I Can See It Lyrics - Fantasticks, The

Song Overview

Review & Highlights

“I Can See It” lands in Act II of The Fantasticks like a flare in the night - a restless, propulsive duet that pits appetite against warning. Hearing Kenneth Nelson & Jerry Orbach trade lines, the lyrics turn into a map of consequences. It’s a travel song disguised as a cautionary tale, a pep talk with a bruise under the eye. If you came here for the lyrics, you’ll also catch the scene’s tug-of-war: Matt’s hunger to bolt and El Gallo’s sly, worldly shrug.

Personal take: the track is the score’s engine. “Try to Remember” gets quoted most, sure, but “I Can See It” is where the show’s idea - the price of growing up - stops being theory and starts swinging elbows. The piano hammers, the harp shimmers like heat off asphalt, and Orbach’s baritone keeps tugging the leash while Nelson’s bright sound leans into the future. You can practically smell the bus exhaust.

Plot-wise, the number is an inflection point. Matt wants out. El Gallo, ever the charming fox, says go ahead - learn what fire feels like. The duet works because it’s not a clean yes or no. It’s a dare.

Verse 1

Nelson opens with a gleam-in-the-eye promise, the road calling his name. The harmonic bed stays simple so the words do the running. You hear the kid right before the leap.

Chorus

When both voices lock on “Let me learn,” the chords go from eager to edged. That little harmonic glare - it’s the smoke signal that the world bites back.

Exchange/Bridge

Orbach slips in the hard facts - glitter burns - and the accompaniment punches in short, percussive figures, like footsteps speeding up.

Final Build

The last ascent stacks hope on top of hazard. Big vowels, long lines, then the cut-off - exactly the way a door sounds when it closes behind you.

Song Meaning and Annotations

The song’s message is baked into its dialogue - curiosity versus caution. It sets the dramatic stakes for Act II: the rush of leaving home and the bill that comes after.

“Beyond that road lies a shining world”

That one line carries the whole thesis. Matt is intoxicated by distance. We’ve all been there - the first yes to something we don’t understand yet.

Musically it’s a hybrid: classic show tune bones with a driving, almost folk-pop pulse, piano front and center with harp filigree that feels like sunlight on glass. The rhythm never fully relaxes - it keeps pushing Matt forward.

“That pretty little world that seems delightful - can burn!”

El Gallo’s reply reframes the key: same road, different weather. He’s not blocking Matt; he’s warning him that spark comes with ash.

The emotional arc starts bright-eyed and tilts darker. The number begins as a promise, then shows its teeth. This is where the show stops flirting and starts telling the truth.

“Let me learn”

That refrain is a manifesto. It isn’t defiance for its own sake - it’s the only way the boy becomes someone who knows.

Culturally, The Fantasticks is a strange, durable phenomenon: a minimalist Off-Broadway musical that outlived fashions and buildings. The duet is part of the reason - it’s the American road itch in four minutes.

“Sirens singing”

Myth slips in here. The sirens aren’t just danger; they’re curriculum. You study them by surviving them.

Message

Grow up the hard way - by contact. “I Can See It” tells you that knowledge isn’t handed over, it’s scarred in.

“Make me see it! Make me feel it!”

Consent to the lesson. That’s the scary brilliance of the lyric - the student asks for the difficult teacher.

Emotional tone

From buoyant to bracing. Even when the melody soars, the accompaniment keeps its jaw set, reminding you what waits outside the village.

“Those lights not only glitter”

One of those neat Jones turns - glitter and fire in the same breath. Symbols with a fuse attached.

Historical context

Premiered Off-Broadway in 1960 with Orbach and Nelson, the show became the longest-running musical in history, earning a Tony Honors in 1991. The recording that captured this duet was cut for MGM Records the same summer.

“Return!”

Ha - the joke is that you don’t, not quite. You go out and come back changed, which is the whole engine of The Fantasticks.

Production

Original musical direction and arrangements by Julian Stein - piano at the center, with Beverly Mann on harp adding that shimmering edge. The small band creates intimacy, making the lyric feel like a conversation pressed close.

“Who knows - maybe”

Hope, but with a wobble. The line sits on the knife between fantasy and fact.

Instrumentation

Piano does the heavy lifting, harp colors the highs, and the voices do the storytelling. No orchestra to hide behind - which keeps the number honest.

“I can hear it”

The sirens become inner sound. The tug is inside the kid now - not out in the bay.

Key phrases and idioms

“Shining world,” “sirens,” “burn” - three images that move from postcard to warning label in real time.

“Don’t lie to me!”

By the end, Matt wants the whole picture, not the brochure. That’s growth in a single demand.

Metaphors and symbols

Road as future, lights as lure, fire as tuition. The duet flips each symbol so you see both sides, like a coin turning in the air.

“Make me a part of it”

Not a spectator anymore - a participant. That’s the graduation moment.

Creation history

The song is by lyricist Tom Jones and composer Harvey Schmidt, first performed by Kenneth Nelson and Jerry Orbach in the original Off-Broadway production and captured on the Original Cast Album recorded June 13, 1960 for MGM Records. Later, it appeared in the 1995 film adaptation (released 2000) and on the 2006 Off-Broadway revival album with Santino Fontana and Burke Moses.

Key Facts

• Featured: Kenneth Nelson - Matt; Jerry Orbach - El Gallo
• Producer: Lore Noto; associate producers Dorothy Olim, Sheldon Baron
• Composer: Harvey Schmidt; Lyricist: Tom Jones
• Release Date: 1960 - Original Cast Album; recording date June 13, 1960
• Genre: Musical theatre - show tune
• Instruments: piano, harp, small ensemble
• Label: MGM Records - catalog SE-3872-OC
• Mood: aspirational, cautionary
• Length: 4:07 (Original Cast recording as currently issued digitally)
• Track #: 11 - The Fantasticks (Original Cast Album)
• Language: English
• Album: The Fantasticks - Original Cast Album (MGM Records)
• Music style: intimate pit-band sound, brisk 4 feel with folk-pop lift
• Poetic meter: largely iambic clauses with emphatic anacrusis in refrains
• © Copyrights: © 1960 MGM Records - sound recording; © 1960 Tom Jones & Harvey Schmidt - composition

Questions and Answers

When did Kenneth Nelson & Jerry Orbach first record “I Can See It”?

June 13, 1960, for MGM Records’ Original Cast Album of The Fantasticks.

Who wrote the song?

Harvey Schmidt composed the music and Tom Jones wrote the lyrics.

Is “I Can See It” used in screen versions?

Yes - it appears in the Michael Ritchie film adaptation, shot in 1995 and released in 2000.

Which notable artists have covered it?

Barbra Streisand cut it for her 1965 album My Name Is Barbra; Betty Buckley recorded it in 2012; the 2006 Off-Broadway revival album features Santino Fontana with Burke Moses.

Where does the song sit in the show’s story?

Act II - a hinge scene where Matt chooses the wider world while El Gallo underlines the cost.

Awards and Chart Positions

The Fantasticks received the Tony Honors for Excellence in Theatre in 1991, and its original Off-Broadway run set the longevity record with 17,162 performances. While “I Can See It” wasn’t a chart single, Barbra Streisand’s album My Name Is Barbra - which includes the song - was a major seller of 1965 and earned her a Grammy for Best Female Vocal Performance.

How to Sing I Can See It?

Ranges and roles matter here. Matt is typically tenor or high baritone - A2 to G4. El Gallo sits baritone - Ab2 to G4. That split is the whole game: bright lift against grounded grain.

Tempo lives in a driving 4 feel. Keep breath low and phrases long - the line “Make me see it!” needs space to land. Consonants do a lot of the storytelling, so energize them without clipping the vowels.

For Matt, anchor the climb with forward placement; think “smile in the mask” to keep the top from spreading. For El Gallo, keep the core relaxed and the onset clean - authority without bark. Trade-offs in the duet need contrast: one voice chasing the horizon, the other shading the roadside.

Practical notes: mark the rests of the call-and-response so your entries feel like decisions, not reactions. And don’t overcook the button - the number’s power is velocity, not volume.