"Jack's Lament" is a song from the movie The Nightmare Before Christmas. It is sung by Jack Skellington, who is tired of celebrating Halloween and wants to experience something else. The All American Rejects covered this song for the album Nightmare Revisited, which was released in 2007.
Lyrics[]
There are few who'd deny, at what I do, I am the best
For my talents are renowned far and wide
When it comes to surprises in the moonlit night
I excel without ever even trying
With the slightest little effort of my ghostlike charms
I have seen grown men give out a shriek
With a wave of my hand and a well-placed moan
I have swept the very bravest off their feet
Yet year after year, it's the same routine
And I grow so weary of the sound of screams
And I, Jack, the Pumpkin King
Have grown so tired of the same old thing
Oh somewhere deep inside of these bones
An emptiness began to grow
There's something out there far from my home
A longing that I've never known
I'm the master of fright, and a demon of light
And I'll scare you right out of your pants
To a guy in Kentucky, I'm Mr. Unlucky
And I'm known throughout England and France
And since I am dead, I can take off my head
To recite Shakespearean quotations
No animal nor man can scream like I can
With the fury of my recitations
But who here would ever understand
That the Pumpkin King with the skeleton grin
Would tire of his crown
If they only understood
He'd give it all up if he only could
Oh there's an empty place in my bones
That calls out for something unknown
The fame and praise come year after year
Does nothing for these empty tears
The song can, in some way count as the classic I Want song common to the Disney Princesses, since it represents Jack's life-long wish of experiencing something new and straying away from the repetitive traditions of Halloween. However, it could also count as an I Am song associated not just with princesses, but also other characters, as Jack also describes how much he is adored and well-known by many for who he is and what he can do. With these aspects found in the song, it would make "Jack's Lament" a unique combination of the two song types.
During the line "I have swept the very bravest off their feet", a statue of The Scream by Edvard Munch can be seen.
Also at one point during the song, one of the lines Jack says alludes to the William Shakespeare play Hamlet.
