I love the irony in the idea of "Loud" starting off calm and quiet, and "Quiet" starting off loud and chaotic. It really gets across the difference between the character and the setting around them.
There’s something so terrifying about the line "A little less dressing like your mum, a little more ba-du-ba-du ba-du-ba-du" because, well, she is literally Matilda’s mom. While singing this song to her, she’s so self-absorbed that she doesn’t even realise what she’s singing makes no sense to say to her daughter, the "mom" she’s referring to her being an abstract character representing frankly the opposite of who Matilda’s mom is (probably inspired by the mom’s own mom)
Somewhere along the way, my dear You've made an awful error You oughtn't blame yourself now Come along You seem to think that people Like people, what are clever It's very quaint, it's very sweet But wrong! People don't like smarty pants What go 'round claiming That they know stuff We don't know Now, here's a tip What you know matters less Than the volume with which What you don't know's expressed Content, has never been less important So you have got to be... Loud (loud, loud, loud) Girl, you've got to learn to stand out And stick out from the crowd (crowd, crowd, crowd) A little less flat A lot more heel A little less fact A lot more feel A little less brains A lot more hair A little less head A lot more derriere No-one's going to tell you when to shake your tush well You've got a light, don't hide it under a bushel Oh, no-one's going to listen if you don't stand out No-one's going to listen if you don't shout No-one's going to care if you don't care So go and put some highlights in your hair 'Cause you've gotta highlight what you've got Even if what you've got is not a lot You've gotta be loud (loud, loud, loud) You've gotta give yourself a mission to shine To stand out from the crowd (crowd, crowd, crowd) A little less "bzz" A lot more "zing" A little less "pshh" A lot more "schwang" A little less dressing like your mum A little more bam-bam-bam ba-da-bum Oh, I look nice You don't! No-one's going to tell you when to wiggle your bam-ba No-one's going to love you if you don't know the rhumba Everyone loves a little something exotic But learning a language is over the top it It doesn't really matter if you don't know, know As long as you don't know it with a bitter clout The less you have to sell, the harder you sell it! The less you have to say, the louder you yell it! The dumber the act, the bigger the confession! The less you have to show, the larger you dress it! You gotta get up! You gotta get up and be Loud (loud, loud, loud) You've gotta give yourself a mission to shine Stick out from the crowd (crowd, crowd, crowd) A little less... A little more... A little less... A little more... No-one's gonna tell you when to "oh, oh, oh" No one's gonna show you when to "ah, ah, ah" If you want a little bit of "mm, mm, mm" You can't sit around going, "la, la, la" No one's gonna care if you don't care So go and put some highlights in your hair! 'Cause you've got to highlight what you've got And what do you got? You gotta be loud (loud, loud, loud) You've gotta give yourself a mission to shine Stick out from the crowd (crowd, crowd, crowd) You so need a makeover! You gotta be loud, loud, loud, loud, loud, loud, loud! Five, six, seven, eight Check out the footwork, Jennifer Littleton! I am the sultan of samba, baby, woo, yeah! You gotta be loud (loud, loud, loud) Simply gorgeous! Stick out from the crowd (crowd, crowd, crowd) Are you listening? You've got to be loud (loud, loud, loud) Oooh! Stand out from the crowd, crowd, crowd Loud, loud, loud, loud, loud, loud, loud, loud, loud, loud, loud, loud Ah, you gotta be Loud!
Lyrics: [MRS WORMWOOD] Somewhere along the way, my dear You've made an awful error You oughtn't blame yourself now, come along You seem to think that people like people what are clever It's very quaint, it's very sweet But wrong People don't like smarty-pants what go 'round Claiming that they know stuff we don't know Now, here's a tip: What you know matters less Than the volume with which what you don't know's expressed Content has never been less important, so You have got to be LOUD! Girl, you've gotta learn to stand up and stick out from the Crowd! A little less flat, a lot more heel A little less fact, a lot more feel A little less brains, a lot more hair A little less head, a lot more derriere (Whoa! Neigh!) No one's gonna tell you when to shake your tush Well, you got a light. Don't hide it under a bushel No one's going to look if you don't stand out No one's going to listen if you don't shout No one's gonna care if you don't care So go and put some highlights in your hair 'Cause you've gotta highlight what you got Even if What you got is not a lot You gotta be loud! You gotta give yourself permission to shine To stand up and be proud! Whee! A little less zzz, a lot more zing A little less shh, a lot more schwing A little less dressing like your mum A little more bah-da, ba ba ba-da bom! Oh, I look nice. You don't! No one's gonna tell you when to wiggle your bumba [RUDOLPHO] No one's gonna love you if you don't know the rumba [MRS WORMWOOD] Everybody loves a little something exotic [RUDOLPHO] But learning a language is over the top - [MRS WORMWOOD] It doesn't really matter if you don't know much! [RUDOLPHO] So long as you don’t know it with the volume up [MRS WORMWOOD and RUDOLPHO] The less you have to sell, the harder you sell it The less you have to say, the louder you yell it The dumber the act, the bigger the confession The less you have to show, the louder you dress it You gotta get up! You gotta get up and be loud! Wooo! [DANCE BREAK] You gotta be loud! Stick out from the crowd! Are you listening? You gotta be loud (3ifu3j20h4beu3785hfj 18bYWi) Stand up and be proud, proud, proud, proud Think you're clever? Pththt Whatever [ENSEMBLE] Loud, loud, loud, loud! Loud, loud, loud, loud! Loud, loud, loud, loud! [MRS WORMWOOD] You gotta be loud!
Oona Laurence Matilda Bertie Carvel Miss Trunchbull Lauren Ward Miss Honey Gabriel Ebert Mr Wormwood Lesli Margarita Mrs Wormwood Karen Aldridge Mrs Phelps Philip Seapth Rudolpho Loud Matilda The Musical Original Broadway Cast Shubert Theatre New York City