Carrying the Banner

"Carrying the Banner" is a song from the musical Newsies. It is sung by Jack Kelly (originated by Jeremy Jordan), Crutchie (originated by Andrew Keenan-Bolger), the Nuns and the Newsies Company. The song was composed by Alan Menken.

Lyrics
[RACE]

Hey!

That's my cigar!

[ALBERT]

You'll steal another!

[SPECS]

Hey, look! It's bath time at the zoo

[HENRY]

I thought that I'd surprise my mother

[ALBERT]

If you can find her

[NEWSIES]

WHO ASKED YOU?!

[RACE]

From Bottle Alley to the Harbor

There's easy pickings guaranteed

[FINCH]

Try any banker, bum, or barber

They almost all knows how to read

[JACK]

It's a crooked game we're playin'

One we'll never lose

Long as suckers don't mind payin'

Just to get bad news

[NEWSIES]

Ain't it a fine life!

Carrying the banner through it all

A mighty fine life!

Carrying the banner tough and tall

When that bell rings

We goes where we wishes

We's as free as fishes

Sure beats washing dishes

What a fine life

Carrying the banner home-free all!

[FINCH, spoken]

Hey, Crutchie, what's your leg say, gonna rain?

[CRUTCHIE, spoken]

Uhh, no rain...

Ho-ho, partly cloudy clear by evenin'

[RACE, spoken]

Ha! And the limp sells fifty papes a week, all by itself!

[CRUTCHIE, spoken]

I don't need the limp to sell papes

I got personality

(sung)

It takes a smile that spreads like butter

The kind that turns a lady's head

[RACE]

It takes an orphan with a stutter

[FINCH]

Who's also blind-

[ALBERT]

And mute-

[ELMER]

And dead!

[CRUTCHIE, BUTTONS, JO-JO]

Summer stinks and winter's freezing When you works outdoors

[JACK, TOMMY BOY, CRUTCHIE, BUTTONS, JO-JO]

Start out sweatin

End up sneezin'

In between it pours!

[NEWSIES]

Still it's a fine life

Carrying the banner with me chums

(Still it's a fine life carrying the banner with me chums)

A bunch of big shots

Tossin' out a freebie to the bums

(A bunch o' big shots tossin' out a freebie)

[FINCH]

Hey! What's the hold up?

Waiting makes me antsy

I likes livin' chancey

[NEWSIES]

Harlem to Delancey

What a fine life!

Carrying the banner through the-

[NUNS]

Blessed children

Though you wander lost and depraved

Jesus loves you

You shall be saved

RACE, ELMER & NUNS

Curdled

Just give me half a cup

Blessed children

[RACE, HENRY]

Coffee

Somethin' to wake me up

[RACE, ROMEO]

Concrete donuts

I gotta find an angle

[RACE, TOMMY BOY]

Sprinkled with mold

It's gettin' bad out there

[RACE, MUSH]

Homemade

Papers is all I got

[NUNS, SPECS]

Jesus loves you It's 88 degrees

[RACE, JO-JO]

Biscuits

Jack says to change my spot

[SNIPER]

Wish I could catch a breeze

[RACE, FINCH]

Just two Maybe it's worth a shot

[RACE, BUTTONS]

Years old

All I can catch is fleas

[JACK]

If I hate the headline

I’ll make up a headline

[JACK AND CRUTCHIE]

And I'll say anything I have'ta

[JACK, CRUTCHIE, RACE, AND ROMEO]

'Cause at two for a penny if I take too many

Weasel just makes me eat 'em afta'!

[NEWSIES GROUP 1 & NEWSIES GROUP 2]

Got a feelin' bout the headline!

I do too, so it must be true

I smells me a headline!

Papes are gonna sell like we was givin' them away!

What a switch! Soon we'll all be rich

Betcha dinner it's a doozy

'Bout a pistol-packin' floozy

Don't know any better way to make a newsie's day

Who knows how to make a Newsie's day!

[NEWSIES]

You wanna move the next edition

Give us an earthquake or a war!

[ELMER]

How ‘bout a crooked politician?

[NEWSIES]

Ya nitwit, that ain’t news no more!

Uptown to Grand Central Station

Down to City Hall

We improves our circulation

Walking ‘til we fall

But we'll be out there

Got a feelin' 'bout the headline, I smells me a headline

Carrying the banner man to man!

Papes are gonna sell like we was givin' them away

Betcha dinner it's a doozy

We're always out there

'Bout a pistol-packin' floozy

Soakin' every sucker that we can

Don't know any better way to make a Newsie's day!

See the headline:

I was stakin' out the circus

Newsies on a mission!

And then someone said that Coney's really hot

Kill the competition

But when I got there

Sell the next edition

There was Spot with all his cronies

We'll be out there

Heck, I'm gonna take what little dough I got and play the ponies

Carrying the banner!

See us out there, carrying the banner!

We at least deserves a headline for the hours that they work us

Always out there, carrying the banner!

Jeez, I bet if I just stayed a little longer at the circus

[NEWSIES]

We’ll all be out there

Carrying the banner man to man!

We're always out there

Soakin' every sucker that we can!

Here's the headline:

Newsies on a mission!

Kill the competition!

Sell the next edition!

We'll be out there

Carrying the banner!

See us out there

Carrying the banner!

Always out there

Carrying the banner!

Ahh, ahh, ahh, go!