Oh, The Thinks You Can Think Lyrics – Seussical
Oh, The Thinks You Can Think Lyrics
A BOY (who will later play JOJO) enters and notices it.
BOY
Now that is a very unusual hat.
I wonder what's under a hat such as that.
It could be a creature they call the Ga-Zat
Who balances things on his head, cause it's flat.
Or a stripe-loving Pipester from Upper Mount Bat.
Or a sort of a kind of a hat-wearing...
Cat!
(THE BOY picks up the hat, and THE CAT IN THE HAT suddenly appears)
CAT IN THE HAT
I can see that you've got quite a mind for your age!
Why, one Think and you dragged me right onto the stage!
Now, I'm here, there is no telling what may ensue
With a Cat such as me, and a Thinker like you!
(THE CAT begins to "create" the Seussian world of imagination for THE BOY)
After all those years stuck on a page,
Did you ever imagine, you'd see me, on stage?
Now I'm here, there is no telling what may ensue.
No, there is no telling what.
But ill give you a clue.
Oh, the thinks you can think!
Oh, the thinks you can think
If you're willing to try...
Think invisible ink!
Or a gink with a stink!
Or a stair to the sky...
If you open your mind,
Oh, the thinks you will find
Lining up to get loose...
Oh, the thinks you can think
When you think about...
(The company of "Seussian" characters now enters)
CAT, ALL (except BOY)
Seuss! Seuss!
Seuss! Seuss!
Seuss! Seuss! Seuss! Seuss!
Seuss!
CAT & ALL (except BOY)
Oh, the thinks you can think!
Any thinker who thinks
Can come up with a few!
BOY
Oh, the thinks you can think!
CAT & ALL
Think a trip on a ship
To the Vipper of Vipp
WOMEN
Or to Solla Sollew...
CAT (spoken)
Think of beautiful Schlopp ...
BOY (spoken)
With a cherry on top!
CAT, BOY, ALL
You don't need an excuse!
CAT, BOY (spoken)
Oh, the thinks you can think
CAT, BOY, ALL
When you think about Seuss!
Seuss, Seuss, Seuss,-
Seuss....
HORTON
Think of an elephant up in a tree
MAYOR, MRS. MAYOR
Think of a person too tiny to see!
GERTRUDE
Think of a bird with a one-feather tail
ALL
Going on adventure down a dangerous trail!
MAYZIE
Think a bird who flies off on a spree!
SOUR KANGAROO
Think of a kangaroo, sour as can be!
SCHMITZ
Think of a general crazy for war!
CAT
Think of something horrible and hairy!
CAT, PRINCIPLES (except BOY)
Something sinister and scary
ALL (except BOY)
That you never dared to think of before!
ALL (except CAT & BOY)
Think of nobody here
And the feeling of fear
And the darkness of night
(with menace)
Oooh Oooh...
ALL, CAT
All alone in your room
As you're facing your doom
CAT (spoken)
Think a glimmer of light!!
ALL (except BOY)
(with relief)
Aah Aah!
CAT
But I hope you're prepared
To be scareder than scared!
CAT, ALL (except BOY)
'Cause this ain't mother goose!
CAT (spoken)
Think right over the brink!
CAT, ALL (except BOY)
When you think about Seuss!
MEN WOMEN
Seu-u-u-u-u
Seu... Seu...
Seu-u-u-uss Seuss!
Seu-u-u-u-u
Seuss! Seuss! Seuss! Seuss!
CAT
An unusual story will soon be unfurled
Of an elephant trying to save a small world
And a boy from that world who has Thinks just like you!
CAT IN THE HAT, ALL
Just think!
WHOS
From the Planet of Who
BOY
And the smallest of small.
CITIZENS OF THE JUNGLE
To the jungle of Nool,
HORTON
And the largest of all...
GROUP I GROUP 2
You think You think
And think and think and think and think
and think
And think and think and think and think
and think
And think and think and think and think
and think
And think and think and think!
and think!
ALL, BOY
Just think!
ALL
Oh, the thinks you can think
Think and wonder and dream-
Far and wide as you dare!
CAT
Oh, the thinks you can think!
ALL
When your thinks have run dry,
In the blink of an eye
There's another think there!
If you open your mind,
Oh, the thinks you will find
Lining up to get loose!
Oh, the thinks you can think
BARITONES AND BASSES
Oh, the thinks you can think
ALL
Oh, the thinks you can think!
TENORS
Oh, the thinks you can think!
ALL
Oh, the thinks you can think
When you think about Seuss!
When you think about Seuss!
When you think about Seuss!
(The SOUR KANGAROO riffs through the following)
GROUP I GROUP 2 GROUP 3 GROUP 4
Seu-u-u-u Seu ... Seu.. Seuss! Seuss!
Seu ... Seu.. Seuss! Seuss! Seuss!
Seu-u-u-u Seuss! Seuss! Seuss!
Seu-u-u-uss Seuss!
Seuss! Seuss!
Seu-u-u-u-u Seu ... Seu ... Seuss!
Seuss! Seuss!
BOY
Seuss!
CAT
Our story begins
With a very strange sound -
The drums of a jungle
Beginning to pound.
(Jungle drums begin.)
CAT
Now, imagine a sky.
BOY
I'll imagine bright blue!
(BOY and CAT create a blue sky and a jungle setting.)
CAT
It's the Jungle of Nool!
BOY
Near the River Walloo!
(The CAT and the BOY watch as the Jungle of Nool is revealed.
The JUNGLE CITIZENS enter, along with the BIRD GIRLS,
a flamboyant "girl group" of the jungle.)
Song Overview
Personal Review
When “Oh, the Thinks You Can Think!” first bounced from my home stereo back in February 2001, my kitchen tiles briefly morphed into a Truffula-forest dance floor. David Shiner’s Cat sang the lyrics with conspiratorial glee, daring me to invent creatures too strange to name. Two decades later the track still feels like permission. Permission to scribble nonsense in the margins, crack open the thesaurus, and colour outside every line Dr Seuss never drew. The groove is carnival-brisk—90 seconds in and I’m juggling invisible Sneetches above the sink.
Song Meaning and Annotations
The opener to Seussical tosses us straight into the brain of JoJo—the “Boy Who Thinks.” Lynn Ahrens’s lyrics riff on Dr Seuss’s 1975 picture-book of the same title, while Stephen Flaherty matches her whimsy with syncopated woodblocks, high-slide trombones and a key that refuses to sit still.
The Cat begins alone—“After all these years being stuck on a page…”—then calls the entire cast out of thin air. Structurally it’s a chorus-line snowball: each new Seussian hero (Horton, Gertrude, Mayzie) layers fresh melody over the previous thought until the stage resembles a rhyming kaleidoscope. Hidden in the patter is the show’s mission statement: imagination isn’t an escape hatch, it’s an engine.
Listen for the sudden tonic-minor slide on “Think of a bird with a one-feather tail!” Darkness flashes, reminding us creativity can tilt to danger. That tint makes the later reprise—sung after jungle trials—feel earned rather than sugary.
Pop-culture reach? Surprisingly wide. TikTok creators spliced the chorus into a 2023 hip-hop “Seuss Rap,” turning schlopp and Vipper-of-Vipp into punch-line rhymes. The tune also got a reality-TV cameo on Dance Moms when Molly performed a solo titled after the song.
Verse Highlights
Opening Couplet
The Cat breaks the fourth wall, hinting theatre itself is just a bigger picture-book.
Mid-section Callouts
“Solla Sollew” and “Vipper of Vipp” offer Easter-eggs for deep-cut Seuss fans—tiny anchors in a tide of invention.
Final Think-Chant
A polyrhythmic fugue where baritones, tenors, altos and sopranos chant the word “Seuss!” 32 times—sonic confetti heralding plot lift-off.
Song Credits
- Featured: David Shiner (The Cat), Kevin Chamberlin (Horton), Alice Ripley (Mayzie) et al.
- Composer: Stephen Flaherty
- Lyricist: Lynn Ahrens
- Cast-album Producer: Jay David Saks
- Orchestrator: Doug Besterman
- Release Date (Cast Album): February 6 2001
- Genre: Broadway Show Tune / Family Pop
- Instruments: Piccolo, clarinet, slide trombone, woodblocks, electric bass, synth glockenspiel
- Label: Decca Broadway / Universal Classics
- Length: 2 : 24 (OBCR)
- Poetic meter: Trochaic bounce with internal dactyls
- Copyright © 2000 Ahrens/Flaherty & Dr Seuss Enterprises
Songs Exploring Imagination & Wonder
While “Oh, the Thinks You Can Think!” swings like a playground, “Pure Imagination” from Willy Wonka drifts dreamily, its 3/4 waltz inviting quiet reflection rather than carnival chaos.
Meanwhile, “Defying Gravity” (Wicked) ditches childlike play for grown-up rebellion—yet both tracks hinge on the audacity to picture reality rewritten.
In contrast, Paul Simon’s “Rewrite” sketches imagination as coping mechanism; its folk shuffle reminds us daydreams sometimes patch, not explode, the everyday.
Questions and Answers
- Was the song ever released as a radio single?
- No; the Seussical cast album dropped as a complete set via Decca Broadway in 2001.
- Did the musical earn any Tony Awards?
- Not wins, but Kevin Chamberlin (Horton) snagged a 2001 nomination for Best Actor in a Musical.
- Are there notable covers?
- Besides countless school stagings, TikTok rapper Jordan Simons spun a hip-hop remix in 2023 that hit 1.2 million likes.
- Has the number appeared on TV?
- Yes—Lifetime’s Dance Moms featured Molly’s solo to the track during the “It’s All Kicking Off” episode.
- Latest accolade?
- The 2025 Freddy High-School Awards nominated Notre Dame HS’s orchestra for their rousing take on the piece.
Awards and Chart Mentions
- 2001 Tony Nomination: Best Actor in a Musical – Kevin Chamberlin.
- Cast Album Release: Listed by Playbill in its “Status of 2001 Cast Albums.”
- 2025 Freddy Awards: Outstanding Orchestra nod for a high-school staging featuring the song.
How to Sing?
Range sits around B?2–F?4 for the Cat, but ensemble lines shoot soprano up to A5. Keep vowels snappy—“Seuss” must ping like a piccolo. Breath in four-count bursts; the final chant stacks four vocal strata, and dropping pitch muddies the word-pile. Drummers should accent beats 2 & 4 with woodblock for authentic Seuss-bounce.
Fan and Media Reactions
“Nothing jump-starts a rehearsal like that opening measure—instant colour-war for the ears.” – Reddit r/Broadway, 2024
“My six-year-old learned the word ‘emcee’ because of Shiner’s Cat.” – Parent tweet, 2023
“Jordan Simons flipping it into a rap proved Seuss can survive 808s.” – TikTok comment, 2025
“We closed graduation with the reprise—teachers cried harder than seniors.” – Choir director blog, 2022
“Most underrated tongue-twister on Broadway—try saying ‘Vipper of Vipp’ ten times.” – Podcast Stage Left, 2025
Music video
Seussical Lyrics: Song List
- Act 1
- Overture
- Oh, The Thinks You Can Think
- Horton Hears A Who
- Biggest Blame Fool
- Here On Who
- Day For The Cat In The Hat, A
- It's Possible (In McElligot's Pool)
- How To Raise A Child
- Military, The
- Alone In The Universe
- One Feather Tail Of Miss Gertrude McFuzz, The
- Amazing Mayzie
- Amayzing Gertrude
- Monkey Around
- Chasing The Whos
- How Lucky You Are
- Notice Me, Horton
- How Lucky You Are (Mayzie's Reprise)
- Act 1 - Finale: Horton Sits On The Egg
- Act 2
- Egg, Nest and Tree
- Mayzie In Palm Beach
- Alone In The Universe (Reprise)
- Solla Solew
- Havin' A Hunch
- All For You
- The People Versus Horton The Elephant
- Finale/Oh, The Thinks You Can Think (Reprise)
- Green Eggs And Ham (Curtain Call)