Lyrics of 'It All Comes Back (Opening)' by Fun Home (Musical)

[Small Alison]
Daddy!
Hey, Daddy, come here, okay?
I need you
What are you doing?
I said come here
You need to do what I tell you to do
Listen to me

Daddy!
Come here! Hey, right here! Right now!
You’re making mad
Listen to me
Listen to me
Listen to me

I wanna play airplane
I wanna play airplane
I wanna play airplane!
I wanna put my arms out and fly
Like the Red Baron in the Sopwith Camel!

No, wait
Like Superman!
Up in the sky
Till I can see all of Pennsylvania

[Bruce]
[Spoken] Hey! Gimme a hand

[Small Alison]
What’d you get, Daddy?

[Alison]
Right, right right

[Bruce]
It’s from Clyde Gibbon’s barn
What a haul!
He said, take what you want
I said, Clyde, are you sure?
He said, it’s all junk to me
I said, okay, Clyde, okay!
C’mon, take a look
You go to auctions, yard sales, comb the dump
There’s crap, there’s crap, there’s, hey
What’s this?

[Small Alison]
More crap?

[Bruce]
No
[Sung] Linen!
This is linen!
Gorgeous Irish linen!
See how I can tell?
Right here, this floating thread, you see
That’s what makes it damask

And the weight, the weight, this drape!
And the pattern, crisp and clear!
See how it’s made from
Matte and shine?
It’s tattered here, but all the rest
How beautiful!
How fine!

Okay, okay
What else?
Crap, crap, dead mouse

[Small Alison]
Oh, can I have it?

[Bruce]
It’s all yours
What’s this?
Silver?
Is this silver?
Is this junk, or silver?
With polish, we can tell

I love how tarnish melts away
Opening to luster
And the mark, is there a mark?
Yes, this stamp, you see? Right here!
That’s how the craftsman leaves a sign
That he was here and made his work
So beautiful
So fine

This has traveled continents to get here
And crossed an ocean of time
And somehow landed in this box
Under a layer of grime
I can’t abide romantic notions

Of some vague long ago
I want to know what’s true
Dig deep into who
And what
And why
And when
Until now gives way to then

[Alison]
Did you ever imagine I’d hang on to your stuff, Dad?
Me either
But I guess I always knew that someday I was going to draw you
In cartoons
Yes, Dad, I know
You think cartoons are silly
But I draw cartoons, and I need real things to draw from
‘Cause I don’t trust memory

But, God, this thing is ghastly!
You were so ecstatic when you found it
At a yard sale
No, no, wait
In Mr. Gibbon’s barn
It all comes back
It all comes back
It all comes back!

There’s you
And there’s me
But now I’m the one who’s forty-three
And stuck
I can’t find my way through
Just like you
Am I just like you?

[Bruce]
A sign that he was here
And made his work

[Alison]
I can’t abide romantic notions
Of some vague long ago

[Bruce & Alison]
I want to know what’s true
Dig deep into who
And what
And why
And when
Until now gives way to then

[Small Alison]
Daddy!
Hey Daddy, come here, okay?
I need you

[Bruce]
This has traveled to get here
So beautiful

[Small Alison]
What are you doing? I said come here

[Alison]
Flying through
Oh

I wanna play airplane

[Small Alison]
I wanna play airplane

[Alison]
I wanna play airplane

[Small Alison]
I wanna play airplane!

[Alison]
[Spoken] Caption
My dad and I were exactly alike

[Small Alison]
I see everything!

[Alison]
Caption
My dad and I were nothing alike

[Small Alison]
I’m Superman

[Alison]
My dad and
My dad and I

[Small Alison]
But, Daddy, come back!