If Only (Quartet) Lyrics – Little Mermaid

"If Only (Quartet)" Description.

Why this quartet lands like a memory

There’s a specific kind of musical theatre chill—the one where four people sing separate truths at the same time and somehow it feels like one heart speaking. “If Only (Quartet)” is that chill. It’s late in the story; everyone’s pressed against a deadline, and the song braids Ariel’s voiceless longing, Eric’s haunted recognition, Sebastian’s frantic scheming, and King Triton’s cracked-open fatherhood. You can practically see the clock in the corner, ticking louder than the strings. Disney songs tend to make wishes sound easy; this one says: wishing is work.

Production & behind-the-scenes

The Broadway production takes the 1989 film’s spine and gives it new muscle: extra songs by Alan Menken with lyricist Glenn Slater, a book by Doug Wright, and staging that solved the whole “we live underwater” problem with clever tech and choreography tricks. The company actually rolled on wheeled footwear to simulate gliding—nicknamed “merblades”—while sculptural tails and aquatic design did the rest. Choices evolved in previews, too; even big mechanics (like early tail tech) got stripped back when they proved heavy or noisy. It’s theatre—dreaming, testing, trimming until it sings.

How the album came in hot

When the Original Broadway Cast Recording dropped, it didn’t just quietly shelve; it charted. Debuted at #26 on the Billboard 200, snagged the top spot on the Cast Album chart, and moved over twenty thousand copies that first week. That’s not typical for cast records; it felt like the ocean pushed. A few months later, the album turned up in the Best Musical Theater Album race at the Grammys, shoulder-to-shoulder with some heavy hitters.

Track highlights & scene connections

“If Only (Quartet)” — the crossing currents

This number sits late in Act II—end of day two—right before the plot hits a ceremonial wall (read: the ball, the contest, the almost-kiss). You get four overlapping inner monologues: Ariel’s silent confession, Eric’s obsession with “that voice,” Sebastian bargaining with fate, and Triton finally admitting he should’ve listened earlier. Structurally it’s a cousin to those big Broadway counterpoint moments you replay in your head walking home. Here, the magic is in the dovetailing: each melody feels like it was written in a different room, then fate opened the door and they met mid-corridor.

Other tracks it leans on

“Her Voice” plants Eric’s fixation early. “One Step Closer” teaches him to hear with his feet (cute, yes, and dramatically useful). “Kiss the Girl” pushes the fairytale trope while “The Contest” later weaponizes it. “If Only (Quartet)” gathers all that momentum and pauses it—like hitting slow-mo before the final sprint. That’s why it thumps: it’s the breath you take right before either heartbreak or relief.

Characters & full plot sketch

A quick swim through the story

Ariel—curious, stubborn, sixteen and starry-eyed—saves Prince Eric from a wreck and falls fast. She makes a bargain with Ursula: legs for a voice, three days to earn true love’s kiss. Sebastian (court composer, professional worrier) and Flounder (loyal bestie) scramble to help; Scuttle provides chaotic aviary wisdom. King Triton—fierce, flawed dad energy—discovers the deal too late and would trade anything to protect his kid. Eric can’t shake the memory of a voice that saved him; he searches for its owner while real, wordless Ariel stands right there. Ursula meddles. Deadlines loom. By the time we reach the ball and “The Contest,” the truth strains at its leash—exactly the corner where “If Only (Quartet)” lives, letting four perspectives collide before the reveal resets everyone’s course.

Who’s singing what: the cast

Original Broadway Cast (2008)

• Ariel — Sierra Boggess
• Prince Eric — Sean Palmer
• King Triton — Norm Lewis
• Sebastian — Tituss Burgess
• Ursula — Sherie Rene Scott
• Grimsby — Jonathan Freeman
• Chef Louis — John Treacy Egan
• Flotsam — Tyler Maynard
• Jetsam — Derrick Baskin
• Flounder — Brian D’Addario / Trevor Braun (alternating)

The Broadway run opened January 10, 2008 at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre after a sold-out Denver tryout and a strike-paused preview period; it closed August 30, 2009 after 685 performances. “If Only (Quartet)” on the album features Boggess, Palmer, Burgess, and Lewis—the exact foursome you hear threading those lines.

Behind the pit: the sound-shapers

Orchestrations by Danny Troob, vocal arrangements and music direction by Michael Kosarin. If you’ve ever wondered why the ensemble swells feel glossy but not sugary, that team is a big reason—winds and harp do a lot of shimmering heavy lifting while the counterpoint keeps it human.

Musical styles, themes, orchestration

Menken’s palette leans bright—strings and woodwinds that flicker like sun through water—but the quartet is less splashy, more suspended. Harmony tightens when Eric chases memory; it opens like a window when Triton softens. Sebastian’s lines skitter rhythmically (nervous optimism; you can hear the claw-waving), while Ariel’s melody sits clean and forward, a letter she can’t mail. It’s pop-leaning musical theatre with just enough classical muscle to make those suspensions hurt.

Reviews & social proof

Commercially, the album popped in a way Broadway fans noticed—those first-week numbers and that #1 Cast Album slot said the nostalgia wasn’t just fuzzy; it was active. And a Grammy nod doesn’t happen because a title is beloved; it happens because the execution lands. Fans still cite the quartet as the moment the show grows up a little, where the stakes finally feel lived-in rather than painted on.

Quotes you can hear between the lines

“This is what I’ve dreamed of my whole life.” — Sierra Boggess

“I try to see the audience as part of my kingdom.” — Norm Lewis

Tech info

• Album: The Little Mermaid (Original Broadway Cast Recording)
• Track: If Only (Quartet)
• Performers: Sierra Boggess, Sean Palmer, Tituss Burgess, Norm Lewis
• Composer: Alan Menken; Lyrics: Howard Ashman & Glenn Slater
• Label: Walt Disney Records
• Release date: February 26, 2008
• Producer (album): Alan Menken (among the album’s credited producers)
• Running time (album): approx. 1:17:59
• Charts: #26 Billboard 200 (debut), #1 Cast Album chart; ~20k first-week units

FAQ

Who produced “If Only (Quartet)”?

Alan Menken is credited as producer for the cast recording release.

When was the track released?

It appears on the Original Broadway Cast Recording, released February 26, 2008.

Who wrote it?

Music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Howard Ashman and Glenn Slater.

Where does the quartet happen in the show?

Act II near the end of the second day—just before the ball and “The Contest.”

Why do fans single it out?

It’s the moment four private wishes collide; counterpoint makes the emotion feel bigger than any one character.

One last listen-note

Listen for the moment Ariel’s line floats above the others like a lantern, then Sebastian darts in underneath—comic energy carrying a secret act of love. That’s the quartet’s trick: it lets everyone be selfish and selfless in the same breath. If only more songs did that.