play to win - ride the cyclone

[@elegantone.]

lyrics: daddy said; “oh daughter, dear, you fill my heart with pride - your words, so pure, you’re almost round, the truth is on your side!” but daddy dear, they cleaned our clock, a zillion points to none may i use the phone? aw pumpkin, you need to speak to one of your friends? no, i’m calling mom! so i called mom and i told her the full story “you did what?” i spoke from my heart about the facts “incentive: if you do well at this debate, you can come live with me.. me.. me.. me..” “plot point!” get the pen! she told me something that goes a little something like this; the art to win an argument's ain’t changed much over time you read and rule your public first, and then you change their mind it the judge looks like a hippie your foe’s a right-wing nut if the judge seems like a holy hostile pentecostal then your foe’s a godless hedonistic slut demonize your opponents with personal attacks quote some fake authorities and unrelated facts create a false dilemma like, “you’re with us or you ain’t” qsn the pot a loaded question “how can you say that adolf hitler was a saint?” oh, the tale of human history is one of damn’ed battery it works on the mob everytime! this candy-coated recipe of black and white morality that’s how we like our swine, mhm! the next day at the school debate, my mom’s advice applied we were like marine corps, stealing cookies from girl guides the judge gave us a standing O ..one kid broke down and cried! and the winner of the uranium city debate: miss rosenburg… and that other kid yeah, we won by a frickin’ landslide look, I even got a trophy we got a trophy? yeah, don’t touch it you’ll break it sorry! in this world, there’s just one sin don’t play the game unless you play to win (you play to win) why does my opposition feel the need to defend a pedophile? (you play to win) and the winner of the municipal debate is miss rosenburg (you play to win) i’m very upset, my brother just died but you don’t have a brother? shut up! (you play to win) and the crowd goes wild for miss rosenburg! don’t tell me there’s a better use of your ambition than to wipe the floor with your own competition mommy dearest said there’s only one real mission play to win play to win play to win! dad was there, and so was mom, for the national debate but where are my opponents? they were half an hour late and then this kid rolls in with a wheelchair and begs us to forgive he needed an emergency blood transfusion ..turns out he only had three weeks left to live debate topic: are human beings ultimately good? (you play to win) what? are you kidding me? he’s in a wheelchair (you play to win) how are you gonna beat this one? shut up, constance sorry! (you play to win) what would glenn beck do? (you play to win) awh, and he’s blind too? and the opposition calls miss rosenburg! my heart began to flutter tears welled in my eyes when I looked unto my father as he hung his head and sighed and then I saw an angel in blinding light and sparks with a hammer and a sickle it was a winged karl marx and he said “child, hands almost home and everything’s free i’ve been palling ‘round with jesus turns out he’s a communist, just like me and we got somethin’ to tell you (tell us, comrade) and we got somethin’ to sing to you (sing it, comrade) you wanna hear it? (yeah!) can you feel the spirit? (yeah!) can I hear it two times? (yeah yeah!) when you wrestle with poop (win or lose) oh, listen to me child (sing these blues) gonna get on your shoe (win or lose) you’re gonna be defiled (gonna be defiled) when the game is over, you’re knockin’ on heaven’s door it’s only your soul, your soul alone that’s keepin’ score you wanna kick out the crutches from a cripple? (oh no!) or push an old lady down the stairs? (sweet lord!) steal a piece of candy from a cryin’ little baby? as long as you’re winning, who cares! (who cares!) take out the kid in a wheelchair that’s the road to perdition soon you’re gonna wind up a back-stabbing, ass-grabbing, rubberneck politician! when you wrestle with poop (win or lose!) oh, listen to me child (sing these blues) it’s gonna get on your shoe (win or lose!) you’re gonna be defiled (gonna be defiled!) and when that game is over and you’re knockin’ at heaven’s door, it’s only your soul, your soul alone that’s keeping score! i said it's only your soul alone that’s keepin' score (sing it sister!) oh yeah! when you wrestle with poop (win or lose!) oh, listen to me child (sing these blues) it’s gonna get on your shoe (win or lose!) you’re gonna be defiled (gonna be defiled!) and when that game is over and you’re knockin’ at heaven’s door, it’s only your soul, your soul alone that’s keeping score! when you wrestle with poop (win or lose!) oh, listen to me child (sing these blues) it’s gonna get on your shoe (win or lose!) you’re gonna be defiled (gonna be defiled!) and when that game is over and you’re knockin’ at heaven’s door, it’s only your soul, your soul alone that’s keeping score! who’s keeping score! (who’s keeping score) x5 it’s only your soul, your soul alone that’s keepin’ score

[@nickel-brothers]

Oh you wrote the slur

[@elegantone.]

@@nickel-brothers i copyand pasted it😭

[@cheliceralbane]

I love you

[@cheliceralbane]

@@nickel-brothersyeah because it’s part of the lyrics lmao???

[@nickel-brothers]

@@elegantone. it's okay I realize it's not your fault

[@honidearest5032]

Has anyone noticed that, in "What the World Needs", the advice given to Ocean in this song is reused? She demonizes her friends by personally attacking them ("how long has he got if we feed him through a tube?"). She quotes authorities: Charles Darwin in particular ("Darwin had a theory"). She creates fake dilemmas and "what ifs" (particularly with Mischa, telling the audience that he'd probably just end up in jail) to further prove her point. I don't know if it's intentional, but it's just cool imo

[@dUckdUckg00s3]

Oooo I never realized that. For as much as I feel her character has changed I like how she still goes by the same values

[@finleyforevermore]

Something i think is kinda funny is that, before the we finally got the full song a few days ago, a lot of people thought Ocean was worse in the original version because of how aggressive the lyrics to the snippet we had were. But now we have the full version, I'd argue Ocean is _nicer_ here! She's not completely free of blame or perfect or anything, but she definitely cares about people's feelings. Her being mean to others results in her winning, which she likes, but she feels ashamed because of her father's disappointment and she doesn't seem to like being mean for the most part. She feels remorse for being mean to others, shown by Karl Marx berating her. Isn't it interesting how context changes everything?

[@Florian-526]

Yea it's interesting how the old version of ocean seems to have learned her lesson before she died

[@MellowMylo]

The first snippet we got was so unfortunate because we didn’t know it was supposed to be Karl Marx singing, not ocean specifically Ocean is one of my favs and she’s undergone a lot of development outside the musical, this ocean is much more deeper compared to our ocean

[@xevylo3949]

The way Rielle Braid deepens her voice and legitimately growls when she's doing voicing as the Karl Marx puppet. Play To Win for me is very fitting for Ocean starting with the innocent catchy showtune explaining her story before the accident, the slow belting when the conscience crisis starts to unravel then the booming gospel rave when Karl Marx is berating her. A song this grand fitting for a character with a big personality

[@timaeusTechnopath]

I can understand why they took this song out but honestly this song is really catchy. I wish there was a recording of the full...2011(?) musical

[@hopedixon9465]

Agreed

[@Carrots_and_kiwi_equal_dinos]

I get why they cut it because it tells more of a story before her death instead of like the other story’s that tell about fantasy or what could have been (Sorry if this makes no sense)

[@ripkenny.]

@@Carrots_and_kiwi_equal_dinosit’s most likely because before the American tour the plot was different where as instead of one person being brought back nobody was brought back

[@einhorntraudl]

I like how they change Ocean's ideology. In this version, Ocean is a communist, basically equality. However, in the new version, she's a social Darwinist, a person who believes in hierarchy... the opposite of communism.

[@HeartsfromHarps]

i love communist ocean tbh. i mean, ocean is a narcissist so maybe its not the best to make her a communist because thats not really her but she is a queen even though she kind of sucks but shes still loveable so

[@foxglove-woods]

I'm not surprised they cut this when What the World Needs is just. Better. But I'll give it this: I kinda love how it makes Ocean so obsessed with 'winning' in comparison with the final song. Still glad they cut it

[@spiritedaway0tutu]

So, the funny part about that is that there *was* no “winning” in the original show. The story wasn’t changed to include someone being brought back until later in its run. This version of the show was a vaudeville performance, with extra long songs and very little dialogue. This song is less about her wanting to win and more about how she was taught to win over the course of her life.

[@xevylo3949]

I like how even with the past and current Ocean, her parents were still a driving facet on making her a headstrong yet genuine character. In the current both of her parents were far-left centered marxist humanists which their lifestyle made her develop this competitive prideful streak with a drive of making a name for herself while in the past her mom was an irish oil lobbyist with conservative right wing beliefs and her dad was a jewish hippie with libertarian left wing beliefs both sets of their ideals meshed into Ocean. Adding to the talk of two different sets of ideals overlapping and fighting, her mom influenced her to become this Machiavellian debater with nasty tactics giving her that edge while her dad being a lovable father and a marxist wants her to become a good person (which explains why Karl Marx is berating her) giving her doubts about her actions, resulting in the conscience crisis and the question of whether you uplift your morals or ambitions do you win or lose if you choose one from the other? is someone really keeping score on your earthly achievements or your kind actions? Ocean is way more insightful in this version though we don't have the full show and only the song some said she was more headstrong or maybe Rielle Braid just did a fantastic job making her more charming and bright, contextually in this song she did a sermon for herself, got berated and questioned her own actions and beliefs and finally accepting that her soul is the only one who's keeping score After listening to the snippet and now the full song you can really understand why the old cast said this was their favorite to perform and also the creators desperately wanting to not cut this song when the musical is going to the US, its rare to find a song like this its style is distinct, the melody is catchy, the lyrics are witty and tongue in cheek. I love it simple as that its complex and enjoyable!

[@SuperShirikibros13]

I actually found it that the musical was first performed in British Columbia in Canada, so when you said about how the musical was going to the U.S., I actually had to search for the first location of the first performance. Edit: I actually like how it was performed in Canada first, so the setting would make more sense.

[@contentdeleted5405]

I've always loved "Play To Win" from the snippet I've heard. Even though the 2018 jump started all the other current versions. I liked the older version for how more symbolic it is. I also wished the newer versions tackled religion more. Religion for ocean, the idea that everything she's been working towards has been stripped away before she even had a chance to prove herself. Then of course, the song follows a religious melody, for me, suggesting that her entire faith was proven to be fake once making it to the afterlife. The entire idea of her asking "who's keeping score?" Is that no one is, as she's has been trying to be a good person her whole life. I have alot more to say about how oceans song shows ALOT about her character, but I'm not trying to write an essay.

[@xevylo3949]

rubbing salt to the wound for this Ocean apparently the blind kid in the wheelchair was apparently faking it, as absurd this song is it does beg a heavy question towards is being a morally good person in a overly competitive world worth it which made Ocean believe her soul alone is keeping score and then ask "who's keeping score?" on her good and bad actions. I wish they kept Play To Win such a profound song for a complex character

[@TheBeanPerson]

If you ever do write an essay (no pressure) on Ocean, drop the link! I think that this fandom likes analysing RTC more than we should 😅

[@contentdeleted5405]

Maybe I will@@TheBeanPerson 👀

[@allergictosmiles]

Im the one who found the soundcloud! Im really glad that 2011-2014 stuff gets more attention now! There's an official recording of play to win on Soundcloud,but it has been removed or made private! Im currently trying to recover it somehow,but i dont think that possible:((

[@freakymonsterr]

TYSM!!!!!!!!!

[@daph3676]

this song compared to wtwn its super different in terms of oceans character. In this version shes much edgier, almost as in shes pressured into being a sucessful politician. while in wtwn they really made her into the bubbly, sassy, popular girl just highlighting how obsessed she is with herself in all areas

[@chaotic_mood]

THE FULL VERSION WAS RELEASED? I THOUGHT IT WAS NEVER FULLY RECORDED OMG

[@spiritedaway0tutu]

This is one of the many audience recordings that were made over the years. Pay to Win was cut pretty early, but it was still used in every production from 2011 to 2013. Sometime during those two years, an audience member got a recording of it.

[@Percy_PotterEdits21]

​@@spiritedaway0tututhis is actually an audio recording from a concert performance in 2015 which was done as a final farewell to the Canadian tour and a hello to the American tour :)

[@cawcaw9089]

i wanna know how this ver of RTC looks like cuz this ocean seems to be very different to the one we have now (less hypocritical and kinda has a existential crisis?? other ppl in the comments have explained better), i find her more interesting here, i wanna know what he personality is in the play. thank u for finding this btw

[@gumballgun]

Her personality is pretty much the same! I think this version is a little less mean than the one we have now tho haha

[@perkaliciouss]

ocean was a lot nicer here because she wasnt intended to have an arc of character development throughout the show, nobody did. these were the days before any of the choir were comin back to life, when that whole concept was introduced the show had to undergo a sort of makeover.

[@Lalaisinhaa]

i understand why they cut this one, but... i actually like this one more than what the world needs

[@Nuh-uh19]

They literally said a slur. WTWN shows Ocean as the typical overachiever that's full of herself. This is just a rude ass narcissist which doesn't fit Ocean

[@Lalaisinhaa]

@@Nuh-uh19 and i said i understand why they cut but >> I

[@Nuh-uh19]

@@Lalaisinhaa yeah, now I still don't care

[@stars.collide]

@@Nuh-uh19 no offence but what on earth are you talking about? in WTWN ocean tells her friends that they shouldn't be ALIVE because theyre gay and disabled ("He's never gonna breed" and "How long's he got if we feed him through a tube?") do you understand how dehumanizing she is in that song? shes more than just a "typical overachiever" she's literally saying that because they don't "bring anything to society", they should DIE. which is a REAL conservative talking point that is used to degrade minorities irl! Its called social Darwinism and it was the cause of world war 2 dickhead. also she's nowhere near as bad in this song, like yeah the actress playing her says a slur which OBVIOUSLY isnt okay but this was written in 2008, if it was performed today the slur would be taken out, duh. But this song's whole message is that ocean is in the wrong for being the way she is, and its said so IN the song?? (i know ocean learns this lesson by the end of the current musical, im just comparing the songs) idk how they could be clearer than literally having karl marx come down from heaven and tell ocean that if she is ableist SHE WILL GO TO HELL, QUOTE: "take out the kid in a wheelchair, that’s the road to perdition" PERDITION. ETERNAL DAMNATION???? HOW DO YOU MISS THAT? Literally if you compare the character's takeaways (the characters. not the audience's) from the two songs; that a cishet, able-bodied, white girl is more deserving of life than anyone else in the world, or that lying and being unkind will result in you going to hell, even if you were well-meaning.. ("when you wrestle with poop [...] it’s gonna get on your shoe", [when] you're knockin’ on heaven’s door it’s only your soul, your soul alone that’s keepin’ score") one of those statements sounds a helluva lot more ableist to me than saying a slur

[@Lalaland-og9xr]

@@Nuh-uh19she literally promotes Social Darwinism in the most recent one… do you even know what you’re talking about

[@trashking471]

I love the church-y gospel vibes of this song aaaa 💕😭

[@hopedixon9465]

Same!! 💕

[@drewjay8940]

I always have to wonder if part of the reason this was cut was because there is a Community episode with this exact plotline (and if that's coincidence or not.) There's an episode of Community where Annie is on the Speech and Debate team; their debate question is "are human beings ultimately good?" And she's debating a guy in a wheelchair. Anyways, this made me realize that Ocean is a blend of Annie Edison and Britta Perry.

[@xx_0w0_xx85]

From what I know, the creators of "Ride the Cyclone" said that it didn't fit the plot anymore, so they cut it.

[@klionsioni1024]

YOUR KNOCKING ON HEAVENS DOOR, ITS ONLY YOUR SOUL YOUR SOUL YOUR SOUL THATS KEEPING SCORE❗️❗️

[@mariefairysoiree]

Ocean was even more sassier

[@Bex_._]

I NEED THIS SONG ON SPOTIFY

[@carolinecheney]

This is my first time listening to the entire song, and I like this one better than What The World Needs

[@Nuh-uh19]

Nah this sucks

[@TheNoelGruberHungryOmbreMeal]

I haven’t seen anyone talking about how different her parents are in this

[@Ethan_beanboi]

ik one of the reasons i can begin to understand why ocean is so ocean like is cuz of her parents but in this i can’t defend her lol

[@theothergirlx1]

Im too obsessed w this song 😢

[@TheNoelGruberHungryOmbreMeal]

I still can’t believe this is EIGHT MINUTES LONG

[@DemocracyRocks000]

6:01 is where it HITS.

[@EveningClouds]

I referenced this song on a spelling thing we had, the last word we had to write was opposition.

[@EveningClouds]

I drew Ocean before I even knew the word was that 😭

[@user-ey4ji3eb8r]

I love the fact that play to win got replaced cause of karl marx

[@dUckdUckg00s3]

That's the ONLY reason lol?

[@user-ey4ji3eb8r]

@@dUckdUckg00s3 in my heart? yes

[@hopedixon9465]

OMG yessss finally a full version of this song!!! It's soooo catchy 😀

[@sirsoleil]

5:35 is when the ‘more known’ part starts (or 5:50 is another time I guess?)

[@Simmer12341]

I'll try to dedicate some of my time to figuring out the lyrics when I'm less busy

[@allergictosmiles]

There's lyrics on wiki!

[@Simmer12341]

​@@allergictosmilesoh nice! Someone on Tumblr figured it out too. I'll prolly just copy and paste because I don't have much time haha 😅

[@aidengraham3114]

I see why they cut this song, its still good though

[@finleyforevermore]

As catchy this song is and as happy i am that it's finally available in full, there's no denying that some of the lyrics are pretty icky by today's standards. So I'm actually kinda considering rewriting the ickier parts of the song and make it more appropriate :)

[@jonassuperlindu998]

Sing it, sister💅💅💅

[@theyluhvvmel]

this is way better than wtwn imo

[@DinoandGalaxy]

?

[@Melzheartq]

@@DinoandGalaxywtwn stands for “what the world needs”

[@nm6439]

does anyone have a clue on who sang the dad and mom parts? i have a guess on who they were, but i just want to be sure :)

[@freakymonsterr]

jane/sarah pelzer and noel/kholby wardell!!

[@nm6439]

@@freakymonsterr thank you!!! ^o^

[@3mily2.0]

Why isn’t this on Spotify??

[@werodate]

It’s from a really old version of ride the cyclone so it’s hard to find scraps + outdated because of rewrites and stuff

[@Milkshake-Bakes]

Yo, im curious if someone could help me! What style of song would this be classified as? Like, what genre? I truly can't come up with anything on my own. Alternatively, if anyone has songs that are a similar style, i would accept those as well!

[@descalante64]

The second half is a gospel style theme, but for the first half not sure.

[@ChiYamada-zu8ed]

the part that karl marx sings is Southern Gospel Revival

[@MellowMylo]

This song is very much cabaret, from when ride the cyclone was just a cabaret show. Kinda like Noel's Lament which is also cabaret.

[@EveningClouds]

The fact this is my favourite song and my favourite character is russian is uh

[@RileyRoss-lh8vg]

welcome to communism comrad ☭

[@EveningClouds]

​@@RileyRoss-lh8vgthank you comrad

[@PinkHairPluto]

Wait in the og rtc ?? Is it like Corey

[@EveningClouds]

@@PinkHairPluto My fav character is Doll from md

[@PinkHairPluto]

@@EveningClouds i thought you were talking about in rtc mb

[@gumballgun]

IVE BEEN SEARCHING FOR THIS OMG

[@contentdeleted5405]

YES THANK YOU

[@Alienphobic]

Right in front of Ricky 😔

[@theothergirlx1]

EEREEEEEK! I AM SO PROUD OF YOU GUYSSS

[@Percy_PotterEdits21]

Where did you find this?!

[@freakymonsterr]

ON SOUNDCLOUD THERES SOMETHING CALLED “RTC 2015/02/15” WHICH HAS A FEW OLD SONGS!! THERES ALSO ANOTHER ONE POSTED BY THE SAME PERSON ON SOUNDCLOUD THAT HAS THE SAME SONGS JUST ON A DIFFERENT DATE

[@freakymonsterr]

i owe it all to the rtc discord server im in though,, someone else foudn it

[@Percy_PotterEdits21]

@@freakymonsterr this video gave me the motivation to start looking for 2013 rtc, much thanks

[@freakymonsterr]

NO PROBLEM!!’

[@AmateurGhoul]

4:13

[@DEADACCOUNTQUIT]

is it ok if i (try to) post this on spotify??

[@freakymonsterr]

@@DEADACCOUNTQUIT mhm!

[@spac3d0lls]

did you post it? i cant find it :(

[@DEADACCOUNTQUIT]

@@spac3d0lls aah im so sorry this was a little bit over 4 months ago and spotify took down the podcast i posted it in :( however i COULD try to post it again!

[@Pookslovespickles]

What cast was the background

[@freakymonsterr]

citadel thestre

[@dihte1628]

2012-2013 Canadian tour

[@moonlightwolf2980]

6:00 ur welcome

[@gumballgun]

OMG WHERE DID U FIND THIS I LOVE YOU

[@freakymonsterr]

SOMEONE IN MY RTC DISCORD FOUND THE SOUNDCLOUD FOR A 2015 PERFORMANCE OF THE SONGS AND THIS WAS ON THERE

[@gumballgun]

@@freakymonsterr YEAH I FOUND IT IM SO HAPPYYYY

[@superawesomezebra3857]

@@freakymonsterrdo they have the old BOJD?

[@freakymonsterr]

@@superawesomezebra3857 mhm! its up on someone else’s channel, search up 2015 ballad of jane doe

[@katherine-n6n]

The real story of the song is so bad....

[@dihte1628]

Not really. It's Ocean reliving the debate she lost when she let her father's morals get the best of her

[@professorwright1428]

God this is just way too long and not funny enough to excuse. Thank god they cut it.

[@freakymonsterr]

i personally really like it but i mean it is super duper long

[@cheliceralbane]

It’s so good though cmon. Also yes it’s very funny

[@perkaliciouss]

the songs were longer in the original because it was a cabaret show!!! there was very little to no dialogue between each song so most of the songs are much longer and ended up getting cut down or completely cut for time or narrative structure purposes. (PTW was obviously a victim of the latter)

[@cheliceralbane]

@@perkaliciouss that’s actually wicked interesting dude I didn’t know that. Thank you

[@perkaliciouss]

@@cheliceralbane You're welcome!!💝💝

[@yessir-vn7hq]

6:07