"Out There" is a song from the 1996 Disney film The Hunchback of Notre Dame. It features Judge Claude Frollo shaming protagonist Quasimodo for his appearance and convincing him to stay in Notre Dame's bell tower. After Frollo leaves, Quasimodo begins to fantasize about spending a day outside among other people.
The song was performed by Frollo's voice actor, the late Tony Jay, and Quasimodo's voice actor Tom Hulce.
The world is cruel
The world is wicked
It's I alone whom you can trust in this whole city
I am your only friend
I who keep you, teach you, feed you, dress you
I who look upon you without fear
How can I protect you, boy, unless you always
Stay in here,
Away in here?
[Remember what I've taught you, Quasimodo.]
You are deformed
I am deformed
And you are ugly
And I am ugly
And these are crimes for which the world shows little pity
You do not comprehend
You are my one defender...
Out there, they'll revile you as a monster
I am a monster...
Out there, they will hate and scorn and jeer
Only a monster...
Why invite their calumny and consternation?
Stay in here
Be faithful to me
I'm faithful
Grateful to me
I'm grateful
Do as I say
Obey
And/I'll stay in here
Safe behind these windows and these parapets of stone
Gazing at the people down below me
All my life, I watch them as I hide up here alone
Hungry for the histories they show me
All my life, I memorize their faces
Knowing them as they will never know me
All my life, I wonder how it feels to pass a day
Not above them
But part of them
And out there, living in the sun
Give me one day out there, all I ask is one
To hold forever
Out there, where they all live unaware
What I'd give
What I'd dare
Just to live one day out there
Out there among the millers and the weavers and their wives
Through the roofs and gables I can see them
Every day they shout and scold and go about their lives
Heedless of the gift it is to be them
If I was in their skin
I'd treasure every instant
Out there, strolling by the Seine
Taste a morning
Out there,
Like ordinary men
Who freely walk about there
Just one day and then, I swear
I'll be content
With my share
Won't resent
Won't despair
Old and bent
I won't care
I'll have spent one day out there!
Other Appearances
The film version of the song was featured on the following albums:
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Original Soundtrack)
The Hunchback of Notre Dame: An Original Walt Disney Records Soundtrack
Classic Disney - Volume III
Disney's 75 Years of Music & Memories
Disney's Greatest, Vol. 1
Disney Modern Classics
The song was featured on the German stage musical version.
The song was featured on the jukebox musical revue On the Record.
The song was featured in the American stage musical version, this one performed by Quasimoto's actor Michael Arden and Frollo's actor Patrick Page.
The stage version was featured on the album The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Studio Cast Recording).