The Bitch of Living Lyrics
The Bitch of Living
[Moritz]God, I dreamed there was an angel
Who could hear me through the wall
As I cried out-like, in Latin
"This is so not life at all
Help me out-out-of this nightmare"
Then I heard her silver call-
She said: "Just give it time, kid
I come to one and all"
She said: "Give me that hand, please
And the itch you can't control
Let me teach you how to handle
All the sadness in your soul
Oh, we'll work that silver magic
Then we'll aim it at the wall"
She said: "Love may make you blind kid-
But I wouldn't mind at all"
[All]
It's the bitch of living
(Bitch, just the bitch)
With nothing but your hand
(Just the bitch, yeah)
Just the bitch of living
As someone you can't stand
[Georg]
See, each night, it's like fantastic-
Tossing, turning, without rest
'Cause my days at the piano
With my teacher and her breasts;
And the music's like the one thing
I can even get at all
And those breasts!
I mean, God, please
Just let those apples fall
[All]
It's the bitch of living
(ah, ah, ah)
With nothing going on
(Nothing going on)
Just the bitch of living
Asking: what went wrong?
Do they think we want this?
Oh- who knows?
[Ernst]
See, there's showering in gym class...
[Hanschen]
Bobby Maler, he's the best
Looks so nasty in those khakis
[Ernst]
God, my whole life's like some test
[Otto]
Then there's Marianna Wheelan
As if she'd return my call
[Hanschen]
It's like just kiss some ass, man
Then you can screw 'em all
[All]
Alllllllll
[Melchior]
It's the bitch of living
[All]
It's the bitch of living
[Melchior]
And living in your head
[All]
In your head
It's the bitch
[Melchior]
Of living
And sensing God is dead
[All]
It's the bitch of living
[Melchior]
You watch me-
Just watch me-
[All]
And trying to get ahead
[Melchior]
I'm calling you one day
[All]
It's the bitch of living
Just getting out of bed
[Melchior]
All will know
[All]
It's the bitch of living
Living, Living
[Melchior]
All will know
[All]
And getting what you get
Just the bitch of living
[Melchior]
And knowing this is it
[All]
God, is this it?
This can't be it
Oh God, what a bitch!
Song Overview
Review and Highlights
I’ve always heard this cut as a pressure valve. Moritz confesses a sleepless night, the band drops into a tight backbeat, and the boys rip through a roll call of urges they can’t name out loud. Duncan Sheik keeps the guitar figure clean and insistent while Steven Sater’s text volleys between punchline and confession. The hook isn’t a tidy chorus - it’s the title phrase spat like a diagnosis. On record it lands early in the show’s arc, right after Melchior’s manifesto, and turns theory into pulse.
Highlights
- Form as character. Every clipped rhyme pushes the kids forward while the adults stay unnamed offstage. You can hear the classroom walls in the mix.
- Latin hangover. The number bursts out of a Latin lesson and still carries its cadence - school discipline as a drum pattern.
- Documented release. The cast album hit stores December 12, 2006 on Decca Broadway, a move that helped the score travel beyond the theater district.
Creation History
Sheik and Sater swapped in this song during development, replacing an earlier piece to better match the show’s drive. The recording credits on the Broadway album list producer Duncan Sheik with executive producers Chris Roberts, Joan Cullman, and Patricia Flicker, engineering by Michael Tudor, and mastering by Greg Calbi.
Song Meaning and Annotations
Plot
Moritz, wrecked from erotic dreams and public humiliation, cracks open. His friends chime in with their own fixations - teacher, classmates, shower stalls. Melchior enters late with a borrowed line from his earlier argument, which tells you everything about him: he wants ideas to triumph while the others just want relief.
Song Meaning
It’s a catalog of adolescent coping - masturbation as medicine, sarcasm as shield, blasphemy as breath. The band drives in steady 4/4, more pub-rock than Broadway, so the text can be blunt without turning crass. What sticks is the tension between private ritual and public shame. The church names sin; the body keeps receipts.
Annotations
“God, I dreamed there was an angel / Who could hear me through the wall”
The “angel” reads as a figure for self-soothing - grace with a very human delivery system. The show often flips sacred language to talk about bodies.
“As I cried out, like in Latin… ‘Help me out…’”
We’re still in class. The lyric’s “Latin” tie-back echoes the scene’s origin and Moritz’s panic spiral from a misquote to insomnia.
“Give me that hand, please… Let me teach you how to handle / All the sadness in your soul”
The hand is literal and not - technique and therapy in a single gesture. The song refuses to separate the two.
“Love may make you blind, kid”
A wink at the old scare line that self-pleasure ruins you - a rumor that outlived its source.
“Nothing but your hand”
The boys are stuck with the only intimacy their world allows. The line lands as both joke and indictment.
“And living in your head”
That’s the thesis of the entire act. Their bodies race; their culture forbids language for it.
“And sensing God is dead”
A neat Nietzsche nod that also sketches Melchior’s atheism without a lecture.
“You watch me… All will know”
He quotes himself from the earlier number, but here the bravado sits beside everyday misery. He’s not immune - just playing a different game.
Style, rhythm, instrumentation
Lean rhythm section - drums, bass, two guitars, keys - with strings as grit, not gloss. AnnMarie Milazzo’s vocal textures keep the ensemble tight while leaving space for punchlines to hit.
Cultural touchpoints
Later TV treatments kept the pop-rock edge, notably NBC’s Rise in 2018, which pushed the number to mainstream audiences via an official lyric video.
Key Facts
- Artist: Original Broadway cast - leads include John Gallagher Jr., Jonathan Groff, Gideon Glick, Skylar Astin, Brian Charles Johnson, Jonathan B. Wright
- Composer: Duncan Sheik
- Lyricist: Steven Sater
- Producers (album): Duncan Sheik; executive producers Chris Roberts, Joan Cullman, Patricia Flicker; engineering by Michael Tudor; mastering by Greg Calbi
- Release Date (album): December 12, 2006
- Album: Spring Awakening - Original Broadway Cast Recording (Decca Broadway)
- Track #: 4
- Label: Decca Broadway / Universal Music Group
- Notable adaptations: German version “So’n verficktes Leben”; Brazilian Portuguese “Nessa Merda de Vida”; Catalan version documented in a regional production clip
Questions and Answers
- When did this recording first appear?
- On the Broadway cast album released December 12, 2006.
- Who wrote the number?
- Music by Duncan Sheik, lyrics by Steven Sater.
- Who produced the track for the album?
- Duncan Sheik produced; executive producers were Chris Roberts, Joan Cullman, and Patricia Flicker, with Michael Tudor engineering and Greg Calbi mastering.
- Has it been covered on screen?
- Yes - the Rise cast released an official lyric video and digital single in 2018 via Atlantic Records.
- Did the album make an impact on the charts?
- After the Tonys, the cast album reached number 1 on Billboard’s Top Cast Albums, briefly dethroning Wicked.
Awards and Chart Positions
Industry honors. The album including this track won the 2008 Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album. The Broadway production itself earned 8 Tony Awards in 2007, including Best Musical and Best Original Score.
Chart movement. Around its release the disc was a frequent presence on Billboard’s Top Cast Albums list, and after the Tonys it took the top spot.
How to Sing “The Bitch of Living”
Vibe and placement. Keep it conversational on the verse, forward in the mask, and let consonants do the punching. Save width for the title hits - they carry bite when they’re not shouted.
Ensemble traffic. This is a relay. Moritz leads, Georg pops, Hanschen/Ernst trade detail, then Melchior enters with cool distance. Treat each entrance as a thought shift, not just a new timbre.
Rhythm section. Lock to the eighths. The groove wants steadiness - it’s funnier and truer when you don’t rush the jokes.
Key/sheet options. Published PVG selections and licensed digital charts are widely available and transposable. Pick the cut that keeps the money notes seated in mix rather than bark.
Additional Info
International versions. Official adaptations carry the number into other languages - German (“So’n verficktes Leben”), Brazilian Portuguese (“Nessa Merda de Vida”), and regional productions such as a Catalan staging - confirming how specific desire sounds in any tongue.