The Following Information is non-Canon. Demos and deleted songs are not considered canon to the Little Shop of Horrors musical, as they were not included in the final version of the musical, instead think of them as part of the history of making LSOH.
"The Worse He Treats Me" is a song written by lyricist Howard Ashman and composer Alan Menken during the development of the 1982 stage musical Little Shop of Horrors.
In early versions of the script, the song was to be sung by Audrey, who had been handcuffed to a tree by Orin as he goes to the shop with Seymour to admire the Audrey II, to Crystal and Ronette as an attempt to explain her relationship. Throughout the song, Crystal and Ronette (the character of Chiffon had not yet been added) would interject and comment on the relationship, trying to convince Audrey to leave her abusive dentist for Seymour.
The Worse He Treats Me
The demo to the song presented on the 2003 Broadway cast recording, sung by Alan Menken as a solo song for Audrey.
According to Howard during an early workshop of the show, taking place before the song was cut, he was still trying to find the line of how far he could go with the relationship of Audrey and Orin so that it would have a slapstick, Punch and Judy quality to it that would make the audience go "Oh, that poor thing! And I hate him!" without it being too "real," stating "if it's too real, I don't want to see it either. Let alone listen to a woman sing about it afterward." In the end, the song was cut and replaced with the I-want song "Somewhere That's Green."
According to Sarah Ashman Gillespie, Howard's sister, the first time he showed the lyrics to her, it was "the only time I ever said [to Howard] I didn't like something."[1] After singing it during the June 27, 2016 Little Shop of Horrors Reunion: Off-Broadway, Broadway, and Beyond! concert, composer Alan Menken quipped, "I know; questionable taste. That's why we cut it."
An early demo recording of the song, sung by Alan as a solo piece, was released on the 2003 Broadway cast album as a bonus track.
Lyrics[]
Here are the lyrics to the song, as performed by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken at an early BMI workshop reading of the show.
| Audrey | Crystal and Ronnette |
|---|---|
| The worse he treats me | |
| The more he loves me | |
| It sounds unusual, I know | |
| But when he hurts me | |
| That's how he tells me | |
| That he would never let me go. | |
| I buy him presents | |
| And what does he do then? | |
| That's when he beats me | |
| You say that's when he what? | |
| He doesn't mean it to be cruel | |
| Cruel, cruel, cruel | |
| I know he needs me | |
| And what does he know? | |
| He knows karate | |
| It's HI-YO-SUIT! | |
| And I'm his fool! | |
| He doesn't talk of love | |
| Or sunshine, or flowers, or birds | |
| But when you're home alone together | |
| One slap is worth ten thousand words | |
| I give him money | |
| And what does he give you? | |
| He gives me bruises | |
| You send a thank-you note? | |
| Well, that's a fair exchange I guess | |
| Guess, guess, guess again | |
| But I'm still prayin' | |
| Oh-wa-oh | |
| He won't stop sluggin' | |
| Oh-wa-oh | |
| Cuz that would mean he'd love me less | |
| Take our advice | |
| Seymour's so nice | |
| He loves you more than you see | |
| He wants you so | |
| Girls, I don't know | |
| I think I'll stay chained to this tree | |
| It may seem psychotic to be | |
| Erotic about Simon Legree | |
| It is! | |
| He's sick and despotic | |
| But gee | |
| Gee whiz! | |
| The worse he treats me | |
| The more I'm sure | |
| He loves me! |