And the Money Kept Rolling In Lyrics - Evita

Song Overview

Review and Highlights

I hear this cut as the musical’s sharpest satire. The groove snaps like a parade drumline while the lyrics sell a raffle of hope. Che leans in with salesman charm and razor irony, praising a foundation that spreads cash and, just maybe, loses track of where it lands. It’s catchy by design, a carnival bark over a disciplined pit band.

Highlights

• Call-and-response architecture: Che sets up the pitch, the ensemble chants “rolling,” and the machine hums. The form mirrors a fundraising drive that feeds on its own momentum.
• Hook as hammer: the repeated “rolling” turns from party chant into indictment. Repetition becomes the case against itself.
• Character work through style: brisk march, bright brass, and patter writing frame Che as both emcee and prosecutor.
• Key takeaway: charity, image, and power blur when the scoreboard is measured in smiles instead of books.

Creation History

The song first appeared on the 1976 studio concept album, then on the Premiere American Recording made in July 1979 for the Broadway production. Mandy Patinkin leads as Che on the original Broadway cast set, with René Wiegert conducting. The number later reappears in the 1996 film adaptation, sung by Antonio Banderas, and in subsequent London and Broadway revival albums.

Song Meaning and Annotations

Plot

We’re in Act 2, post-ascent. Che narrates how the Eva Perón Foundation showers favors and rushes paperwork. The crowd chants its gratitude. Rumors about missing funds flare and fade. The point is not proof, Che suggests, but optics: the happy faces, the televised benevolence. The cycle runs until it can’t.

Song Meaning

At heart, it’s a study in political show business. The song frames generosity as spectacle, tracking how a leader’s aura can bend scrutiny. Message and mood pull against each other - jubilant music, skeptical text - to keep us off balance. Context matters too: the country’s poverty, the power vacuum, the hunger for miracles.

Annotations

“Now you may feel it should have been a voluntary cause”

The annotation points to accusations that donations weren’t always freely given. Che needles that tension without naming names, letting the rhythm do the nudging.

“Guaranteed a good time now”

A dry promise. The note reminds us “guaranteed” reads as sales patter here, not policy.

“She will change your way of life for a week or even two… Name me anyone who cares as much as Eva Perón!”

This highlight asks the blunt question: is a short burst of relief change, or just a holiday with cameras? The annotation calls that out and refuses to let the glow distract.

“Accountants only slow things down, figures get in the way”

The note flags that financial records do exist. The lyric’s swagger says more about impatience with oversight than the absence of it.

“Thank God for Switzerland… Oh, what bliss to sign your checks as three-oh-one-two-seven!”

The annotation traces how later productions often trimmed this “Swiss bank” stanza as scholarship complicated early caricatures. That edit history itself tells a story: the show has evolved as the Peróns’ legacy has been re-examined.

Style and instrumentation

Uptempo duple time with a hint of Latin march, pit brass punching accents, strings gluing transitions, drum kit and snare pushing the street-parade feel. Che’s verses sit in patter territory; the chorus goes chant-like to imitate a crowd.

Language, symbols, subtext

• Raffle imagery: cards thrown in the air stands in for clientelism - chance wrapped as opportunity.
• “Happy, grateful looks”: the lyric reduces accountability to optics. A photo op is treated as proof.
• Switzerland and numbers: the bank-code gag caricatures secrecy, then dares you to laugh along.

Key Facts

• Artist: Mandy Patinkin with Original Broadway Cast of Evita
• Composer: Andrew Lloyd Webber
• Lyricist: Tim Rice
• Producers: Andrew Lloyd Webber, Tim Rice
• Conductor: René Wiegert
• Release Date: July 1979
• Label: MCA Records
• Genre: Pop musical theatre
• Instruments: pit orchestra - brass, strings, woodwinds, drum kit, percussion, guitar, keyboards
• Mood: exuberant, taunting, satirical
• Length: about 2:04
• Track #: 16 on the 1979 cast album
• Language: English, with Spanish choral fragments
• Album: Evita (Original Cast Recording)
• Music style: brisk march-inflected showstopper with call-and-response chorus
• Poetic meter: patter-heavy lines with anapestic kicks over steady 2/4

Questions and Answers

Who produced “And the Money Kept Rolling In (And Out)” on the original Broadway cast album?

Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice.

When was it released?

1979, as part of the Premiere American Recording of Evita.

Who wrote it?

Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, lyrics by Tim Rice.

What’s the song’s function in the show?

To dramatize how philanthropy, propaganda, and power feed one another while Che needles the contradictions.

Are there notable versions beyond Broadway?

Yes - the 1996 film soundtrack features Antonio Banderas; later revivals include a 2006 London cast and the 2012 Broadway cast led by Ricky Martin.

Awards and Chart Positions

• Tony Awards 1980: The original Broadway production won Best Musical, Best Book, Best Original Score, Best Actress, Best Featured Actor, Best Direction, and Best Lighting.
• Grammy 1981: The Premiere American Recording won Best Cast Show Album.
• Related chart note: The 1996 film soundtrack featuring this number reached number 2 on the US Billboard 200.

How to Sing And the Money Kept Rolling In (And Out)

• Vocal type: Che is a rock tenor - bright speech-inflected delivery with clean diction.
• Breath strategy: treat each “rolling” loop like a sprint - quick nasal airflow, crisp cutoffs, reset the intent before the next entrance.
• Text over tone: prioritize articulation on consonants without choking the line; the satire lives in the words.
• Ensemble blend: chorus should attack on-beat like a rally chant, then release together so the groove stays tight.
• Character color: keep a smile in the sound for Che - it reads as charm first, menace second.

Additional Info

• Film usage: prominent placement in the 1996 movie, led by Antonio Banderas with full chorus.
• Revival recordings: notable versions include the 2006 London cast and the 2012 Broadway revival led by Ricky Martin.
• Language adaptations: Brazilian productions perform it as “E o Dinheiro Só Faz Girar”.