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Gethsemane (I Only Want To Say) Lyrics Jesus Christ Superstar

Gethsemane (I Only Want To Say) Lyrics

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JESUS

I only want to say,
If there is a way,
Take this cup away from me
For I don't want to taste its poison.
Feel it burn me,
I have changed.
I'm not as sure, as when we started.
Then, I was inspired.
Now, I'm sad and tired.
Listen, surely I've exceeded expectations,
Tried for three years, seems like thirty.
Could you ask as much from any other man?
But if I die,
See the saga through and do the things you ask of me,
Let them hate me, hit me, hurt me, nail me to their tree.
I'd want to know, I'd want to know, My God,
I'd want to know, I'd want to know, My God,
Want to see, I'd want to see, My God,
Want to see, I'd want to see, My God,
Why I should die.
Would I be more noticed than I ever was before?
Would the things I've said and done matter any more?
I'd have to know, I'd have to know, my Lord,
Have to know, I'd have to know, my Lord,
Have to see, I'd have to see, my Lord,
Have to see, I'd have to see, my Lord,
If I die what will be my reward?
If I die what will be my reward?
Have to know, I'd have to know, my Lord,

I'd have to know, I'd have to know, my Lord,
Why should I die? Oh why should I die?
Can you show me now that I would not be killed in vain?
Show me just a little of your omnipresent brain.
Show me there's a reason for your wanting me to die.
You're far to keen and where and how, but not so hot on why.
Alright, I'll die!
Just watch me die!
See how I die!
Then I was inspired.
Now, I'm sad and tired.
After all, I've tried for three years, seems like ninety.
Why then am I scared to finish what I started,
What you started - I didn't start it.
God, thy will is hard,
But you hold every card.
I will drink your cup of poison.
Nail me to your cross and break me,
Bleed me, beat me,
Kill me.
Take me, now!
Before I change my mind.

Song Overview

Gethsemane lyrics by Jesus Christ Superstar Original Studio Cast
Ian Gillan delivers the “Gethsemane” lyrics like a private storm you can hear from the rafters.

Personal Review

“Gethsemane” is the rock-opera soliloquy that turns prayer into theatre. The lyrics work like a spotlight - tight, unforgiving - as Jesus negotiates with silence, then concedes. I first heard the Original Studio Cast cut on worn vinyl; the air around the high cry felt charged, like a wire about to snap. This isn’t grandstanding - it’s a man pushing language to find a reason. If you only know the big chorus numbers, the “Gethsemane” lyrics are the show’s spine: doubt, argument, surrender.

Song Meaning and Annotations

Jesus Christ Superstar Original Studio Cast performing Gethsemane
Studio concept energy - theatre recorded like a band in a room.

Style and engine. “Gethsemane” is symphonic rock sung like an aria. The band carries a slow 4/4 with guitar-strings swells; drums mark time like a pulse you can’t quiet. That studio concept ethos - rock players from Joe Cocker’s Grease Band folded into a theatre libretto - is why the track breathes like a live band argument.

Emotional arc. It begins confessional, crests into interrogation, and ends in consent. The lyrics move from “take this cup away” to “alright, I’ll die” in clear steps: doubt, accounting, bargaining, then acceptance. On record you can hear Gillan’s tenor tighten as the questions sharpen.

Dramatic context. This is Gethsemane in the Gospel timeline - the night watch. Rice’s text paraphrases scripture without sermonizing, keeping the human voice up front. The choice to avoid doctrine turns the scene into a showdown between will and fear.

“Take this cup away from me.”

Direct lift of biblical phrasing, but in a rock register; the cup is both symbol and problem to solve.

“Why should I die?”

The shortest question hits the highest roof. Many productions take this line to a climactic top note; the tradition has stuck because theatre loves a dare.

“To conquer death you only have to die.”

A paradox wrapped like a proverb. It reframes victory as surrender - a thesis for the final third of the show.

Performance lineage. On the 1970 concept album, Jesus is Ian Gillan, whose rock tenor set the template; in the 1973 film it’s Ted Neeley; in the 2018 live NBC staging it’s John Legend, reminding TV audiences how punishing this role is.

Film/TV usage. The 1973 soundtrack times “Gethsemane” at roughly five and a half minutes; the 2018 Live in Concert placed it as the Act 2 ignition point, and critics singled that sequence out as the beating heart of the broadcast.

On the note everyone talks about. The climactic cry is widely tackled around G5 in many interpretations; singers argue about mix vs head, and whether to scream or spin it. Either way, breath discipline decides if the moment lands or frays.

Creation history

Webber and Rice built Jesus Christ Superstar as a record first. Sessions ran across several London rooms - Olympic, Advision, Island, Spot Productions - with rock-session firepower and theatre voices. Release followed in October 1970 in the UK and later that month in the US, where the album would top charts twice in 1971.

Verse Highlights

Scene from Gethsemane by Jesus Christ Superstar Original Studio Cast
The bargaining phase, sung like a legal brief to the sky.
Opening plea

The lyric inventory starts simple - “take this cup,” “I have changed.” Short verbs, plain nouns. The band leaves space so language leads.

Interrogative peak

“Why should I die?” is the blade point. Staging often tightens the light and lets the singer risk the top of the instrument. The risk is the message.

Consent and countdown

“Alright, I’ll die” isn’t resignation, it’s a clock starting. The final lines quicken into action verbs - nail, break, bleed, beat - then the door closes.


Key Facts

Scene from Gethsemane by Jesus Christ Superstar Original Studio Cast
Studio headroom meets theatre stakes.
  • Featured: Lead vocal - Ian Gillan (1970 concept album); later screen/stage interpreters include Ted Neeley (1973 film) and John Legend (2018 live).
  • Producer: Tim Rice, Andrew Lloyd Webber.
  • Composer/Lyricists: Andrew Lloyd Webber - music; Tim Rice - lyrics.
  • Release Date: Album release - October 16, 1970 (UK); October 27, 1970 (US).
  • Genre: Symphonic rock, rock opera.
  • Instruments: rock rhythm section, strings, keyboards, lead guitar; arranged for dramatic swells and sustained lines.
  • Label: Decca/MCA territory variants for the concept LP.
  • Mood: doubtful, searching, resolute.
  • Length: ~5:39 on the 1973 film soundtrack; concept-album performance similar.
  • Track #: Act 2 centerpiece following “The Last Supper.”
  • Language: English, scriptural paraphrase woven into rock diction.
  • Album context: part of the 1970 studio concept whose success birthed Broadway and West End stagings.
  • Music style: slow 4/4, escalating tessitura, hook-less monologue that explodes into a climactic cry.
  • Poetic meter: conversational iambs with stressed monosyllables for impact.
  • Recording: Olympic, Advision, Island, Spot Productions - 16-track.
  • © Credits: Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice; performance credits vary by cast/territory.

Questions and Answers

Why is “Gethsemane” considered a vocal Everest?
It demands sustained range, breath control across long phrases, and a climactic cry often placed around G5 - all while acting a breakdown.
Who sang it first on record?
Ian Gillan on the 1970 Original Studio Cast album - his rock tenor defined the role for countless later singers.
Where does it sit in the show?
Act 2’s ignition moment, right after “The Last Supper,” before the arrest.
How long is the film version?
About 5 minutes and 39 seconds on the 1973 soundtrack.
Any notable modern interpretations?
John Legend’s 2018 live-TV performance revived mainstream attention; the broadcast drew strong critical notices, and the production later helped secure Emmys for its producers.

Awards and Chart Positions

The 1970 studio album that includes “Gethsemane” topped the US album chart twice in 1971 and finished the year at No. 1, a rare feat for a theatre work. Decades later, NBC’s Live in Concert brought “Gethsemane” back to mass TV, earning Emmys that completed EGOTs for John Legend, Andrew Lloyd Webber, and Tim Rice.

How to Sing?

Range & placement. Many interpretations peak around G5 on “Why,” but the real test is sustaining the middle - the verse phrases sit in the gear where breath support drops. Think column of air, not volume for volume’s sake.

Tempo & feel. Keep the pulse steady and resist rushing the interrogative lines. If the band breathes with you, the questions land like blows rather than blurts.

Color & diction. Start conversational - round vowels on “poison,” crisp consonants on “why,” then widen timbre as the argument escalates. Save brightness for the summit so it reads as a break-glass moment.

Practice tactic. Work the climactic ascent as a sequence of targets, not one leap. If you can sing the approach with the same calm as the opening, the high note is just the last stair.

Songs Exploring Themes of doubt, fate, sacrifice

“Pilate’s Dream” - Jesus Christ Superstar Original Studio Cast
A lullaby of dread. Pilate describes a vision he can’t shake, the melody almost too gentle for the menace inside it. Where “Gethsemane” argues with God, “Pilate’s Dream” argues with conscience - soft chords, hard consequences. The pairing shows fate from two chairs: the accused and the official.

“The Last Supper” - Jesus Christ Superstar Original Studio Cast
Table talk as prophecy. The disciples volley bravado and fear while Jesus maps the night. The lyrics pivot between fellowship and fracture, and the music keeps pulling the group apart. Heard with “Gethsemane,” it’s the social noise before the solitary prayer.

“Bring Him Home” - Les Misérables Original London Cast
A prayer in head voice, but a different bargain - Valjean asks for another’s safety, not his own purpose. Simple triads, haloed tone. Played after “Gethsemane,” it shows another road: surrender without the scream, faith without the fight. The contrast is useful for singers studying restraint versus rupture.

Music video


Jesus Christ Superstar Lyrics: Song List

  1. Act 1
  2. Overture
  3. Heaven On Their Minds
  4. What's The Buzz
  5. Then We Are Decided
  6. Strange Thing Mystifying
  7. Everything's Alright
  8. This Jesus Must Die
  9. Hosanna
  10. Simon Zealotes
  11. Poor Jerusalem
  12. Pilate's Dream
  13. The Temple
  14. I Don't Know How To Love Him
  15. Damned For All Time / Blood Money
  16. Act 2
  17. The Last Supper
  18. Gethsemane (I Only Want To Say)
  19. The Arrest
  20. Peter's Denial
  21. Pilate And Christ
  22. King Herod's Song (Try It And See)
  23. Could We Start Again Please?
  24. Judas' Death
  25. Trial Before Pilate
  26. Superstar
  27. The Crucifixion
  28. John Nineteen: Forty-One

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