Who produced “What’s Up, Duloc?”?

Composer Jeanine Tesori produced the cast album with co-producer and sound designer Peter Hylenski.

Music by Jeanine Tesori, lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire.

Where does it fall in the show?

Act 1 - the Duloc welcome pageant and Farquaad’s manifesto.

Is there an official audio to reference?

Yes - the “Provided to YouTube” OBCR track is available.

What's Up, Duloc? Lyrics – Shrek

What's Up, Duloc? Lyrics

Performers
Welcome to duloc,
Such a perfect town.
Here we have some rules,
Let us lay them down.
Don’t make waves, stay in line,
And we’ll get along fine.
Duloc is a perfect place.

Please keep off the grass
Shine your shoes, wipe your face.
Duloc is, duloc is, duloc is a perfect place.

Performer
And here’s the man who made it happen!
That towering colossus of moxie!
Looooooooord farquaad!
(lord farquaad appears on a central balcony a la evita. Turns around and feigns surprise.)

Farquaad
Oh, it’s you! What a terrific surprise.
(sings)
Once upon a time
This place was infested.
Freaks on every corner-
I had them all arrested
Hey nonny-nonny-nonny-no

If you had a quirk, you didn’t pass inspection.
We all have our standards,
But i will have perfection.

And sooooo?
And sooooo?
Things are looking up here in duloc.

Performers
Just take a look!

Farquaad
The things i’m cooking up here in duloc.

Performers
He likes to cook!

Farquaad
A model that amazes.
A plan with seven phases.

Performers
Bum-bum-bum-bum-bum

Farquaad
Things are looking up here in duloc

Performers
They’re looking up!

Farquaad
In duloc!
The ladies all look swell.

Performers
Ahhhh?

Farquaad
The men are so dashing.

Performers
Ahhh?

Farquaad
Thanks to my new dress code, the fashion’s never clasing.

Performers
The fashion’s never clashing.

Farquaad
Hey nonny-nonny-nonny-no.
This castle i had built

Performers
Farquaad’farquaad’farquaad

Farquaad
Is taller than the cliff-tops.

Performers
Farquaad’farquaad’farquaad

Farquaad
A city like a postcard-

Performers
Farquaad’farquaad’farquaad

Farquaad
A monorail and gift shops!
And so?

Performers
And so?

Farquaad
And so?

Performers
And so?

Farquaad
And so?
No one from the gutter in duloc.

Performers
He’s takin’ aim!

Farquaad
Embrace the cookie cutter in duloc.

Performers
We’re all the same!

Farquaad
The upshot is enormous
When you can shout?

Performers
‘conform us!’

Farquaad
Yes! Things are?

Performers
Things are looking up?

Farquaad
Looking?

Performers
Things are looking up?

Farquaad
Uuuuup?

Performers
Things are looking up?

Farquaad
Here in duloc.
Hey, let’s hear it for those duloc dancers!
Aren’t they terrific?!
(big and ridiculous dance-break.)

Farquaad
There’s no sign of slowing!
We’re growing! We’re growing!

Performers
Look, he’s growing!
And growing!
And growing!
Look at him groooow!

Farquaad
Things! Are looking up here-

Performers
We practiced this part both forward and back.
We make one mistake, and we get the rack!

Farquaad
Things! I’m cooking up here-

Performers
He taught us to dance with razzamatazz!
He’s trained in ballet, flamenco and jazz!

Farquaad
My hard work, and my rigor,
Have made me so much bigger!
Things are looking uuuuup?

Performers
Things are looking uuuuup?

Farquaad
Things are looking uuuuup?
Here in duloc!

Performers
Ah-ah-ah-ah!

Farquaad
Here in duloc!

Performers
Ah-ah-ah-ah!
Up! Up!
U! Up!
Uuuuuuuuup!

Last Update: August, 27th 2025

Song Overview

What’s Up, Duloc? lyrics by Christopher Sieber — Christopher Sieber and company unveil the “What’s Up, Duloc?” lyrics - sugar on top, iron underneath.

“What’s Up, Duloc?” is Farquaad’s civic pep rally in rhinestones. On the Shrek: The Musical (Original Broadway Cast Recording), the number introduces a spotless city and the despot who keeps it that way. The hook is immediate, the patter is polished, and the joke lands fast: conformity as choreography. Sieber rides the mic with cartoon precision while the ensemble sells the smile that hides the squeeze.

Review & Highlights

Scene from What’s Up, Duloc? by Christopher Sieber — Scene from “What’s Up, Duloc?”.

The What’s Up, Duloc? lyrics snap the show’s worldview into focus. It’s cheer squad meets strongman rally, set to a bright march. Brass sparkles, reeds chatter, and the chorus keeps the smile pinned while Farquaad lists the rules. You hear a civic jingle; you feel a curfew.

Key takeaways: satire that sings, a chorus hook that doubles as propaganda, and a showcase for Sieber’s comic timing. The production lets the words punch through while the pit paints glossy edges. Twice the word lyrics shows up as if on a municipal banner - neat, proud, and a little chilling.

Verse 1

The dancers lay down the law - tidy rhymes, tighter vowels. It’s a welcome sign with teeth, framed by crisp snare and postcard strings.

Chorus

“Things are looking up” rings like a slogan. The band blooms, then hardens on the cutoff so the smile lands with a click.

Exchange/Bridge

Farquaad’s boasts escalate - city planning as personality test. The ensemble’s interjections act like municipal PSAs, peppy and precise.

Final Build

The comedy goes physical - height gags, razzamatazz, and a button that sells order as triumph. The beat is Broadway-bright even as the subtext goes dark.

Song Meaning and Annotations

Christopher Sieber performing What’s Up, Duloc? — Performance in the studio cut.

The number’s structure is the joke: a perfect town that needs perfect citizens.

“This is one of those ‘You thought I was going to say this but I didn’t’ moments.”

Even the rhyme game underscores control - the line lands clean, not crude, because presentation matters in Duloc.

Farquaad’s swagger is comic overcompensation.

“A anti-joke reference as to how short Farquaad really is.”

The diction stays grand while the staging keeps winking at the gap between self-image and reality.

He greets the crowd with faux surprise, selling spontaneity in a script that brooks none.

“There’s no terrific surprise, if you think about it.”

The veneer is the point - Duloc’s perfection is rehearsed.

Even the upbeat refrain cuts both ways.

“‘Looking up’ is a play on happy… and on things literally being taller.”

The town’s glow depends on everyone else looking smaller.

Pop-culture winks slip through the orchestration.

“This is the motif from Close Encounters of the Third Kind.”

It’s a sci-fi blink that turns civic pride into comic eeriness.

Policy arrives as rhyme.

“No one from the gutter in Duloc.”

The lyric frames difference as dirt, and the corps literalizes conformity with knee-walking bits and lockstep grins.

Uniformity is the fashion.

“Embrace the cookie cutter in Duloc.”

The chorus sells sameness as safety, which is how the joke keeps its edge.

The dance break is weaponized delight.

“We make one mistake, and we get the rack.”

The threat peeks out from under the sequins - showbiz as surveillance.

Message

Order without mercy is just branding. The song dresses authoritarian instincts in parade colors and lets the audience do the math.

Emotional tone

Breezy on top, clinical underneath. Smiles that never quite reach the eyes.

Production

Studio balance favors crisp consonants and ensemble sheen. You can hear the orchestrations keeping everything symmetrical so the satire reads at volume.

Instrumentation

Snare and brass lead; reeds and keys polish the edges; chorus stacks sell the civic jingle. The pit plays poster-paint bright on purpose.

Creation history

Tracked at Legacy Studios on January 12, 2009 and released March 24, 2009 on Decca Broadway. Produced by composer Jeanine Tesori with co-producer and sound designer Peter Hylenski, the album captured Farquaad’s showpieces with a pop-theatre shine.

Key Facts

Shot of What’s Up, Duloc? by Christopher Sieber — Picture from “What’s Up, Duloc?” audio upload.

Artist: Christopher Sieber & Shrek Ensemble
Writers: Jeanine Tesori - music; David Lindsay-Abaire - lyrics
Producers: Jeanine Tesori, Peter Hylenski
Release Date: March 24, 2009
Album: Shrek: The Musical (Original Broadway Cast Recording)
Label: Decca Broadway
Orchestration: Danny Troob
Conductor: Tim Weil
Length: 4:25
Track #: 5
Language: English
Instruments: brass, reeds, strings, keyboards, rhythm section
Music style: pep-rally march with Broadway razzle
Poetic meter: tight iambic pulses over 4/4

Questions and Answers

Who produced “What’s Up, Duloc?”: Composer Jeanine Tesori produced the OBCR with co-producer and sound designer Peter Hylenski.
When was it released?: March 24, 2009, on Decca Broadway.
Who wrote it?: Music by Jeanine Tesori, lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire.
Where does it fall in the show?: Act 1 - the Duloc welcome pageant and Farquaad’s manifesto.
Is there an official audio to reference?: Yes - the “Provided to YouTube” upload carries the OBCR cut.

Awards and Chart Positions

The album cycle landed hard: the OBCR debuted at number 1 on Billboard’s Top Cast Albums chart, reached number 88 on the Billboard 200, and scored a Grammy nomination for Best Musical Show Album.

How to Sing What’s Up, Duloc?

Vocal type & placement: Farquaad reads as a bright baritone with comic ping, living around middle voice with quick flips for effect. Keep vowels forward and clipped so the civic-jingle shape stays tidy.

Tempo & diction: March feel - consonants are drumline. Land t’s and k’s dead-on the beat, and give the rests real value so punchlines breathe.

Style & color: Sell polish, not warmth. Think pageant host with a policy manual - shiny tone, zero wobble. Ensemble vowels should unify on “Duloc” to avoid spread.

Acting beats: Power via posture. The comedy plays best when Farquaad believes his own brochure. Let any height gags live in staging while the voice stays grand.

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