include Alex Lacamoire, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, with Atlantic’s Pete Ganbarg also credited on the commercial release; Broadway producer Stacey Mindich is listed as a co-producer on certain editions. A 2021 film version re-stages the scene for Ben Platt and Kaitlyn Dever, keeping the song’s whisper-close staging intact.

Song Meaning and Annotations

Plot

Evan visits the Murphys, finds Zoe alone, and tries to comfort her. Because he’s already claimed a friendship with her brother Connor, he “remembers” things Connor supposedly said about her. The stories are tender and exact. They’re also Evan’s. He can’t tell her directly, so he hides inside Connor’s voice and lets his own feelings leak out.

Song Meaning

It’s a study in substitution. The lyric borrows a brother’s authority to smuggle in a crush’s truth. Dramatically, it shows how a lie can feel like help: Zoe gets words she needed; Evan gets to say what he’s never dared. Musically, a mid-tempo pop ballad spine keeps everything buoyant while the vocal rub between hesitancy and lift mirrors Evan’s internal tug-of-war.

Message, mood, context

• Message: Love that can’t be said will find other shapes. Here, it wears a mask.
• Mood: Soft-urgent. Intimate, a little breathless, hopeful with a crack of guilt.
• Context: Coming after public mythmaking, the song zooms to a private room where myth becomes a tool.

Annotations

“He thought you were awesome.”

Early drafts reportedly used “beautiful,” but “awesome” feels truer to a brother’s register and keeps Evan’s ventriloquism believable. It also lets Evan avoid saying I too soon.

“There’s nothing like your smile… You never knew how wonderful that smile could make someone feel.”

The specificity is Evan’s fingerprint. He’s catalogued Zoe’s mannerisms for ages. He frames them as Connor’s memories so Zoe will accept them without suspicion.

“Whenever you get bored you scribble stars on the cuffs of your jeans.”

That tiny image does heavy lifting. It builds a private history quickly, like a snapshot album in one line.

“He kept it all inside his head / What he saw he left unsaid.”

Subtext siren. Evan describes Connor but outs himself. The song keeps folding Connor’s silhouette over Evan’s outline until they’re nearly the same shape.

“If I could tell her… but we’re a million worlds apart.”

The chorus rides a classic pop progression while the lyric stalls. It wants catharsis; it chooses caution. That’s Evan’s whole operating system.

“You looked really pretty, er—”

The mask slips. For a beat the music feels like a skipped heartbeat. He nearly says it as himself, then retreats to the script.

“How do you say ‘I love you’?”

By the time he repeats it, he’s no longer “quoting.” He’s confessing in plain view, trusting Zoe won’t notice the shift because she needs a brother’s benediction more than a stranger’s crush.

Genre, rhythm, instrumentation

Pop-ballad writing shaped by musical theater storytelling: steady 4/4 pulse around the low 90s bpm, piano-led with acoustic guitar arpeggios, light pads, and strings entering like breath. The build is incremental, never explosive, matching a narrative that refuses to burst.

Symbols and idioms

• The Smile: shorthand for belonging. Evan points at it because he wants to be inside whatever it means.
• “Million worlds apart”: a galaxy-sized excuse. A way to keep risk at bay.
• Connor’s ventriloquism: the show’s thesis in miniature - performance as protection, and as harm.

Key Facts

• Artist: Ben Platt & Laura Dreyfuss
• Composer/Lyricists: Benj Pasek & Justin Paul
• Producers (album): Alex Lacamoire, Benj Pasek, Justin Paul; with Pete Ganbarg for Atlantic and co-producer Stacey Mindich on certain releases
• Album: Dear Evan Hansen (Original Broadway Cast Recording)
• Label: Atlantic Records
• Release Date: February 3, 2017
• Length: 4:09
• Genre: Musical theater pop ballad
• Key & Tempo (recording): E major, ~96 bpm
• Instruments (arr.): Piano, acoustic guitar, light strings, bass, drums
• Track # on album: 6
• Language: English
• Mood: intimate, cautious, yearning
• Music style: contemporary pop with theater narrative focus
• © Copyright: 2017 Atlantic Recording Corporation / Autumn Smile Broadway LLC

Questions and Answers

Who produced “If I Could Tell Her” for the cast album?

It appears on the Dear Evan Hansen cast album produced by Alex Lacamoire, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, with Atlantic’s Pete Ganbarg credited and Stacey Mindich listed as a co-producer on certain editions.

When was it released?

February 3, 2017 (digital release of the cast album; physical editions followed later that month).

Who wrote it?

Music and lyrics by Benj Pasek & Justin Paul.

Does the song appear in the film adaptation?

Yes. The 2021 movie features Ben Platt with Kaitlyn Dever as Zoe; the sequence keeps the scene’s hush while reblocking for the screen.

What key and range should singers expect?

The OBC recording sits in E major around 96 bpm. Licensed sheet music commonly offers multiple keys, including a “Platt key” in A and options in E or D for different voice types.

Awards and Chart Positions

• Album peak: Dear Evan Hansen (OBC) debuted at No. 8 on the Billboard 200 in February 2017 - the highest debut for a cast album since 1961.
• Grammy: Best Musical Theater Album at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards (2018).
• Certification: RIAA Gold for the cast album, March 2019.

How to Sing “If I Could Tell Her”

• Range & keys: The OBC cut centers in E major for tenor; licensed charts often include A (the “Platt key”), E, and D to suit different voices.
• Breath strategy: Treat verses as one-breath thoughts but release on line ends; save full support for the rising “If I could tell her” entries.
• Onset & tone: Use gentle onsets and a conversational color; the first chorus should feel closer to spoken truth than belted release.
• Dynamics: Build in half-steps - verse soft, pre-chorus glow, chorus warm not loud. The final “I love you” should taper, not explode.
• Acting beats: Mark the slip on “You looked really pretty, er—” as a break in the mask; by “How do you say ‘I love you’?” move from quoting to owning it.
• Tempo feel: Mid-tempo ~96 bpm; sit a hair behind the beat to keep the confessional hush.

Additional Info

• Film cut: Re-recorded for the 2021 movie with Ben Platt and Kaitlyn Dever; an official soundtrack upload exists alongside the scene clip.
• Covers & language versions: Numerous YouTube covers; Brazilian Portuguese renditions circulate as “Se Eu Contasse.”
• Album credits snapshot: Orchestrations by Alex Lacamoire; the cast album tracked in December 2016 and released by Atlantic Records.