Ya Got Trouble Lyrics
Ya Got Trouble
Harold:Well, either you're closing your eyes
To a situation you do now wish to acknowledge
Or you are not aware of the caliber of disaster indicated
By the presence of a pool table in your community.
Ya got trouble, my friend, right here,
I say, trouble right here in River City.
Why sure I'm a billiard player,
Certainly mighty proud I say
I'm always mighty proud to say it.
I consider that the hours I spend
With a cue in my hand are golden.
Help you cultivate horse sense
And a cool head and a keen eye.
Never take and try to give
An iron-clad leave to yourself
From a three-reail billiard shot?
But just as I say,
It takes judgement, brains, and maturity to score
In a balkline game,
I say that any boob kin take
And shove a ball in a pocket.
And they call that sloth.
The first big step on the road
To the depths of deg-ra-Day--
I say, first, medicinal wine from a teaspoon,
Then beer from a bottle.
An' the next thing ya know,
Your son is playin' for money
In a pinch-back suit.
And list'nin to some big out-a-town Jasper
Hearin' him tell about horse-race gamblin'.
Not a wholesome trottin' race, no!
But a race where they set down right on the horse!
Like to see some stuck-up jockey'boy
Sittin' on Dan Patch? Make your blood boil?
Well, I should say.
Friends, lemme tell you what I mean.
Ya got one, two, three, four, five, six pockets in a table.
Pockets that mark the diff'rence
Between a gentlemen and a bum,
With a capital "B,"
And that rhymes with "P" and that stands for pool!
And all week long your River City
Youth'll be frittern away,
I say your young men'll be frittern!
Frittern away their noontime, suppertime, choretime too!
Get the ball in the pocket,
Never mind gittin' Dandelions pulled
Or the screen door patched or the beefsteak pounded.
Never mind pumpin' any water
'Til your parents are caught with the Cistern empty
On a Saturday night and that's trouble,
Oh, yes we got lots and lots a' trouble.
I'm thinkin' of the kids in the knickerbockers,
Shirt-tail young ones, peekin' in the pool
Hall window after school, look, folks!
Right here in River City.
Trouble with a capital "T"
And that rhymes with "P" and that stands for pool!
Now, I know all you folks are the right kinda parents.
I'm gonna be perfectly frank.
Would ya like to know what kinda conversation goes
On while they're loafin' around that Hall?
They're tryin' out Bevo, tryin' out cubebs,
Tryin' out Tailor Mades like Cigarette Feends!
And braggin' all about
How they're gonna cover up a tell-tale breath with Sen-Sen.
One fine night, they leave the pool hall,
Headin' for the dance at the Arm'ry!
Libertine men and Scarlet women!
And Rag-time, shameless music
That'll grab your son and your daughter
With the arms of a jungle animal instink!
Mass-staria!
Friends, the idle brain is the devil's playground!
People:
Trouble, oh we got trouble,
Right here in River City!
With a capital "T"
That rhymes with "P"
And that stands for Pool,
That stands for pool.
We've surely got trouble!
Right here in River City,
Right here!
Gotta figger out a way
To keep the young ones moral after school!
Trouble, trouble, trouble, trouble, trouble...
Harold:
Mothers of River City!
Heed the warning before it's too late!
Watch for the tell-tale sign of corruption!
The moment your son leaves the house,
Does he rebuckle his knickerbockers below the knee?
Is there a nicotine stain on his index finger?
A dime novel hidden in the corn crib?
Is he starting to memorize jokes from Capt.
Billy's Whiz Bang?
Are certain words creeping into his conversation?
Words like 'swell?"
And 'so's your old man?"
Well, if so my friends,
Ya got trouble,
Right here in River city!
With a capital "T"
And that rhymes with "P"
And that stands for Pool.
We've surely got trouble!
Right here in River City!
Remember the Maine, Plymouth Rock and the Golden Rule!
Oh, we've got trouble.
We're in terrible, terrible trouble.
That game with the fifteen numbered balls is a devil's tool!
Oh yes we got trouble, trouble, trouble!
With a "T"! Gotta rhyme it with "P"!
And that stands for Pool!!!
Song Overview
Review and Highlights
Quick summary
- Showpiece patter number for Harold Hill from The Music Man; the studio cast album dropped in January 1958 under Capitol.
- Words tumble in strict rhythm while the band scam he’s selling snaps into focus - crowd control by rhyme, basically.
- The 1962 film version is the canonical screen take; the number also appears in the 2003 TV movie and 2022 Broadway revival.
- Key touchpoints in the lyric: pool tables, Dan Patch, Sen-Sen, dime novels - the moral panic toolkit of small-town America circa 1912.
- Later productions often link its final bars to “Seventy-Six Trombones,” piggybacking Hill’s scare into a full-on parade.
Creation History
Meredith Willson reportedly carved this out of a long speech in early drafts - notice how the scansion prizes breath and bite over melody. The original Broadway cast recording (with Robert Preston) is the reference for the phrasing; the 1962 film preserves Preston’s velocity on camera. The TV remake and the 2022 revival each keep the core architecture while shifting the comedic temperature for their moment. According to industry press, the cast album’s impact on charts and at the Grammys made it a calling card for Broadway recordings in the LP era.
Key takeaways: the groove is spoken rhythm; the hook is rhetoric; the engine is crowd psychology. When it lands, you feel the town tilt.
Song Meaning and Annotations
Plot
Harold Hill arrives in River City and spots his opening: a new pool table. He frames it as the first domino in a fall from virtue, then sells salvation in the form of a boys’ band. The townsfolk turn into his chorus, echoing “trouble” back at him while he stacks examples and rhymes into a high-speed sermon.
Song Meaning
This is a master class in manufacturing consent. Hill weaponizes rhythm - a driving, near-march cadence - to hammer home a slippery slope argument. The mood is urgent and comic at once: he scares the parents silly, then gives them an easy out. Culturally, the lyric hangs on early-20th-century Americana (horse racing idols like Dan Patch, patent medicines, dime novels) and the era’s taste for “wholesome” reform. Stylistically, it fuses vaudeville patter with Broadway show tune craft; plenty of critics have even called it proto-rap. The emotional arc is collective: suspicion turns to agitation, then to unity around a solution he just happens to be selling.
Technique - why it works
Rhythm: the text rides 4/4 with a brisk pulse; the rhyme density mimics a drumline. Arrangement: underscoring enters like a civic heartbeat, letting consonants do the heavy lifting. Rhetoric: lists, alliteration, and call-and-response flip a meeting into a rally.
Idioms and symbols to catch
“Knickerbockers below the knee,” “Cap’n Billy’s Whiz Bang,” “Sen-Sen,” “Bevo” - code words that anchor place and time while signaling the stakes to parents. The “capital T” gag turns orthography into a cheer. The jump from “pool” to “band” is pure bait-and-switch theater.
Key Facts
- Artist: Robert Preston; Dick Jones credited as producer on key releases.
- Composer/Lyricist: Meredith Willson
- Producer: Dick Jones (cast recording credit); stage direction by Morton DaCosta; album conducted by Herbert Greene.
- Release Date: January 20, 1958
- Genre: Musical theatre; patter song
- Instruments: Voice with orchestra
- Label: Capitol Records
- Mood: Urgent, satirical, persuasive
- Length: ~3:45 on common digital editions
- Track #: 3 on the original Broadway cast album
- Language: English
- Album: The Music Man (Original Broadway Cast)
- Music style: Vaudeville-rooted patter with march accents
- Poetic meter: Mixed, anapestic-leaning patter
Canonical Entities & Relations
People: Robert Preston - performs Harold Hill. Meredith Willson - writes music and lyrics. Dick Jones - produces the OBC recording. Herbert Greene - conducts the OBC recording. Morton DaCosta - directs stage and film.
Organizations: Capitol Records - releases the album. Tony Awards - honors the show. Recording Academy - recognizes the album.
Works: The Music Man (1957 Broadway musical) - parent work; The Music Man (1962 film) - screen adaptation containing the number; The Music Man (2003 TV film) - remake containing the number.
Venues/Locations: Majestic Theatre, New York - original home of the show; Warner Bros. lot - film production home; River City, Iowa - fictional setting inside the lyric.
Questions and Answers
- Why does the lyric target a pool table?
- Because it’s a perfect moral wedge. Hill can trace a clean line from idle time to vice, then sell the “cure.”
- Is the number more spoken than sung?
- Mostly. It’s pitched but speech-driven - think Gilbert-and-Sullivan patter updated for mid-century Broadway.
- Does “Trouble” return later in the show?
- Yes. Productions often braid its momentum into “Seventy-Six Trombones,” explicitly in “Ya Got Trouble (Reprise) / Seventy-Six Trombones.”
- Who else has recorded it notably?
- Van Johnson (Original London Cast, 1961), Mandy Patinkin (1990 concert album), and Hugh Jackman (2022 revival) among others.
- What’s the practical tempo?
- Most cast recordings sit near 122-130 BPM; directors tweak pacing to match breath and comic timing.
- Did it influence later TV musicals or parodies?
- Absolutely. “The Monorail Song” on The Simpsons riffs directly on its structure and con-man swagger.
- Why does the crowd repeat words back?
- Call-and-response primes agreement. The town becomes its own hype section while Hill steers the message.
- Is Harold Hill a baritone?
- Typically, yes - productions list a baritone range roughly G2 to A4, which fits the number’s speak-sing approach.
- How do singers keep it clear at speed?
- Crisp consonants, front-of-mouth vowels, and planned breaths on list breaks. It’s athletic and needs staging that supports airflow.
- Where do the dated brand names come from?
- Willson threads in period items (Sen-Sen, Bevo, dime novels) to lock the story to 1912 and tickle hometown recognition.
Awards and Chart Positions
| Milestone | Detail | Notes |
| Cast album - Billboard 200 | 245 weeks on chart; 12 weeks at No. 1 | Billboard has reported the 245-week run; widely cited by theatre press. |
| GRAMMY | Best Musical Show Album (Original Cast) | Won at the inaugural ceremony recognizing 1958 releases. |
| Tonys (the musical) | Best Musical; acting and music direction awards | Context for the number’s breakout status within the show. |
How to Sing Ya Got Trouble
Range & type: Typically cast for a baritone, roughly G2–A4. Tempo: Aim for 122–130 BPM in common time. Key: Often Ab major in published editions; some productions transpose for comfort. Common issues: breath control during rapid lists; muddy consonants; rushing through punchlines.
- Tempo first. Rehearse at 100 BPM with a metronome, then bump by 4–6 BPM steps until diction holds at show speed.
- Diction maps. Mark alveolar hits (t, d, n, l) and unvoice final consonants cleanly. Keep vowels narrow on multisyllabic lists.
- Breath strategy. Breathe on list commas and before “capital T” and “stands for pool.” Silent nose-breaths save time.
- Flow and rhythm. Speak-sing on pitch centers. Think of consonants as your drum kit; the orchestra will wrap around you.
- Accents. Lift on the scare words (trouble, devil’s tool) and land jokes on downbeats - let the laugh breathe.
- Ensemble & doubles. Coordinate with townspeople echoes so your cues trigger their “trouble” refrains, not vice versa.
- Mic craft. If amplified, keep the capsule off-axis on the densest patter to avoid plosives; on camera, favor profile to show articulation.
- Pitfalls. Don’t race the band; if you need air, drop a filler word, not a rhyming noun. Clarity beats completeness.
Additional Info
Notable versions: Van Johnson recorded it for the Original London Cast (1961); Mandy Patinkin cut “Ya Got Trouble (In River City)” for his 1990 concert disc; Hugh Jackman led the 2022 revival take. Spanky & Our Gang even turned it into a sunshine-pop track in 1967.
On screen: The 1962 film version preserves the showman’s razzle; the 2003 TV movie keeps the lyric intact with a lighter bounce. And television homages keep coming - the famous “Monorail Song” from The Simpsons mirrors this number’s structure. According to the Tony Awards website and Billboard’s chart coverage, the show’s success and the cast album’s stamina on the charts helped seal the song’s afterlife. TCM’s archival clip underlines why.
Sources: Billboard; Tony Awards; Recording Academy; Playbill; TCM; Apple Music; Spotify; CastAlbums.org; Discogs; Wikipedia; SongBPM; Tunebat; Musicstax; OVRTUR; BroadwayWorld.