Play to Win

Play To Win was Ocean O'Connell Rosenberg's original song used in the 2008-2013 productions of Ride The Cyclone. (Canadian Tour)

Play To Win was replaced with 'What the World Needs' when Ride the Cyclone started touring in the United States, primarily due to the fact it had been used since the very first workshops and did not suit a plot-oriented musical format. It was initially written for Ride The Cyclone when it was a part of the Atomic Vaudeville cabaret show, and didn't set Ocean up for a development and change in attitude by the end of the musical, like her song (What the World Needs) does now. When the show came to America, it was decided that Ocean would play the role of the "main character" and she would need to have a beginning and end to her narrative in the show.

Play To Win was also originally written when the plot did not involve one choir member having the ability to come back to life, causing Ocean's song to be more about her achievements in life and not what she would achieve if she were to be brought back. Play to Win depicts Ocean having a crisis while she questions her morals, where one half of her brain is represented by her mother, a hard right wing twisted control freak, (Played by Sarah Peltzer or "Jane Doe") and the other her father. A left-wing hippie whose goals are for his daughter to do the right thing. (Played by Kholby Wardell or "Noel Gruber")

Later in the song she is put on the spot in a debate against a wheelchair bound child who is terminally ill, and she has to choose between winning it all and putting her morality aside like her mother wants, and doing the right thing and letting the dying boy win even if it means sacrificing the win for herself, like her father wants. The solvent in this scenario naturally being a talking Karl Marx puppet head that manifests in Ocean's mind as an angel.

Lyrics

(Ocean) Daddy said…

(Noel as Ocean’s father)

Oh daughter dear you fill my heart with pride

Your words, so pure, your papa’s proud, the truth was by your side

(Ocean)

But daddy dear, they cleaned our clock

A zillion points to none

May I use the phone?

(Noel)

Aw, pumpkin, you need to speak to one of your friends?

(Ocean)

No, I’m callin’ mom!

(Spoken)

So I called mom and I told her the whole story

(Jane as Ocean’s mom)(spoken)

You did what?

(Ocean)(spoken)

I spoke from my heart about the facts

(Jane)(spoken)

Incentive: If you do well at this debate, you can come live with me… me… me… me…

(Noel)(spoken)

Plot point.

(Ocean)(spoken)

Get the pen

She told me something that goes a little something like

That goes a little something like this:

(Sung)

The art to win an argument ain’t changed much over time

You read and rule your public first,

And then you change their mind

If the judge looks like a hippie

Your foe’s a right-wing nut

If the judge seems like a holy hostile Pentecostal

Then your foe’s a godless hedonistic slut

(Pornoo)

Demonize your opponents with personal attacks

Quote some fake authorities and unrelated facts

Create a false dilemma like, “you’re with us or you ain’t”

Ask the pot a loaded question

“How can you say that Adolf Hitler was a saint?”

Oh, the tale of human history is one of damn’ed battery

(Ensemble)

It works on the mob every time

(Ocean)

This candy-coated recipe of black and white morality

(Ensemble)

That’s how we like our swine!

Mm-hmm!

(Ocean)

The next day at the school debate, my mom’s advice applied

We were like Marine Corps, stealing cookies from Girl Guides

The judge gave us a standing O

(Constance)

One kid broke down and cried

(Ricky)

And the winner of the Uranium City debate: Miss Rosenberg… and that other girl

(Ocean)(spoken)

Yeah, we won by a frickin’ landslide

Look, I even got a trophy

(Constance)

We got a trophy?

(Ocean)

Yeah, don’t touch it you’ll break it

(Constance)

Sorry

(Ocean)(Sung)

In this world there’s just one sin

(All)

Don’t play the game unless you play to win

(You play to win)

(Ocean)(spoken)

Why does my opposition feel the need to defend pedophiles?

(You play to win)

(Ricky) (spoken)

And the winner of the municipal debate is Miss Rosenberg

(You play to win)

(Ocean) (spoken)

I’m very upset, my brother just died

(Constance) (spoken)

But you don’t have a brother

(Ocean) (spoken)

Shut up!

(You play to win)

(Ricky) (spoken)

She’s done it again folks! And the crowd goes wild for Mary Rosenberger

(Ocean) (sung)

Don’t tell me there’s a better use of your ambition

Than to wipe the floor with your own competition

Mommy dearest said there’s only one real mission

(All)

Play to win

Play to win

Play to win

(Ocean)

Dad was there, and so was Mom, for the National Debate

But where are my opponents?

They were half an hour late

And then this kid rolls in with a wheelchair

And begs us to forgive

(Constance)

He needed an emergency blood transfusion

Turns out he only had three weeks left to live

(Ricky)

Debate topic: Are human beings ultimately good?

(You play to win)

(Ocean)

Uh- Are you kidding me? He’s in a wheelchair!

(You play to win)

(Constance)

How are you gonna beat this one?

(Ocean)

Shut up, Constance

(Constance)

Sorry

(You play to win)

(Jane as Ocean’s mother)

What would Glenn Beck do?

(You play to win)

(Ocean)

Ugh, and he’s blind too??

(And the opposition calls Miss Rosenberg)

(Ocean)

My heart began to flutter

Tears welled in my eyes

When I looked unto my father

As he hung his head and sighed

And then I saw an angel

In blinding light and sparks

With a hammer and a sickle

It was a wing’ed Karl Marx

And he said “Child, heaven's awesome and everything is free

I’ve been palling ‘round with Jesus

Turns out he’s a Communist, just like me

“And we got somethin’ to tell you

(Tell us, comrade)

And we got somethin’ to sing to you

(Sing it, comrade)

You wanna hear it?

(Yeah!)

Can you feel the spirit?

(Yeah!)

Can I hear it two times?

(Yeah yeah!)

“When you wrestle with poop (Win or lose!)

Oh, listen to me child (Sing these blues!)

It's gonna get on your shoe (Win or lose!)

You’re gonna be defiled (Gonna be defiled)

“When the game is over, you’re knockin’ on heaven’s door

It’s only your soul, your soul alone that’s keepin’ score

“You wanna kick out the crutches from a cripple? (Oh no!)

Push an old lady down the stairs? (Sweet lord!)

Steal a piece of candy from a cryin’ little baby?

As long as you’re winning, who cares! (Who cares!)

“Take out the kid in a wheelchair

That’s the road to perdition

Soon you’re gonna wind up a back-stabbing, ass-grabbing, rubberneck politician!

“When you wrestle with poop (Win or lose!)

Oh, listen to me child (Sing these blues!)

It’s gonna get on your shoe (Win or lose!)

You’re gonna be defiled (Gonna be defiled!)

“when the game is over

you’re knockin’ at heaven’s door,

It’s only your soul, your soul alone that’s keeping score!

“I said it's only your soul alone

That's keepin' score

(Sing it sister!)

Oh yeah!

“When you wrestle with poop (Win or lose!)

Oh, listen to me child (Sing these blues!)

It’s gonna get on your shoe (Win or lose!)

You’re gonna be defiled (Gonna be defiled!)

“And when that game is over

And you’re knockin’ at heaven’s door,

It’s only your soul, your soul alone that’s keeping score!

“When you wrestle with poop (Win or lose!)

Oh, listen to me child (Sing these blues!)

It’s gonna get on your shoe (Win or lose!)

You’re gonna be defiled (Gonna be defiled!)

“And when that game is over

And you’re knockin’ at heaven’s door,

It’s only your soul, your soul alone that’s keeping score!”

Who’s keeping score! (Who’s keeping score) x5

It’s only your soul, your soul alone that’s keepin’ score

Trivia

Segments of this song are reused as background music during the dialogue after "Every Story's Got a Lesson", as well as the songs being generally similar.