”Take a Look, Lee” lyrics

[RADIO ANNOUNCER, spoken]
And now the motorcade is turning into Elm Street
There's someone holding up a banner, "All The Way With JFK"
The President is smiling and waving as his car heads for Dealey Plaza
Where it will swing past the Texas Book Depository
And onto the trademark where—

[BOOTH, spoken]
Take a look, Lee
Do you know what that is?
That is America
A land where any kid can grow up to be President
The shining city, Lee
It shines so bright you have to shade your eyes
But in here, this is America too
"The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation"
An American said that and he was right
Well, let me tell you something
There are no lives of quiet desperation in here
Desperation, yes
But quiet?
I don't think so
Not today
Today we are going to make a joyful noise
This is the big one
You are the big one
You are the one who's gonna sum it all up and blow it all wide open
I have seen the future, Lee, and you are it
[LEE, spoken]
People will hate me

[BOOTH, spoken]
They will hate you with a passion, Lee
Imagine people having passionate feelings about Lee Harvey Oswald

Somebody help me!

[ZANGARA steps forward, speaking Italian. The ASSASSINS translate.]

[MOORE, spoken]
Please we beseech you...

[CZOLGOSZ, spoken]
We are the hopeless ones
The lost ones...

[GUITEAU, spoken]
We live our lives in exile...

[BYCK, spoken]
Expatriates in our own country...

[HINCKLEY, spoken]
We drift from birth to death, despairing...
[FROMME, spoken]
Inconsolable...

[GUITEAU, spoken]
But, through you and through your act, we dare to hope...

[MOORE, spoken]
Through you and your act, we are revived and given meaning...

[CZOLGOSZ, spoken]
Our lives, our acts, are given meaning...

[HINCKLEY, spoken]
Our frustrations fall away...

[BYCK, spoken]
Our fondest dreams come true...

[FROMME, spoken]
Today, we are reborn, through you

[BOOTH, spoken]
We need you, Lee

[MOORE, spoken]
Without you, we're just footnotes in a history book​
[GUITEAU, spoken]
"Disappointed office seeker"

[CZOLGOSZ, spoken]
"Deranged immigrant"

[BOOTH, spoken]
"Vainglorious actor"

[FROMME, spoken]
Without you, we're a bunch of freaks

[HINCKLEY, spoken]
With you, we are a force of history

[GUITEAU, spoken]
We become immortal

[ZANGARA, spoken]
Finally we belong

[MOORE, spoken]
To one another

[CZOLGOSZ, spoken]
To the nation

[GUITEAU, spoken]
To the ages

[BYCK, spoken]
Bring us together, babe!

[MOORE, spoken]
If you think you can't connect, connect to us

[CZOLGOSZ, spoken]
You think you're powerless?
Empower us

[BOOTH, spoken]
It's in your grasp, Lee
All you have to do is move your little finger
You can close the New York Stock Exchange​

[GUITEAU, spoken]
Shut down the schools in Indonesia

[MOORE, spoken]
In Florence, Italy, a woman will leap from the Duomo
Clutching a picture of your victim and cursing your name—

[CZOLGOSZ, spoken]
Your wife will weep—

[FROMME, spoken]
His wife will weep—

[ZANGARA, spoken]
The world will weep—

[GUITEAU, spoken]
Grief
Grief beyond imagining—

[HINCKLEY, spoken]
Despair—

[MOORE, spoken]
The death of innocence and hope—

[CZOLGOSZ, spoken]
The bitter burdens that you bear—

[BYCK, spoken]
The bitter truths you carry in your heart—

[GUITEAU, spoken]
You can share them with the world

[BOOTH, spoken]
You have the power of Pandora's Box, Lee
Open it...

[GUITEAU]
I envy you...

[MOORE]
We're your family...

[HINCKLEY]
I admire you...

[CZOLGOSZ]
I respect you...

[MOORE]
Make us proud of you...

[BOOTH]
I envy you...

[GUITEAU]
We're your family...

[HINCKLEY]
I admire you...

[FROMME & MOORE]
We're depending on you...

[ZANGARA]
You are the future...

[GUITEAU & MOORE]
We're your family...

[CZOLGOSZ]
We envy you...

[BYCK & GUITEAU]
Make them listen to us, we've been waiting for you...

[BYCK & ZANGARA]
Make them listen, boy...

[ALL]
We admire you...
We're your family...
You are the future...
We're depending on you...
Make us proud...
All you have to do is squeeze your little finger
Squeeze your little finger...
You can change the wor—

[OSWALD fires.]