Human Again Lyrics
Human Again
Lumiere:Ha ha, we, my friends.
The day we have waited for may be at hand!
Mrs. Potts:
Oh, only if that were true,
Lumiere!
Lumiere:
Aaah...human again
Mrs. Potts:
Human again
Lumiere:
Yes, think of what that means!
Lumiere:
I'll be cooking again
Be good-looking again
With a mademoiselle on each arm
When I'm human again
Only human again
Poised and polished and gleaming with charm...
I'll be courting again
Chic and sporting again
Mrs. Potts:
Which should cause sev'ral husbands alarm!
Chip:
I'll hop down off the shelf
Lumiere:
And tout de suite be myself
Chip:
I can't wait to be human again
Mme De La Grande Bouche, Mrs. Potts, Babette:
When we're human again
Only human again
When we're knickknacks and whatnots no more
Chip:
Little push, little shove
They coul, whoosh fall in love
Mme. De La Grande Bouche:
Ah, chérie, won't it all be top-drawer
I'll wear lipstick and rouge
And I won't be so huge
Why, I'll easily fit through that door
I'll exude savoir-faire
I'll wear gowns! I'll have hair!
It's my prayer to be human again
Cogsworth:
When I'm human again
Only human again
When the world once more making sense
I'll unwind for a change
Lumiere:
Really? That'd be strange!
Cogsworth:
Can I help it if I'm t-t-tense?
In a shack by the sea
I'll sit back sipping tea
Let my early retirement commence
Far from fool made of wax
I'll get down to brass tacks and relax
All:
When I'm human again
So sweep the dust from the floor!
Let's let some light in the room!
I can feel, I can tell
Someone might break the spell
Any day now!
Lumiere/Babette:
Shine up the brass on the door!
Alert the dustpail and the broom!
All:
If all goes as planned
Our time may be at hand
Any day now!
Mrs. Potts, Egg Timer, Whisk:
Open the shutters and let in some air
Mrs. Potts:
Put these here and put those over there
All:
Sweep up the years
Of sadness and tears
And throw them away!
Belle:
When Guinevere heard that Arthur was slain,
she went away to a convent, and no one could
make her smile again. The end.
Beast:
What a beautiful story
Belle:
Oh, I knew you would like it!
I would like to ask you something
Beast:
What's that?
Belle:
A second chance. Would you have dinner with me tonight?
Beast:
Huh? Me? You? Well, that would be,
I mean -- Oh, yes!!
All:
When we're human again
Only human again
When the girl fin'lly sets us all free
Cheeks a-bloomin' again
We're assumin' again
We'll resume our long lost joie de vivre
We'll be playin' again
Holiday' again
And we're prayin' it's A-S-A-P
When we cast off this pall
We'll stand straight, we'll walk tall
When we're all that we were
Thanks to him, thanks to her
Coming closer and closer
And closer and...
We'll be dancing again!
We'll be twirling again!
We'll be whirling around with such ease
When we're human again
Only human again
We'll go waltzing those old one-two-threes
We'll be floating again!
We'll be gliding again!
Stepping, striding as fine as you please
Like a real human does
I'll be all that I was
On that glorious morn
When we're fin'lly reborn
And we're all of us human again!
Song Overview
Personal Review
“Human Again” is the castle’s heartbeat finally speaking up. The lyrics carry a house full of hopes - dustpan jokes, brass polish, and a countdown to freedom - while Alan Menken’s waltz sets the room in motion. If you need one snapshot: the objects spy romance budding upstairs and start planning their return to skin and breath, a tender comic montage with a real ache underneath.
Song Meaning and Annotations
This is desire made domestic. The ensemble dreams out loud about bodies - hair, gowns, tea by the sea - and about order returning.
“I’ll be cooking again, be good-looking again… When I’m human again.”The waltz feel keeps it buoyant, but the subtext is serious: they crave agency, not just a good shine.
The lyric flips chores into ritual.
“Shine up the brass on the door… Alert the dustpail and broom.”Work becomes a spell of its own, a way to sweep out years of fear and make room for a future. The humor - “expectorating,” “brass tacks,” antlers elsewhere in the show - frames longing without letting it sag.
The number sits at the hinge of the story.
“Someone might break the spell any day now.”Onstage it’s a bustling montage between “Something There” and the ballroom turn, and in the 2002 restored film cut it literally bridges that time passage, showing rooms brightening as feelings settle in.
The piece lets each object name what they miss.
“I’ll wear lipstick and rouge and I won’t be so huge.”A joke, yes, but also a body-memory - weight, gait, breath. That specificity is why it lands with families and choirs; everyone recognizes a small human wish tucked inside the rhyme.
Even the banter has a pulse.
“Really? That’d be strange.”Cogsworth’s fussiness and Lumière’s warmth sketch a household that bickers to survive. The quips relieve tension while underscoring the stakes: if Belle and the Beast don’t connect, this remains their life forever.
Message
Hope is a muscle.
“When we’re all that we were… on that glorious morn when we’re finally reborn.”The song argues for everyday acts - sweeping, airing a room, setting a table - as the groundwork for transformation.
Emotional tone
Festive but earnest. The comedy sparkles on top, yet the ensemble phrasing softens on words like “prayer” and “finally,” letting the ache show through.
Historical context
“Human Again” was written for the 1991 animated film, then cut because its 11-minute, time-passing structure stalled the plot; Ashman and Menken replaced it quickly with “Something There.” The song returned - tightened - for Broadway in 1994 and was finally animated and inserted into the 2002 IMAX and home-video special edition.
Production
The Original Broadway Cast Recording credits music production to Alan Menken and Bruce Botnick, with Botnick recording, editing, and mixing. Michael Kosarin conducts, with Danny Troob orchestrations and Michael Starobin providing additional orchestration.
Instrumentation
It’s Broadway-scale symphonic: strings, woodwinds doubling, bright brass, harp, percussion, keyboards, and a rhythm section that lets the 3/4 lilt breathe. You hear pit sparkle on the “spring-cleaning” figures and full-company lift in the final waltz swell.
Style fusion
Show-tune waltz with light operetta polish and Disney warmth. The lyric’s patter pockets ride Menken’s waltz cadence - graceful but brisk enough to move furniture.
Key phrases and idioms
Household language - “shine up,” “sweep,” “brass tacks” - doubles as emotional housekeeping. The text keeps the stakes intimate so the spell feels personal, not abstract.
About metaphors and symbols
Light and air as liberation. Windows open, shutters unlatched, and the score brightens with them. The song literalizes “making space” for love - a montage of rooms returning to life.
Creation history
Broadway premiere: April 18, 1994. Cast album released April 26, 1994 on Walt Disney Records, placing “Human Again” as track 16 and cementing the number’s stage-first identity before its 2002 film restoration.
Film placement: in the 2002 special edition, the sequence sits between “Something There” and the ballroom scene, compressing months into minutes with new animation directed by Kirk Wise and Gary Trousdale.
Story detail shift: in the film cut Belle reads “Romeo and Juliet,” while the musical uses Arthurian lore - a neat nod hiding in the dialogue around the number.
Verse Highlights
Opening Strophes
Lumière sets the tone - flirt, flourish, forward motion - and Mrs. Potts grounds it with house wisdom. The ensemble joins, stacking chores into a rally.
Mid-montage
Cogsworth’s “retirement” gag and Chip’s impatience break the pattern, while orchestral filigree keeps the sweep going - busy hands, quick hearts.
Final build
The rhyme density tightens as the floor fills, then the cadence blooms into a toast to tomorrow. Curtain on breath held - then released.
Key Facts
- Featured: Gary Beach (Lumière), Beth Fowler (Mrs. Potts), Heath Lamberts (Cogsworth), Susan Egan (Belle), Terrence Mann (Beast), Barbara Marineau, Stacey Logan, Brian Press, and ensemble.
- Producers: Alan Menken, Bruce Botnick. Recording, editing and mixing by Bruce Botnick.
- Composer: Alan Menken. Lyricist: Howard Ashman.
- Release Date: April 26, 1994 - the cast album on Walt Disney Records.
- Genre: Show tune - Broadway waltz.
- Instruments: strings, woodwinds, brass, harp, keyboards, percussion, rhythm section - conducted by Michael Kosarin; orchestrations by Danny Troob with additional by Michael Starobin.
- Label: Walt Disney Records. Mood: anticipatory, celebratory. Language: English. Track #: 16.
- Length: approximately 5:28 on the OBCR.
- Music style: triple meter waltz; composition commonly cited in G major, 3/4 time.
- Film history: written for the 1991 film, cut for pacing, restored for the 2002 IMAX and home-video special edition.
- Language adaptations: notable translations include “Humain à nouveau” and “Humano otra vez.”
- © Copyrights: © 1994 Walt Disney Music Company; ? 1994 Buena Vista Pictures Distribution, Inc.
Questions and Answers
- Where does “Human Again” sit in the show and on the cast album?
- It appears in Act Two as track 16 on the Original Broadway Cast Recording, a montage moment between “Something There” and the ballroom sequence.
- Why wasn’t it in the original 1991 film release?
- The number originally ran about 11 minutes and signaled months passing, which created narrative problems; the team replaced it with the shorter “Something There.”
- When did audiences finally see it animated in the movie?
- Disney added a newly animated “Human Again” sequence for the 2002 IMAX special edition and subsequent DVD releases.
- Who led the Broadway performance forces in the pit?
- Michael Kosarin conducted the orchestra, with orchestrations by Danny Troob and additional orchestration by Michael Starobin.
- Is the musical’s study-reading moment the same as in the film?
- No - the 2002 film version uses “Romeo and Juliet,” while the stage version nods to Arthurian tales.
Awards and Chart Positions
The Original Broadway Cast Recording was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album and certified Gold by the RIAA on December 7, 2000. While “Human Again” was not released as a standalone charting single, the cast album’s recognition underscores the number’s place in the score’s popularity.