King Herod's Song (Try It And See) Lyrics – Jesus Christ Superstar

Song Overview

Personal Review

Herod turns the courtroom into a cabaret and the lyrics into a dare, a glittering demand for proof that Jesus refuses to grant; the lyrics wink, the band struts, and underneath it all sits a cold question about faith without tricks. One-sentence snapshot: a king turns skeptic showman, Jesus stays silent, and the joke curdles.

Song Meaning and Annotations

The scene plays like a revue number dropped into a passion play: ragtime piano, splashes of brass, a rhythm-section strut, and a crooner’s grin. It’s comedic on the surface and corrosive underneath. Herod acts as the audience’s laziest impulse - “if you’re real, do a trick” - while Jesus answers with the one response that kills the bit: silence.

Mike d’Abo, fresh off his Manfred Mann tenure in the late 60s, is a devilishly apt choice for the concept album: a pop voice trained to sell hooks now selling doubt. He coats scorn in charm, and that makes the mockery land harder.

The number also carries a clever provenance. Its melody began life as “Try It and See,” written for singer Rita Pavone as a potential 1969 Eurovision entry; when that path closed, Rice and Lloyd Webber repurposed it into Herod’s challenge, which fits the lyric’s showbiz swagger like a tailored suit.

Emotional arc: flattery, dare, escalation, sneer. It starts with a velvet welcome, then stacks stunts - wine from water, walking a pool, feeding a household - before snapping into dismissal. The joke needs Jesus to play along; when he doesn’t, Herod calls him a fraud. That’s the point: spectacle demands compliance, and faith refuses.

On stage and screen, directors update the satire. The 2012 arena production reimagined Herod as a TV host, complete with audience voting - a tidy translation of ancient mockery into modern verdict theatre. NBC’s 2018 Live in Concert gave the role to Alice Cooper, leaning into glam camp to underline how celebrity culture eats the sacred when it can’t monetize it.

“So, you are the Christ, you’re the great Jesus Christ”

Herod’s address is sales-pitch language, not prayer. The rhyme is catchy on purpose; he’s turning creed into jingle.

“Prove to me that you’re divine - change my water into wine”

A grab bag of gospel references turned into party tricks. It’s theological bad faith: he doesn’t ask a moral question, only a magical one.

“Walk across my swimming pool”

A suburban update of walking on water. The line collapses miracle into novelty act, which is exactly the critique the writers aim at us as spectators.

“Hey! Aren’t you scared of me, Christ?”

The mask slips. When mockery fails to get a rise, Herod tries menace. It still doesn’t work. Jesus won’t let the crowd set the terms.

Creation history

Rice and Lloyd Webber built Jesus Christ Superstar as a 1970 concept album before it became a stage phenomenon. For this cut, they raided their own songbook: “Try It and See” was retooled into “King Herod’s Song,” with d’Abo’s showman delivery carrying the sneer. The concept album’s hybrid casting - rock players alongside theatre voices - locks the style fusion in place.

Verse Highlights

Opening patter

Warm-and-fake greeting, crooned over jaunty chords. He flatters to frame the dare.

Refrain challenges

Each chorus ups the ante, shifting from flippant to frustrated. The band leans into music-hall bounce; the choir’s interjections feel like an audience primed for a stunt.

Middle verse - the “superstar” gambit

He names the theme: fame as proof of value. The arrangement gets brighter as the ethics get dimmer.

Final taunt and snap

When silence persists, the voice hardens. The joke collapses into a verdict: “fraud,” then “take him away.”

Key Facts

• Featured: Lead vocal - Mike d’Abo (Herod).
• Producer: Andrew Lloyd Webber.
• Composer/Lyricists: Andrew Lloyd Webber, Tim Rice.
• Release Date: September 1970 (concept album).
• Genre: Rock opera, ragtime/cabaret pop, vaudeville-rock fusion.
• Instruments: piano, brass/reeds, guitars, bass, drums, backing choir.
• Label: Decca (UK), MCA (US).
• Mood: sardonic, showy, baiting.
• Track #: 18 on the concept album sequence.
• Language: English.
• Album context: Jesus Christ Superstar – A Rock Opera (concept album).
• Music style: straight 4/4 pulse, music-hall bounce, call-and-response as crowd work.
• Poetic meter: conversational iambs; chorus built on imperative anaphora.
• Recording: London concept sessions with mixed rock/theatre personnel.
• © Copyrights: Decca/MCA recordings; Rice/Lloyd Webber publishing as credited on releases.

Questions and Answers

Where did “Try It And See” in the title come from?

It’s a nod to the song’s earlier life as “Try It and See,” written for Rita Pavone as a proposed 1969 Eurovision entry, later refitted as Herod’s number.

Who sings King Herod on the original concept album?

Mike d’Abo, formerly of Manfred Mann, brings a suave, pop-savvy sneer to the part.

How do modern productions stage the satire?

The 2012 arena tour framed Herod as a TV/game-show host complete with audience votes; the 2018 live TV concert cast Alice Cooper, leaning into glam irony.

Is Jesus’s silence a theological point or just drama?

Both. Refusing to perform miracles on demand undercuts Herod’s power and reinforces a central theme of the score: faith isn’t a sideshow.

Did this track chart as a single?

No - but the 1970 concept album was a phenomenon, and its success carried the song into every later staging and soundtrack.

Awards and Chart Positions

The concept album that includes “King Herod’s Song (Try It And See)” topped the Billboard 200 multiple times in 1971 and finished as the year’s No. 1 album in the US, paving the way for Broadway, film, and later television productions where this scene became a set-piece highlight.

How to Sing?

Vocal character: baritone or flexible tenor, shaded toward music-hall patter. Keep the tone bright and forward; consonants do the sneering for you.

Rhythm: sit slightly on top of the beat to feel like a host pushing the band. Short phrases, clipped breaths, then a sly legato when flattering Jesus at the start.

Acting notes: start as a fan - then turn. Treat each “prove to me” as a new segment of a variety show. The final “fraud” should be dry, not shouted; contempt reads louder than volume.

Range & stamina: moderate range with talk-sing sections; save belt for the last eight bars. Mark breaths in recurring refrains so the patter never smears.

Songs Exploring Themes of spectacle and doubt

“The Trial” - Pink Floyd. Courtroom-surrealism with a carnival judge and a chorus that goads the verdict. It’s satire dialed to grotesque, where music-hall and menace mingle. While “King Herod’s Song” smiles as it stings, “The Trial” sneers outright; both indict a crowd’s appetite for humiliation as entertainment. Each makes performance itself the weapon.

“Master of the House” - Les Misérables (Original London Cast). A bawdy tavern showstopper where charm hides the grift. The number turns an audience into accomplices through laughter, just as Herod tries to make us complicit in his testing. Different stakes, same lesson: wit can mask a nasty calculus about power and who gets to demand what from whom.

“King Herod’s Song” - 2012 arena version. Reframed as a television/game show, the update makes the subtext text: fame judges truth. The live vote gag lands because we know these formats; it’s playful until the “take him away” line, when the bit curdles into sentence. Meanwhile, the original studio cast version keeps period gloss but seeds the same critique with ragtime sugar.