This is Our Story (Finale) Lyrics — Shrek

Song Overview

Review and Highlights

Quick summary

• Finale of Shrek: The Musical, sung by Fiona, Shrek, Donkey, and the full company, recorded for Decca Broadway.
• Doubles as a reprise of the opening theme, flipping the show’s thesis from solitude to chosen community.
• Released March 24, 2009 on the original Broadway cast album, which opened atop the Top Cast Albums chart.
• Captured on the 2013 filmed stage release with the original principal cast, making the staging widely accessible.

Review

The finale works like a group photograph that suddenly sings. Jeanine Tesori threads the show’s opening motive back into a mid-tempo groove and lets David Lindsay-Abaire’s lyric hand the mic to everyone we have met. The music is bright without going brassy, riding a steady backbeat, strings in affirming swells, and reeds that tidy up the corners. It is a curtain-call companion but not a medley - one new statement that reframes the night: different is normal, found family is the win, and a happy ending can smell like swamp air and still be sweet.

On record, Sutton Foster’s Fiona opens with a confessional snap of rhyme that plays like a diary entry set to a pep talk. Brian d’Arcy James answers in the same plain-spoken style, and the two knit into a duet that welcomes the whole village. What starts as two misfits finding language for acceptance widens into a crowd singing itself into a town. According to Playbill, the cast gathered at Legacy Studios for the session early in 2009, and you can hear the mix aim for clarity - consonants forward, the band just behind, chorus blended like a single smile.

Highlights

1. Theme return - It’s the opening’s optimism reframed by experience. Bookends that feel earned rather than tidy.
2. Call-and-join structure - Verses hand off to duet, then to ensemble, then to full-company chant. Everyone belongs inside the cadence.
3. Comic candor - Lines about being gassy or hairy keep the humor warm while the message lands.
4. Orchestral glow - Pit brass resist strutting; strings and winds do the holding. The pulse sits around an easy walk, not a march.

Creation History

The show opened on Broadway in December 2008, with the album issued March 24, 2009 under the Decca Broadway imprint. The disc’s sequencing preserves the finale’s build into a community chorus. As BroadwayWorld reported at the time, the album bowed at number one on Billboard’s Top Cast Albums and even touched the Billboard 200. A high-definition filming of the stage production arrived in October 2013, restoring the finale’s sight gags and audience energy for home viewers. In the licensing world, the finale carries the subtitle “Big Bright Beautiful World - Reprise,” which is exactly how it plays - a thesis reclaimed after a hard journey.

Song Meaning and Annotations

Plot

We have reached the last page. The wedding chaos is done, the dragon has rearranged the seating chart, and Fiona’s truth is no longer a secret. The finale steps out of narrative time and into community space. Fiona opens with a self-inventory that refuses airbrushing. Shrek counters with affection that reads as recognition more than rescue. Donkey barges in as Donkey does, and then the fairy-tale creatures flood the frame. The joke rate stays high, but the text keeps labeling difference as strength. The last button - “God bless us, everyone” - is an intentional collage of bedtime stories bowing to a newer one.

Song Meaning

At heart, this is a coming-out song for a whole neighborhood. The message is not about tolerance; it is about belonging. The lyric’s grammar shifts from “my story” to “our story,” then splits the proscenium: “You are us and we are you.” That is an invitation and a thesis. The musical’s bigger arc has always been about reframing the idea of beauty and worth, but the finale adds a civic layer - a messy, joyful commons where misfits write the rules.

Annotations

“I am sweetness, I am bratty / I’m a princess, I’m a fatty.”

On the Broadway recording and in published libretti, Fiona’s line uses the self-jab “fatty,” a frankness that suits the show’s taste for body-forward humor. Regional or educational versions sometimes soften or swap the word, which is why some listeners hear “chatty.” The hinge is the same either way - naming contradictions beats pretending they are not there.

“We are different and united / You are us and we are you.”

The finale quietly flips a common English ambiguity. Earlier “we” feels like cast-only solidarity; the last verse reveals that “we” always meant to include the audience. It turns a curtain song into a communal pledge.

Genre, rhythm, and color

Stylistically it is Broadway pop with hymn DNA - simple diatonic motion, a comfortable mid-80s BPM pulse, and phrasing that favors conversational vowels. The percussion sits down the middle, bass keeps a smile in the groove, and reed figures decorate the joins. It is built to be sung by a crowd without turning into soup, which is a trick of orchestration as much as melody.

Emotional arc

Fiona’s solo honesty opens a door; Shrek’s answer makes it safe to walk through; the community arrives and proves the point. The last minute becomes a roll call where being “weird” is not a caveat but a banner. It feels less like resolution than recognition - of self, of the person you love, and of the neighbors you now claim.

Key Facts

• Artist: Sutton Foster, Brian d’Arcy James, and company
• Featured: Full ensemble of the Broadway production
• Composer: Jeanine Tesori
• Lyricist: David Lindsay-Abaire
• Producers (album): Jeanine Tesori with Peter Hylenski
• Release Date: March 24, 2009
• Genre: Broadway pop finale
• Instruments: Pit orchestra with rhythm section, reeds, brass, strings
• Label: Decca Broadway
• Mood: affirming, cheeky, communal
• Length: roughly 3:15 on commercial releases
• Track #: 19 on the original Broadway cast album
• Language: English
• Album: Shrek: The Musical (Original Broadway Cast Recording)
• Music style: mid-tempo anthem built from reprise material
• Poetic meter: mixed accentual-syllabic with patter pickups and end-stop punchlines

Canonical Entities & Relations

• Jeanine Tesori - composed the score for Shrek: The Musical.
• David Lindsay-Abaire - wrote lyrics and book for the show.
• Sutton Foster - originated Princess Fiona on Broadway and sings the opening verse of the finale.
• Brian d’Arcy James - originated Shrek on Broadway and anchors the duet response.
• Decca Broadway - released the original Broadway cast recording on March 24, 2009.
• DreamWorks Theatricals & Neal Street Productions - producers of the Broadway staging.
• RadicalMedia - shot the live Broadway capture released in 2013.
• Music Theatre International - licenses the show and labels the finale as the reprise of “Big Bright Beautiful World.”

Questions and Answers

Where does this number sit in the stage sequence?

It closes the narrative and functions as a curtain-call companion, a reprise of the opener that expands into a company sing.

Is it the same on the filmed stage release?

Yes - the 2013 capture retains the full-company staging, with the original Broadway principals fronting the finale.

Who actually sings on the commercial track?

Fiona and Shrek begin, Donkey joins, and then the ensemble takes the groove home. On digital platforms it is credited to Sutton Foster, Brian d’Arcy James, and the Shrek Ensemble.

Does the lyric really say “I’m a princess, I’m a fatty”?

On the Broadway album and published scripts, yes. Some licensed or school editions soften the line, which is why you may hear “chatty” in certain productions.

What musical ideas from earlier in the score return here?

The finale reuses the optimistic interval shapes and harmonic pacing of “Big Bright Beautiful World,” now backed by a fuller chorus texture.

How does the rhythm help the message?

A relaxed mid-80s BPM keeps it singable for a large group and lets punchlines land without trampling the legato.

Is there a single of this track separate from the album?

It lives as an album cut and as part of the filmed stage release rather than a standalone single campaign.

What came next - immediately after this on stage?

The party. Most productions segue straight into the post-bows celebration of “I’m a Believer.”

Has the song been translated or adapted?

Non-English productions and cast albums exist for the show, including a Spanish-language recording. Localized finales keep the message intact while tailoring gags.

Awards and Chart Positions

How to Sing This Is Our Story

This finale lives in easy stride. Think community voice first, solo color second. If the breath stays low and the diction stays clean, the chorus will hug you back.

• Vocal range - Ensemble-friendly. Leads sit roughly A3 to F5 in common charts, with optional tops for featured lines. Choose keys that keep Fiona’s opening warm and speech-like.
• Key - Commercial references list A major in many releases; licensed materials and tools vary. Plan for transposability.
• Tempo - Around 80-85 BPM. The feel is a relaxed four with legato phrases and crisp buttons.
• Style - Pop-Broadway with clean vowels, light bounce on rhymes, and friendly consonants.

1. Tempo - Set the metronome near 82 BPM. Speak the opening verse in rhythm, then sing it without changing the pace.
2. Diction - Keep internal rhymes tight. Let the consonants tick without chopping the vowel. Smile on “glory” and “story” but avoid spreading.
3. Breathing - Short, frequent inhales. Mark a catch-breath before the first ensemble entrance so the handoff feels generous, not rushed.
4. Flow and rhythm - Sit just ahead of the beat when handing lines between soloists. It keeps the groove buoyant.
5. Accents - Touch “we,” “our,” and “you.” The meaning is in the pronouns.
6. Ensemble and doubles - Leave a pocket for Donkey’s ad libs and the creatures’ roll call. Conductors can cue micro-pauses to let laughs breathe.
7. Mic - If you are on a head-worn, resist pushing in the final chorus. Let the crowd energy raise the roof, not the preamp.
8. Pitfalls - Racing the last eight bars. Keep the pulse steady so the ending chant lands like a hug, not a sprint.

Practice materials: a transposable piano-vocal score, a simple click at ~82, and a clean backing that leaves space for chorus parts.

Additional Info

Where it shows up beyond Broadway: The finale is preserved in the 2013 filmed stage release, which put the original Broadway principals back on living room screens. It also seeds licensed productions worldwide, where it often carries the printed subtitle “Big Bright Beautiful World - Reprise.”

Album footprint: As noted by Playbill, Decca Broadway issued the cast album March 24, 2009; BroadwayWorld later noted the disc’s quick chart traction. The Grammy nomination for Best Musical Show Album capped the record’s first year. These markers matter because they explain why the finale made a home beyond the theater - cast albums travel farther than ticket stubs.

A small craft note: The final string of “we are” identities is not just a gag list. It is a rhythmic device that invites participation. In rehearsal rooms, you can watch singers uncurl as the list grows - a musical way of saying this choir is as big as we decide it is.

Sources: Playbill; BroadwayWorld; Billboard; Music Theatre International; Netflix; IMDb; Apple Music; Spotify; Tunebat; Singing Carrots; Filmed Live Musicals; IBDB; TheaterMania.