Nothing

Lyrics

[DIANA, spoken] I'm so excited Because I'm gonna go to the High School of Performing Arts I mean, I was dying to be a serious actress Anyway, it's the first day of acting class And we're in the auditorium And the teacher, Mr. Karp, puts us up on the stage With our legs around everybody One in back of the other, and he says "Okay, we're gonna do improvisations Now, you're on a bobsled and it's snowing out and it's cold Okay, go" [DIANA] Every day for a week we would try to feel the motion Feel the motion Down the hill Every day for a week we would try to hear the wind rush Hear the wind rush Feel the chill And I dug right down to the bottom of my soul To see what I had inside Yes, I dug right down to the bottom of my soul And I tried, I tried! [DIANA, spoken] And everybody's going, "Woosh, woosh I feel the snow, I feel the cold, I feel the air" And Mr. Karp turns to me and he says "Okay, Morales, what did you feel?" [DIANA] And I said, "Nothing I'm feeling nothing" And he says "'Nothing' could get a girl transferred" They all felt something But I felt nothing Except the feeling that this bullshit was absurd [DIANA, spoken] But I said to myself, "Hey, it's only the first week Maybe it's genetic, they don't have bobsleds in San Juan" [DIANA] Second week, more advanced, and we had to be a table Be a sports car Ice cream cone Mr. Karp, he would say, "Very good, except Morales Try, Morales All alone" And I dug right down to the bottom of my soul To see how an ice cream felt Yes, I dug right down to the bottom of my soul And I tried to melt The kids yelled, "Nothing!" They called me "Nothing" And Karp allowed it, which really makes me burn They were so helpful They called me "Hopeless" Until I really didn't know where else to turn [DIANA, spoken] And Karp kept saying "Morales, I think you should transfer to Girls' High You'll never be an actress, never" Jesus Christ! [DIANA] Went to church, praying, Santa Maria Send me guidance Send me guidance On my knees Went to church, praying, Santa Maria Help me feel it Help me feel it Pretty please And a voice from down at the bottom of my soul Came up to the top of my head And a voice from down at the bottom of my soul Here is what it said: "This man is nothing! This course is nothing! If you want something, go find a better class And when you find one You'll be an actress" And I assure you that's what finally came to pass Six months later I heard that Karp had died And I dug right down to the bottom of my soul And cried 'Cause I felt nothing