"Dentist!" is a musical number featured in the 1986 dark comedy horror film Little Shop of Horrors. Directed by Frank Oz, the film is an adaptation of the off-Broadway musical of the same name, which itself was inspired by the 1960 low-budget black comedy film of the same name.
Background[]
"Dentist!" is one of the standout songs in the film, composed by Alan Menken with lyrics by Howard Ashman. This lively and darkly humorous song is performed by Steve Martin, who plays the sadistic and sadomasochistic dentist, Orin Scrivello, in the film. The song is a showcase of Orin Scrivello's character, an abusive and sadistic dentist who takes pleasure in inflicting pain on his patients. As he sings, he reveals his twisted joy in causing suffering, both to his clients and himself. The song humorously highlights Orin's self-destructive tendencies, as he is addicted to nitrous oxide, which he inhales while working on his patients.
Lyrics[]
Orin:
When I was young and just a bad little kid
My mama noticed funny things I did
Like shootin' puppies with a B B gun
I'd poison guppies, and when I was done
I'd find a pussy cat and bash its head
That's when my mama said
Crystal, Ronette, and Chiffon:
What did she say?
Orin:
She said "My boy, I think someday, you’ll find a way
To make your natural tendencies pay"
You'll be a dentist (Be a dentist)
You have a talent for causing things pain (Pain)
Son, be a dentist (Son, be a dentist)
People will pay you to be inhumane (Inhumane)
Your temperament's wrong for the priesthood
And teaching would suit you still less
Son, be a dentist you'll be a success
Crystal, Ronette, and Chiffon:
Here he is folks, the leader of the plaque!
Watch him suck up that gas, oh my God
He is a dentist and he'll never ever be any good
Who wants their teeth done by the Marquis De Sade?
Patient:
Oh, that hurts, wait, I'm not numb
Orin:
Ehh, shut up, open wide, here I come
I am your dentist (Goodness Gracious)
And I enjoy the career that I picked (Love it)
I am your dentist (Fitting braces)
And I get off on the pain I inflict (You really love it)
I thrill when I drill a bicuspid (Ooh, bicuspid)
It's swell, though they tell me I'm maladjusted (Dentist)
And though it may cause my patients distress (Distress)
Somewhere, somewhere in heaven above me
I know, I know that my mama's proud of me
Oh, Mama!
'Cause I'm a dentist, and a success
Say aah! (Ahh)
Say aah! (Ahh)
Say ahh! (Ahh)
Now spit!
v - e - d  | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|