Scrooge Lyrics – All Songs from the Musical

"Scrooge" – The Musical Guide & Song Meanings

Review

Why does Scrooge keep working as a musical when its story is basically one long lecture about empathy? Because Leslie Bricusse writes lyrics that behave like a public argument. They are designed for crowds. They repeat. They pivot fast from joke to warning. They let the ensemble judge the title character out loud, then force him to answer in the same musical language. The show is not subtle, and it rarely pretends to be. Its charm is architectural: every number is a trapdoor that drops Scrooge into the next moral room.

The lyrical themes are blunt but strategically placed. Greed is treated as a rhythm (counting, listing, inventorying). Loneliness is treated as a silence that other people keep interrupting. The ghosts function like editors: Past cuts into backstory, Present adds human context, Future deletes the illusion of safety. When the writing lands, it is because the lyrics keep widening the frame. Scrooge is not asked to feel guilty in private. He is asked to hear how his choices sound when sung by the city.

Musically, the show balances music-hall bounce with ballad sincerity, often in the same sequence. That mix matters for character. Scrooge’s early songs are full of hard consonants and clenched phrasing, built to sound like a locked door. By the time the score reaches “A Better Life” and “I’ll Begin Again,” the lyric vowels open up. The show’s idea of redemption is physical: your voice has to loosen before your heart can.

How it was made

Scrooge: The Musical is a stage adaptation that loops back to an earlier success. Bricusse first wrote the story as a 1970 film musical, then re-shaped it for the stage in the early 1990s, carrying over much of the film’s song score. The world premiere opened at The Alexandra in Birmingham on November 9, 1992, starring Anthony Newley. Later, it transferred to the West End at the Dominion Theatre (1996 to 1997), again with Newley in the title role.

The production history matters because it explains the show’s lyric choices. This is not a new musical trying to prove it can be a musical. It is a musical that already knows its hit-makers. The big ensemble pieces are built as set pieces first, psychology second. In the original staging, the creative team also treated the ghosts as a technical event, with illusion design evolving after the first production. Even in small theatres, that legacy pushes directors toward bold transitions and visible theatrical tricks: the audience is meant to feel “visited.”

The album release locks in the 1992 identity. The Original London Cast recording presents the score as a full evening’s narrative engine, with 23 tracks and a running time that keeps the story moving quickly. It also preserves the show’s signature tonal mix: warm communal choruses framing one stubborn man’s refusal to join in, until he finally does.

Key tracks & scenes

"M.O.N.E.Y" (Scrooge)

The Scene:

Early Act I, in the counting house. The stage picture is usually tight and vertical: desks, ledgers, cold light, a city rushing outside while Scrooge stays still inside.

Lyrical Meaning:

The lyric turns accounting into identity. Scrooge does not simply like money. He uses it to avoid everything else. The wordplay has a clenched-jaw satisfaction that tells you he thinks this is a love song.

"I Hate People" (Scrooge)

The Scene:

Act I, after he is pestered by charity collectors and seasonal cheer. Often staged with the ensemble orbiting him like distractions he swats away.

Lyrical Meaning:

This is misanthropy as a defensive posture. The lyric is comic, but it also sets the show’s target: Scrooge has trained himself to treat connection as inconvenience.

"December the Twenty-Fifth" (Fezziwigs & Company)

The Scene:

Act I, with the Ghost of Christmas Past. A party scene with movement, flirtation, and the kind of bright lighting that makes memory feel more vivid than the present.

Lyrical Meaning:

The lyric celebrates holiday pleasure while quietly accusing Scrooge of choosing career over intimacy. It is joy with a shadow. The more fun the song is, the worse his regret looks.

"Happiness" (Young Ebenezer, Isabel, Scrooge)

The Scene:

Still in the Past. A romantic number that plays like the show stopping to breathe, often staged with a softer palette and slower movement around the young couple.

Lyrical Meaning:

The lyric defines happiness as something ordinary and fragile, which is precisely what Scrooge is about to abandon. This is where the show argues that cruelty begins as a preference.

"I Like Life" (Ghost of Christmas Present, Scrooge, Company)

The Scene:

Act I turning into Act II energy. The Present drags Scrooge into a broader world: streets, festivities, movement that refuses to let him sulk.

Lyrical Meaning:

The lyric is an intervention. It is built as a rhythmic correction, pushing Scrooge to admit pleasure without qualifying it. The joke is that the ghost sounds like a cheerful bully, and it works.

"The Beautiful Day" (Tiny Tim & The Cratchits)

The Scene:

Act II at the Cratchit home. A domestic scene framed as proof: warmth exists even without money. Directors often keep this visually simple so the family’s ease can do the work.

Lyrical Meaning:

The lyric treats gratitude as a skill. Tiny Tim’s optimism can read sentimental on an album. In the theatre, it becomes a moral dare aimed directly at Scrooge.

"The Minister’s Cat" (Harry’s Party Guests)

The Scene:

Act II at Scrooge’s nephew’s party. A parlour game number, often staged as playful chaos and social ease that Scrooge has refused for years.

Lyrical Meaning:

The lyric turns community into sport. It is light on purpose. Scrooge is forced to watch people enjoy each other without calculating profit.

"Thank You Very Much" (Company)

The Scene:

Act II with the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. A crowd sings a jaunty chorus while Scrooge misunderstands what he is hearing, a tonal clash that directors often sharpen with unsettling staging choices.

Lyrical Meaning:

The lyric is the show’s sharpest knife: a bouncy tune delivering social revenge. It proves the central point. How people talk about you when you are gone is the real audit.

Live updates (2025/2026)

Information current as of February 1, 2026. The biggest forward-looking headline is a new large-scale run in Glasgow. The SEC Armadillo has announced Scrooge The Musical starring Marti Pellow, scheduled for December 12, 2026 through January 10, 2027, marketed as a limited five-week engagement. Ticketing is already live through major outlets, with multiple December 2026 performance dates listed for the venue.

For producers and schools, the more evergreen “update” is licensing. Concord Theatricals continues to license Scrooge!, which keeps the title in circulation even when there is no single national tour dominating the calendar. That is why the show keeps resurfacing in different sizes: full-length stagings, seasonal revivals, and community versions that can scale ghosts up or down depending on budget.

What has changed since the 1990s is audience appetite for moral comfort. In 2026, directors tend to lean into speed and spectacle early, then earn stillness later. The lyrics already support that arc. The choice is whether you let the comedy stay cosy, or let the Future sequences bite.

Notes & trivia

• The stage musical is credited to Leslie Bricusse for book, music, and lyrics, closely adapted from his 1970 film musical score.
• The world premiere opened November 9, 1992 at The Alexandra in Birmingham, starring Anthony Newley as Scrooge.
• The West End transfer played at the Dominion Theatre from November 12, 1996 to February 1, 1997.
• The Original Cast Recording sessions took place November 1 and 2, 1992, with release listed in December 1992 across discography references.
• The “Thank You Very Much” sequence is deliberately ironic: Scrooge hears praise before realizing the crowd is celebrating his death.
• Illusion design was a notable production focus early on, with the show’s ghost effects credited to different creatives as the staging evolved after the first production.
• In November 2025, venue and press announcements confirmed Marti Pellow leading a major Glasgow run in December 2026 to January 2027.

Reception

Scrooge has always attracted a specific argument: are the songs deepening Dickens, or decorating him? Some critics have praised the show’s family-friendly momentum. Others have complained that the musical numbers can lower the emotional stakes rather than raise them. The debate is telling, because it is really a debate about Bricusse’s lyric style. His writing aims for direct audience rapport, which can read either as clarity or as smoothing.

“Truth is, Leslie Bricusse's show is more A Christmas Carol than it is Scrooge.”

“This cheery but dreary spectacle … doesn't bother with any of the story's darker and less comfortable truths.”

“There can be no doubt that Scrooge succeeds in what it sets out to do.”

Quick facts

• Title: Scrooge: The Musical
• Year: 1992
• Type: Full-length musical (holiday dramatic comedy)
• Book, music, lyrics: Leslie Bricusse
• Based on: Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol and the 1970 film musical Scrooge
• World premiere: The Alexandra, Birmingham (opened November 9, 1992)
• West End run: Dominion Theatre (November 12, 1996 to February 1, 1997)
• Selected notable placements: “M.O.N.E.Y” (counting house); “December the Twenty-Fifth” and “Happiness” (Ghost of Christmas Past); “I Like Life” (Ghost of Christmas Present); “The Minister’s Cat” (nephew’s party); “Thank You Very Much” (Yet to Come sequence)
• Album: Original Cast Recording (recorded November 1–2, 1992; 23 tracks listed on major streaming services)
• Licensing: Available through Concord Theatricals
• 2026 major staging: SEC Armadillo, Glasgow (December 12, 2026 to January 10, 2027), starring Marti Pellow

Frequently asked questions

Is this the same as the 1970 film Scrooge?

It is closely related. The stage musical carries over much of Leslie Bricusse’s film song score while reshaping the piece for live theatre.

Who wrote the lyrics?

Leslie Bricusse wrote the book, music, and lyrics.

Where did the stage musical premiere?

The world premiere opened at The Alexandra in Birmingham on November 9, 1992.

What is the show’s most important lyrical trick?

It lets the city sing judgment. Ensemble numbers do not just provide atmosphere. They function as a chorus that grades Scrooge’s behavior in public, often with a smile that turns sharp.

Is there a cast recording?

Yes. The Original Cast Recording is widely available on streaming platforms, and discography references list recording sessions in early November 1992.

Is Scrooge being staged in 2026?

Yes. A major run has been announced for Glasgow’s SEC Armadillo from December 12, 2026 through January 10, 2027, starring Marti Pellow.

Key contributors

Sources: Concord Theatricals, The Independent, The Guardian, British Theatre Guide, SEC (Scottish Event Campus), Ticketmaster UK, Marti Pellow official site, Apple Music, Spotify, Discogs, Wikipedia, YouTube (production trailers).