How Bad Can I Be? is a song featured in The Lorax. It is sung by Ed Helms as the voice of the Once-ler and various actors as his family (chorus).
The song is about the Once-ler's business getting bigger and the Thneed factory the Once-ler built to help speed up the process of making Thneeds. The factory pollutes the skies, making it hard for the Swomee swans to fly. It also dumps “Schloppity-Schlopp” (oil) into the water, making the Humming-fish dirty and the water hard to swim in. The Once-ler’s machines also cut down all of the trees, leaving the Bar-ba-loots hungry without their Truffula fruit. His actions cause pain to all of the Truffula Valley and its creatures.
Lyrics[]
How ba-a-a-ad can I be?
I'm just doin' what comes naturally
How ba-a-a-ad can I be?
I'm just followin' my destiny
How ba-a-a-ad can I be?
I'm just doin' what comes naturally
How ba-a-a-ad can I be?
How bad can I possibly be?
Well, there's a principle of nature (Principle of nature)
That almost every creature knows
Called survival of the fittest (Survival of the fittest)
And check it, this is how it goes:
The animal that wins gotta scratch and fight
And claw and bite and punch
And the animal that doesn't
Well, the animal that doesn't
Winds up someone else's lu-lu-lu-lu-lunch!
(Munch, munch, munch, munch, munch!)
I'm just sayin'!
How ba-a-a-ad can I be?
I'm just doin' what comes naturally
How ba-a-a-ad can I be?
I'm just followin' my destiny
How ba-a-a-ad can I be?
I'm just doin' what comes naturally
How ba-a-a-ad can I be?
How bad can I possibly be?
(Ahhh!)
There's a principle in business (Principle in business)
That everybody knows is sound
It says the people with the money (The people with the money)
Make this ever-loving world go 'round
So I'm biggering my company, I'm biggering my factory,
I'm biggering my corporate sign! (Bigger, bigger, bigger, bigger, bigger!)
Everybody out there, you take care of yours
And me? I'll take care of mine, mine, mine, mine, mine!
(Shake that bottom line!)
Let me hear you say smogulous smoke!
(Smogulous smoke!)
Schloppity-Schlopp!
(Schloppity-Schlopp!)
Complain all you want
It’s never ever, ever, ever gonna stop!
(Stop!)
Come on! How bad can I possibly be?
How ba-a-a-ad can I be?
I'm just building the economy
How ba-a-a-ad can I be?
Just look at me petting this puppy
How ba-a-a-ad can I be?
A portion of proceeds goes to charity
How bad can I be?
How bad could I possibly be? Let's see!
(How bad can I be?) (Buy, sell, trade, squash)
All the customers are buying!
(How bad can he be?) (Pork, fat, cut, smash)
And the money is multiplying!
(How bad can we be?) (Gold, yen, mark, pound)
And the PR people are lying!
(How bad can I be?) (Short, coal, oil, war)
And the lawyers are denying!
(How bad can I be?)
Who cares if a few trees are dying?
(How bad can we be?) (Pork, fat, cut, smash)
This is all so gratifying!
How bad!
How bad can this possibly be?!
Trivia[]
- The Once-ler’s voice becomes louder the more evil he gets.