La Vie Boheme Lyrics - Rent - Rent

THE WAITER 

No, please no 

Not tonight, please no 

MIster, can't you go? 

Not tonight, can't have a scene 

ROGER 

What!? 

THE WAITER 

Go, please go you- hello sir!- 

I said no, important customer 

MARK 

What am I, just a blur? 

THE WAITER 

You sit all night, you never buy 

MARK 

That's a lie, that's a lie! 

I had a tea the other day 

THE WAITER 

You couldn't pay! 

MARK 

Oh yeah... 

COLLINS 

Benjamin Coffin the Third? Here? 

THE WAITER 

Oh no... 

ALL 

Wine and beer! 

MAUREEN 

The enemy of Avenue A 

We'll stay 

THE WAITER 

Oy vey! 

COLLINS 

What brings a mogul in his own mind to the Life Cafe? 

BENNY 

I would like to propose a toast 

To Maureen's noble try 

It went well- 

MAUREEN 

Go to hell! 

BENNY 

Was the yuppie scum stomped? 

Not counting the homeless, 

How many tickets weren't comped? 

ROGER 

Why did Muffy- 

BENNY 

Alison! 

ROGER 

-miss the show? 

BENNY 

There was a death in the family, if you must know 

ANGEL 

Who died? 

BENNY 

Our Akita- 

ANGEL, ROGER 

Evita! 

BENNY 

Mimi, I'm surprised 

A bright and charming girl like you 

Hangs out with these slackers 

Who don't adhere to deals 

They make fun- yet I am the one 

Attempting to do some good 

Or do you really want a neighborhood 

Where people piss on your stoop every night? 

Bohemia, Bohemia 

Is a fallacy in your head 

This is Calcutta; 

Bohemia is dead 

MARK 

Dearly beloved we gather here to say our goodbyes 

COLLINS & ROGER 

Dies irae - dies illa, Kyrie eleison 

Yitgadal v'yitkadash 

MARK 

Here she lies, no one knew her worth 

The late great daughter of Mother Earth 

On these nights when we 

Celebrate the birth 

In that little town of Bethlehem 

We raise our glass - you bet your ass to - 

La vie Bohème 

ALL 

La vie Bohème 

La vie Bohème 

La vie Bohème 

La vie Bohème 

MARK 

To days of inspiration 

Playing hookey, making 

Something out of nothing 

The need to express- 

To communicate, 

To going against the grain, 

Going insane, going mad 

To loving tension, no pension 

To more than one dimension, 

To starving for attention, 

Hating convention, hating pretension 

Not to mention of course, 

Hating dear old Mom and Dad 

To riding your bike, 

Midday past the three-piece suits 

To fruits - to no absolutes- 

To Absolut - to choice- 

To the Village Voice- 

To any passing fad 

To being an us for once ... instead of a them! 

ALL 

La vie Bohème! 

La vie Bohème 

MR. GREY 

Ahhemm 

MAUREEN 

Hey Mister - she's my sister 

WAITER 

So that's five miso soup, four seaweed salad 

Three soy burger dinner, two tofu dog platter 

And one pasta with meatless balls 

ROGER 

Eww 

COLLINS 

It tastes the same 

MIMI 

If you close your eyes 

WAITER 

And thirteen orders of fries 

Is that it here? 

ALL 

Wine and beer! 

MIMI & ANGEL 

To hand-crafted beers 

Made in local breweries 

To yoga, to yogurt, to rice and beans and cheese 

To leather, to dildos, to curry vindaloo 

To Huevos Rancheros and Maya Angelou 

MAUREEN & COLLINS 

Emotion, devotion, to causing a commotion 

Creation, vacation 

MARK 

Mucho masturbation 

MAUREEN & COLLINS 

Compassion, to fashion, to passion when it's new 

COLLINS 

To Sontag 

ANGEL 

To Sondheim 

FOUR GIRLS 

To anything taboo 

COLLINS & ROGER 

Ginsberg, Dylan, Cunningham and Cage, 

COLLINS 

Lenny Bruce 

ROGER 

Langston Hughes 

MAUREEN 

To the stage 

BOHEMIANS 

To Uta. To Buddha. Pablo Neruda, too. 

MARK & MIMI 

Why Dorothy and Toto went over the rainbow 

To blow off Auntie Em 

ALL 

La vie Bohème! 

MAUREEN 

And wipe the speakers off before you pack 

JOANNE 

Yes, Maureen 

MAUREEN 

Well, hurry back! 

MR. GREY 

Sisters? 

MAUREEN & JOANNE 

We're close 

ANGELS & COLLINS 

Brothers! 

MARK, ANGEL & MIMI 

Bisexuals, trisexuals, homo sapiens, 

Carcinogens, hallucinogens, men, 

Pee-wee Herman 

German wine, turpentine, Gertrude Stein 

Antoniotti, Bertolucci, Kurosawa 

Carmina Burana 

ALL 

To apathy, to entropy, to empathy, ecstasy 

Vaclav Havel - The Sex Pistols, 8BC 

To no shame - never playing the Fame Game 

COLLINS 

To marijuana! 

ALL 

To sodomy, it's between God and me 

To S&M! 

BENNY 

Waiter ... Waiter ... Waiter ....... Waiter! 

ALL 

La vie Bohème! 

COLLINS 

In honor of the death of Bohemia an impromptu salon 

will commence immediately following dinner 

Mimi Marquez, clad only in bubble rap, 

Will perform her famous "lawn chair handcuff dance" 

To the sounds of iced tea being stirred 

ROGER 

And Mark Cohen will preview his new documentary 

about his inability to hold an erection 

on the high holy days. 

MARK 

And Maureen Johnson, 

back from her spectacular one-night engagement at the eleventh street lot, will sing Native American tribal chants backwards through her vocoder, 

while accompanying herself on the electric 

cello - which she has never studied. 

BENNY 

Your new boyfriend doesn't know about us. 

MIMI 

There's nothing to know 

BENNY 

Don't you think that we should discuss... 

MIMI 

It was three months ago. 

BENNY 

He doesn't act like he's with you. 

MIMI 

We're taking it slow. 

BENNY 

Where is he now? 

MIMI 

He's right... Hmm, where'd he go? 

MARK 

And Roger will attempt to write a bittersweet, evocative song. 

(Roger plays a solo) 

That doesn't remind us of "Musetta's Waltz!" 

COLLINS 

Angel Dumott Schunard will model the latest fall fashions 

from Paris while accompanying herself on the 10 gallon plastic pickle tub. 

ANGEL 

And Collins will recount his exploits as anarchist - 

including the tale of the successful reprogramming of the M.I.T. 

virtual reality equipment to self-destruct, as it broadcasts the words: 

ALL 

"Actual reality - Act Up - Fight AIDS" 

BENNY 

Check! 

MIMI 

Excuse me - did I do something wrong? 

I get invited - then ignored all night long 

ROGER 

I've been trying - I'm not lying 

No one's perfect. I've got baggage 

MIMI 

Life's too short, babe, time is flying 

I'm looking for baggage that goes with mine 

ROGER 

I should tell you 

MIMI 

I got baggage too 

ROGER 

I should tell you 

ROGER & MIMI 

Baggage 

ALL 

Wine and beer! 

MIMI 

AZT break 

ROGER 

You? 

MIMI 

Me. You? 

ROGER 

Mimi