Some Like It Hot Lyrics – Some Like It Hot

Song Overview

Review and Highlights

I’ve covered a lot of showstoppers, and this one is cut from the classic cloth: a title tune that doubles as a thesis statement and a dance detonator. The band hits a 30s big-band groove - brass punches, walking bass, drums on brushes turning to sticks - while the singers trade saucy invitations and sly double-entendres. You can hear Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman writing for bodies in motion: short rhythmic phrases, end-rhymes that land on downbeats, and a chorus hook built for tap breaks. The arrangement keeps stacking - reed riffs, trombone smears, then a scat flurry that cues the floor to erupt.

Creation History

The number lands on the Some Like It Hot (Original Broadway Cast Recording), released by Concord Theatricals Recordings on March 24, 2023, produced by Scott M. Riesett and Marc Shaiman with co-producers Charlie Rosen, Bryan Carter and Mary-Mitchell Campbell. The show itself opened at the Shubert Theatre on December 11, 2022, with direction/choreography by Casey Nicholaw. Prior to the album drop, the team shared an “official first look” video of the title song that telegraphed the show’s swing-era palette and dance-forward energy.

Highlights - quick hits

1. Rhythm engine: a syncopated swing groove that lets tap, reeds and brass talk to each other.
2. Lyric architecture: cheeky menu of pleasures becomes an invitation to radical permission - a tidy mission statement for the show.
3. The lift: scat-and-shout vamp near the end that spikes the temperature before the button.
4. Character blend: Sweet Sue’s bandleader spark, Sugar’s sultry wit, and Daphne’s playful philosophy keep the tone buoyant.

Song Meaning and Annotations

Plot

We’re in the hotel ballroom. Sue and the Syncopators take the stage, Daphne and Sugar front the band, and Joe (now in another disguise) watches from the crowd. The title song plays like a floor-show manifesto: everyone’s invited, the rules are flexible, and the only sin is shame. It’s a strategic reset after chaos - a chance to let the room, and the plot, breathe while the dancers light the place up.

Song Meaning

This is the show’s consent anthem. The lyric catalogs tastes - rugged, tame, icy, tropical - then lands on a simple permission slip: choose your spice level and dance accordingly. Rhythm-wise, the band moves from cool swing into hotter blasts, mirroring that “turn it up” refrain.

Message, mood, context: The message is choice without judgment; the mood is flirty, quick-witted, heat-seeking; the context is Prohibition jazz culture reframed with 21st-century inclusivity.

Annotations

A clime is a region known for its weather.

This is a metaphor for sex.

Consommé is clear soup made from rich, clarified stock…

The Postman Rings Twice… The Iceman Cometh…

Egg Foo Young is a Chinese omelette…

If a man (Manny) wants to go out with another man (Sammy)…

[Scat break…] “Everybody, dance!”

The world’s a great big candy store / So let your tootsie roll

Production & instrumentation

On record, you’ll catch tight reed sections, bright trumpets, trombone slides, upright bass, trap kit, guitar comping, and piano fills - the palette of a period dance band, voiced modern. Orchestrations by Bryan Carter and Charlie Rosen give the brass plenty of bite, while the rhythm section keeps it nimble for choreography.

Historical touchpoints

The score nods to the birth of swing and the songwriters who smelted blues harmonies into Broadway sparkle. The creators have talked about channeling that era’s language while reframing the story’s lens on identity and desire.

Key Facts

• Artist: NaTasha Yvette Williams, Adrianna Hicks, J. Harrison Ghee & the Original Broadway Cast of Some Like It Hot
• Featured: Company of the Shubert Theatre production
• Composer: Marc Shaiman
• Lyricist: Scott Wittman & Marc Shaiman
• Producer: Scott M. Riesett, Marc Shaiman; co-producers Charlie Rosen, Bryan Carter, Mary-Mitchell Campbell
• Release Date: March 24, 2023
• Genre: Broadway, swing, jazz-pop revue
• Instruments: reeds, trumpets, trombones, piano, guitar, upright bass, drums; tap as percussion
• Label: Concord Theatricals Recordings
• Mood: flirtatious, high-spirited, permissive
• Length: ~3–4 minutes (album cut)
• Track #: 10 on the Original Broadway Cast Recording
• Language: English
• Album: Some Like It Hot (Original Broadway Cast Recording)
• Music style: 1930s swing vocabulary voiced with contemporary Broadway orchestration
• © Copyrights: 2023 Concord Theatricals Recordings

Questions and Answers

Who produced the track on the cast album?

Scott M. Riesett and Marc Shaiman, with Charlie Rosen, Bryan Carter and Mary-Mitchell Campbell as co-producers.

When was this recording released?

March 24, 2023, digitally and on streaming platforms.

Who wrote the music and lyrics?

Music by Marc Shaiman; lyrics by Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman.

What musical style drives the number?

Swing-era big-band writing: riffs in the reeds and brass, four-on-the-floor walking bass, drum set moving from brushes to sticks, and a built-in tap break.

Where else has this number shown up publicly?

Televised performances include the 2022 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and the 2023 Tony Awards broadcast.

Awards and Chart Positions

The musical earned 13 Tony Award nominations and won four: Best Leading Actor in a Musical (J. Harrison Ghee), Best Choreography (Casey Nicholaw), Best Orchestrations (Bryan Carter & Charlie Rosen), and Best Costume Design of a Musical (Gregg Barnes). The cast album later won the 2024 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album.

On release week, the album entered the UK’s Official Soundtrack Albums chart; it appears at No. 43 on the chart dated March 31–April 6, 2023.

Additional Info

The writing team previewed the title tune on video ahead of Broadway, framing the score as a love letter to the birth of swing with modern eyes. You may also spot a wink to their earlier work: “Let’s Be Bad,” born on TV’s Smash, made the leap into this show’s world.