All You Wanna Do Lyrics – Six

Song Overview

Song Credits

• Featured: Aimie Atkinson
• Producer: Kenny Wax
• Writers: Lucy Moss, Toby Marlow
• Vocals: Izuka Hoyle, Genesis Lynea, Natalie Paris, Christina Modestou, Renée Lamb
• Release Date: September 1, 2018
• Album: Six: The Musical (Studio Cast Recording)
• Genre: Pop, Musical Theatre
• Language: English
• Label: Ex-Wives Ltd
• Copyrights © Ex-Wives Ltd / Kenny Wax Ltd

Song Meaning and Annotations

From Bubblegum to Brutality

All you wanna do

That line isn’t a catchy hook—it’s a looming echo. The group’s chant morphs into a predator’s chant, surrounding Katherine with their expectations. They don’t see her as a person—only as a body for their pleasure. Her identity is reduced to what they want.

(spoken) I think we can all agree I'm the ten amongst these threes

This boast is sharp-edged. She claims her crown by declaring she’s the only “ten,” mocking the other queens. But it also reveals her isolation—her self-worth becomes a public billboard. Confidence, turned into a fortress.

(spoken) And ever since I was a child, I'd make the boys go wild

This admission stings. She learned young that her value was measured in male attention. It didn’t start with consent—it started with coercion. Girlhood interrupted.

(spoken) Take my first music teacher, Henry Mannox...
(sung) Major to minor, C to D

Music metaphors rip open the truth. “Dynamics” for volume and drama, “strings,” “flute,” “G” as a pun—her childhood instrument becomes her body. At 13, she’s still a child, singing of chords far too adult. The harrowing subtext: predator disguised in melody.

(spoken) ...Francis Dereham... He helped in his office... we have a real connection

Dereham is older, more calculating. He’s her guide, but also the whispering insinuations in the ensemble’s backs—she’s not fooling them. She convinces herself “this one’s different,” but it’s the same cruel, antiquated story. Agency taken, trust betrayed.

(spoken) So I decided to have a break from boys…
(sung) Tall, large, Henry VIII…

She frames it as “a break,” but stepping into Henry’s court wasn’t relief. It was a replacement. Henry’s massive presence, religious power, and traitorous beard don’t fit the girl’s fantasy. Behind the glamorous title lies a stalking shadow. Romantic rescue—or courtship of compliance?

(sung) With Henry, it isn't easy... except for this one courtier... we're just mates

Her tone softens when she speaks of Thomas Culpeper—friends in a kingdom of strangers. “Just mates” finally, a moment of purity. But political alliances and sexual predators blur trust. Culpeper was kin, close, and dangerous. An oasis, or a mirage?

(sung) I thought this time was different… but the only thing you wanna do is... mwah

She’s desperate, almost pleading. That chorus hurtles back in, a tidal wave of repeated betrayal. Whether tutor, secretary, king, or cousin, they all want one thing: control. Her tear-stained exit line: she’s not safe. Childhood shattered, freedom withdrawn.

Playtime's over

Her sob breaks the rhythm. The repetition and volume shift—it’s not just performance; it’s a collapse. The playground is gone. Childhood is lost. Time to face cruelty.

Ensemble as Shadow Figures

In earlier solos, the ensemble guides or warns. Here, they are shorthand for exploitation—hands pushing, whispering. They’re not choristers; they’re predators casting shadow puppets on her soul. She is alone in the spotlight but surrounded by vultures.

Pop Star Persona, Dark Reality

Katherine’s song channels Britney Spears' guilty-pleasure pop—earworms with undercurrents of betrayal. The soundtrack flirts with fun, while underneath is trauma, grooming, and emotional manipulation. Gloss, yes—but we feel the sting.

Age, Grooming & Consent

Her first suitor: Henry Mannox, her music teacher—possibly in his 30s, definitely predatory. She sings “I was thirteen” as if it’s choreography. It’s not a crime. Mannox’s embrace, Dereham’s pressure, Henry’s power—each abuser uses similar lines: “we have a connection.” Katherine’s naïve want turns into a survival need. The crime hidden in plain lyrics.

Musical Wordplay vs. Emotional Reality

• “Dynamics”: technical terms and predatory dynamics merge—her body isn’t a body, it’s a lesson.
• Major to minor, C to D: notes that mimic her shifting innocence and dawn of violation—a child falling in scale.
• “G” note: double meaning—musical pitch, body part, taboo.

Every pun reveals a deeper wound.

False Promises & Predatory Patterns

Every relationship is set up as “different.” But the chorus lies: all want the same. She evolves from believing to doubt, to trauma. By the end, she’s broken. The bravado is gone. Hope, fear, collapse—in pop song disguise.

Verses of Violence Dressed as Romance

“He was twenty-three / And I was thirteen, going on thirty”

“I thought this time was different / But it’s never, ever different”

Pop Music as Weapon and Mirror

The Final Chorus: No More Playtime

Similar Songs

1. “Til It Happens To You” – Lady Gaga: A haunting anthem about sexual violence, Gaga’s track mirrors the emotional climax of “All You Wanna Do.” Both songs move from confession to collective pain — raw, fearless, and essential.
2. “Piece by Piece” – Kelly Clarkson: This song contrasts abandonment with hope — not unlike Katherine’s recurring heartbreak and search for love. It’s tender where “All You Wanna Do” is pop — but both sing about fractured trust.
3. “You Oughta Know” – Alanis Morissette: Rage, betrayal, and a woman reclaiming her voice. The attitude in Katherine’s song — especially as it collapses — channels Alanis’s raw defiance, even if the genres are worlds apart.

Questions and Answers

What is “All You Wanna Do” about?

It explores the repeated sexual objectification of Katherine Howard under the guise of romantic attention, exposing how her youth and vulnerability were manipulated by powerful men.

Why does the song start so upbeat?

The upbeat tone is a deliberate contrast to the lyrical content. It mimics how abuse can initially feel like love — masking harm with charm — until the truth surfaces.

Who are the men Katherine references?

Henry Mannox (her music teacher), Francis Dereham (her past lover), Henry VIII (her husband), and Thomas Culpeper (a courtier implicated in her downfall).

Why is the final “mwah” so chilling?

It transforms from a flirty sound to something hollow and haunted — a mockery of the manipulation she’s endured. It’s no longer playful — it’s accusatory.

Is Katherine Howard portrayed as complicit?

No. *Six* reclaims her narrative, showing her as a victim of grooming and coercion, not as a willing flirt. Her song charts the heartbreaking pattern of repeated abuse, not promiscuity.

Fan and Media Reactions

“The way this goes from pop princess to psychological gut punch? Chills. Every. Time.”

“Katherine Howard finally gets her voice — and it’s heartbreaking. She deserved better. Still does.”

“That last ‘playtime’s over’ hits like a slap. This song doesn’t just entertain — it educates.”

“A song about sexual abuse masked as a bop. Six is rewriting what musicals can *do*.”

“The silence after this number in the theater? Deafening. You could hear a corset drop.”