Lucy Meets Jekyll/ Heres to the Night Lyrics
Lucy Meets Jekyll/ Heres to the Night
LUCYS' not every day me friends and I
'as gents like you just droppin' by.
Before you go,
you'll know just why you came here!
JEKYLL
Of that, my dear, I've little doubt.
One only has to look about.
It's not too hard to figure out
the game here!
And yet I sense: there's more to you
LUCY
You flatter, sir, you really do!
With half a chance ...
JEKYLL
... what would you do?
LUCY
Don't ask me!
Here's to the night! Here's to romance!
To those unafraid of taking a chance!
JEKYLL
I think I've taken enough for one day!
And I have learned to my cost
It's not the fun that it might be
once you have lost!
LUCY
Oh, what a shame! If you only knew
the games we could play, the things we could do!
Yet I can see you're not up to the chase!
But, if you're ever in need:
I am the girl, and this is the place.
Come to me!
JEKYLL
It's getting late - I have to go.
If any time - you never know -
you need a friend ...
LUCY
Doctor Henry Jekyll, 46, Harley Street ...
If any time ... you never know ...
you need a friend ...
Song Overview
A shadow-lit, gin-soaked pub, a doctor miles from his drawing-room comfort, and a street-wise songbird whose vowels are sharpened on survival—that’s the entire playset for Lucy Meets Jekyll. Tucked midway through Jekyll & Hyde: The Complete Work (1994 concept album, released 1995), this duet plays like a velvet foreword to obsession. Frank Wildhorn’s tune leans on smoky piano chords and muted brass slides, while Leslie Bricusse’s song text lets Lucy flirt in Cockney drop-offs and Henry retreat into cautious half-rhyme. It’s a short exchange, yet every note hints at the double life about to explode.
Song Credits
- Featured Performers: Linda Eder (Lucy Harris), Anthony Warlow (Dr. Henry Jekyll)
- Composer: Frank Wildhorn
- Lyricist: Leslie Bricusse
- Producer: Frank Wildhorn
- Album: Jekyll & Hyde: The Complete Work — Track 11
- Release Date: January 24, 1995 (concept recording)
- Genre: Gothic Rock-Broadway
- Length: 2 minutes 48 seconds
- Label: Atlantic Recording Corporation
- Mood: Sultry, wary, foreshadowing
- Instruments: Upright piano, brushed snare, muted trumpet, arco bass, cabaret guitar
- Copyright © 1994 Frank Wildhorn Music / Bricusse Music
Song Meaning and Annotations
Lucy is no ingénue. She sizes up a man like a bookmaker sizes odds. Her opening drawl—“S’ not every day me friends and I /as gents like you just droppin’ by”—is both welcome mat and tripwire. Jekyll responds with awkward courtesy, undercut by a cello line sliding down like spilled port. The duet quickly becomes a chessboard: Lucy nudges a pawn (champagne dreams), Henry blocks with self-denial, yet both linger over the next move.
Musically Wildhorn keeps the melody in a tight, smoky register—perfect for whisper-close microphones but ready to rocket into Hyde’s later ferocity. Notice the way piano triplets shadow Lucy’s spoken asides; they sound like coin clinks on a marble bar. When Henry admits he’s “taken enough for one day,” the harmony pivots from major flirtation to minor misgiving—one semitone, entire daylight gone.
Key Lyric Moments
“And yet I sense: there’s more to you.” Jekyll’s clinical curiosity slips out. A scientist’s hunch, or a lonely man’s wish? Either way, Lucy hears an open door.“Here’s to the night! Here’s to romance! To those unafraid of taking a chance!”Lucy toasts risk while the trumpet ghosts a music-hall fanfare—ironic, because Jekyll’s upcoming “chance” will split his soul. “If any time—you never know—you need a friend…” That address exchange (46 Harley Street) is Chekhov’s calling card. The next visit will be darker, louder, and taken over by Hyde.
Similar Songs
- “Phantom of the Opera” – Sarah Brightman & Michael Crawford (1986)
Both duets pit innocence—or what passes for it—against unknowable obsession. Wildhorn trades Lloyd Webber’s grand organ for speakeasy piano, but the seduction-edge-of-danger vibe matches note for note. - “A Dangerous Game” – Linda Eder & Robert Cuccioli (1997 Broadway cast)
Later in the same score, Lucy tangles with Hyde instead of Jekyll. Think of “Lucy Meets Jekyll” as the candlelit preface and “A Dangerous Game” as the arson aftermath. - “No Good Deed” – Idina Menzel (2003, Wicked)
Different witch, same thesis: good intentions morph when you toy with moral chemistry. Both songs expose the thin thread between healer and harm-bringer.
Questions and Answers
- Why isn’t this duet in later stage versions?
- Subsequent rewrites folded its exposition into “Sympathy, Tenderness” and dialogue. Purists miss the flirtatious setup; directors favor tighter pacing.
- What vocal ranges are required?
- Lucy sits in a mezzo sweet-spot (A3–D5) with belty ornaments, while Jekyll rests in lyric baritone (B2–F4) with moments of tenor-lifted intensity.
- Does Wildhorn quote Victorian parlor music?
- Briefly. The piano vamp echoes 1890s music-hall, then slips into modern pop-musical chord substitutions—period color without museum dust.
- Is Lucy manipulating Jekyll?
- Yes—and no. She’s marketing survival, but also sensing genuine kindness. Dual motives mirror Jekyll’s dual self, a neat literary echo.
- Any notable live performances?
- Linda Eder revived the duet in her 2002 Carnegie Hall concert, praising it as “the little scene that started the storm.” Fans still beg for it at her shows.
Awards and Chart Positions
- The concept album reached No. 16 on Billboard Top Cast Albums (1995)
- “Lucy Meets Jekyll” earned cult-favorite status among Linda Eder’s concert staples, though it never charted separately
Fan and Media Reactions
“Three minutes of vocal chemistry so thick you could bottle it.” —Theatre blog, 2010
“That last humming ad-lib? It’s Lucy writing her phone number in sound.” —Podcast Musical Geek-Out
“Wildhorn’s minor-to-major slips are the musical equivalent of a wink across the bar.” —YouTube commenter @DarkAlchemy
“Eder’s Cockney diphthongs could cut glass; Warlow’s gentlemanly tremor sweeps up the shards.” —London cabaret review, 1998
“Why wasn’t this kept in the Broadway edit? We crave foreplay!” —Twitter fan thread, 2024