If We Only Had a Plan Lyrics – Wizard Of Oz, The

Song Overview

A quick shot of caffeine in Act II, this 2011 London Palladium cue turns doubt into motion. Paul Keating, Edward Baker-Duly, and David Ganly gripe in rhyme, then clock a solution the instant Toto appears. It is classic Oz engineering: patter into propulsion, nerves into nerve.

Review and Highlights

Quick summary

1. Short Act II trio for Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Lion in the 2011 London revival cast album.
2. New lyric by Tim Rice set within the Oz music palette; the moment bridges straight into the rescue plot.
3. Performed by Paul Keating, Edward Baker-Duly, and David Ganly, produced by Nigel Wright under Andrew Lloyd Webber’s revival.
4. Released May 9, 2011 on The Wizard of Oz (2011 London Palladium Recording).
5. Studio timing hovers around 1:15 - a strategic, scene-driving burst.

The texture is light-footed: a snare-tucked march, woodwind chatter, and clipped ensemble rhymes. The joke is in the title - these three rarely have a plan, but their friendship works like radar. The instant Toto darts in, the verse pivots to purpose. On record the cue feels like a cinematic cut - a breath, a plan, smash to action.

Creation History

The 2011 stage version threads new material by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice into Arlen and Harburg’s film score. This number is flagged in the programme as a new-lyric insertion in Act II, written to grease the transition into the castle rescue while keeping the character-variation DNA that runs through the “If I Only Had...” family. The cast album preserves that pacing - lean, witty, in and out.

Song Meaning and Annotations

Plot

After Dorothy’s capture, the trio stall in the woods, fretting about strategy. Their self-drag quickly flips when Toto appears - a literal signpost to Dorothy. The chorus tightens, energy spikes, and the rescue track clicks in.

Song Meaning

It’s indecision therapy by way of vaudeville. The friends voice their limits, then relocate courage in the collective. The moral is sly: plans help, but showing up together often works first.

Annotations

“It’s all gone to rack and ruin... If we only had a plan”

Classic Harburg-style gripe rhythms filtered through Rice’s economical phrasing - everyday idiom metered for quick laughs.

“Bet the witch would make a beeline... and an overgrown tin-can”

Cartoon self-roast plus consonant play. The line lands like patter, but the accompaniment stays buoyant so the gag never drags.

Style and instrumentation

Patter-trio over a brisk march pulse; winds and light brass tick off the punchlines. Emotional arc: moan - spark - move.

Key Facts

• Artist: Paul Keating, Edward Baker-Duly, David Ganly, Nigel Wright, Andrew Lloyd Webber
• Featured: Act II ensemble voices
• Composer: Harold Arlen music basis with additional music by Andrew Lloyd Webber in the production
• Lyricist: E. Y. Harburg (film songs); new lyric by Tim Rice for this Act II insertion
• Producer: Nigel Wright; revival overseen by Andrew Lloyd Webber
• Release Date: May 9, 2011
• Genre: Pop - Musicals
• Instruments: Orchestra with winds, light brass, snare-driven march
• Label: Polydor in the UK; U.S. stores via Decca Broadway
• Mood: Anxious, witty, forward-leaning
• Length: About 1:15
• Track #: 20 on the album
• Language: English
• Album: The Wizard of Oz (2011 London Palladium Recording)
• Music style: Patter verse into march refrain
• Poetic meter: Conversational patter with tight internal rhyme

Canonical Entities & Relations

• Tim Rice - supplied the new lyric for this Act II moment.
• Andrew Lloyd Webber - added music across the revival and produced the recording.
• Harold Arlen - core Oz melodic language that frames the show.
• E. Y. Harburg - lyric architect of the original film numbers.
• Paul Keating - Scarecrow; Edward Baker-Duly - Tin Man; David Ganly - Lion.
• Jeremy Sams - co-adapted and directed the 2011 production.
• Polydor - UK label for the 2011 cast album; U.S. physical release followed in June.

Questions and Answers

Where does this cue sit in the story?

Act II, just before the castle rescue - a hinge between dread and action.

Why write a fresh lyric here instead of repeating an earlier verse?

To turn comic complaint into forward motion without slowing the act; the new text fits the rescue beat.

How short can a musical number be and still matter?

Very. At roughly a minute, this one resets energy, clarifies stakes, and points the plot at the door.

What performance trick keeps the humor light?

Clean consonants, unified cutoffs, and a smile in the voice - let the joke ride the rhythm, not the other way around.

Is the diction modernized?

Slightly. The idioms lean contemporary, but the rhyme games still nod to the 1939 playbook.

How does Toto function musically here?

As a cue. The lyric spots him, the orchestra snaps to attention, and the scene pivots from worry to route.

Does the cast album keep stage pacing?

Yes - the cue plays like a quick scene change set to music, which is how it works in the theatre.

Additional Info

Playbill flagged the album’s UK release in May 2011 and the U.S. retail date at the end of June, while Variety and other opening-week reviews underlined the revival’s architecture: classic film songs plus targeted new material from Lloyd Webber and Rice. CastAlbums and Ovrtur listings pin the track at 1:15 and place it between “Over the Rainbow (Reprise)” and “The Rescue.” According to Apple Music and Spotify listings, the credit line on this track foregrounds Andrew Lloyd Webber with the three principals - a tidy metadata clue that it belongs to the new-material spine of Act II.

Sources: Playbill; Variety; Apple Music; Spotify; CastAlbums.org; Ovrtur; Wikipedia - The Wizard of Oz (2011 musical); Amazon listing.