Hello Twelve, Hello Thirteen, Hello Love

**Hello Twelve, Hello Thirteen, Hello Love** is the sixth song of the 1975 musical A Chorus Line and is the first part of the montage.

## Synopsis

The song is about growing up and adolescence.

## Lyrics

**Val Clarke****:** Hello twelve.

**Richie Walters****:** Hello thirteen.

**Maggie Winslow****:** Hello love.

**Al DeLuca****:** Changes, oh!

**Bebe Benzenheimer****:** Down below.

**Diana Morales****:** Up above.

**Val Clarke:** Time to doubt!

**Mike Costa****:** To break out!

**Richie Walters:** It's a mess!

**Maggie Winslow:** It's a mess!

**Paul San Marco** **& Judy Turner :** Time to grow!

**Maggie Winslow & Al DeLuca:** Time to go!

**Connie Wong****, Bobby Mills & Richie Walters:** Adolesce!

**All:** Adolesce! Too young to take over! Too old to ignore!

**Al DeLuca:** Gee, I'm almost ready!

**All:** But what for? There's a lot I am not certain of, hello twelve, hello thirteen, hello love.

**Mark Anthony****:** And from the book, I diagnosed my own appendicitis, next day I went to our doctor down the block, sure enough, acute appendicitis, they rushed me right to the hospital! Well, I figured this book would cover everything the rest of my life. Then, when I was thirteen, I had my first...wet dream. I went straight to the book. 'Milky discharge, milky discharge, milky discharge...'. Gonorrhea! I was in shock I mean, gonorrhea! Before I'd even started! I was terrified, I couldn't tell my mother I had gonorrhea! So the book said drink a lot of water.

**Zach****:** Is that all the book said?

**Mark Anthony:** No, it said take penicilin...structo...something or other, but I couldn't do that 'less I told somebody. So all I could do was drink the water, and I drank like 20 glasses a day. For three weeks! I almost drowned! Finally I went to the confession and when I told the priest that I had gonorrhea, he was in as much shock as I was. 'Who have you been with, my son?' 'Nobody! Nobody!' 'Then how can you have gonorrhea?' Well I told him about the book's diagnosis about a 'milky discharge', and he set me straight. Which was the only time the church ever helped me out. Well I was...

**Connie Wong:** Four foot ten! Four foot ten! That's the story of my life! I remember when everybody was my size! Boy was that great! But then everybody started moving up, and there I was, stuck at four foot ten, four foot ten! But I kept hoping and preying, I used to hang from a parallel bar by the hour, hoping I'd stretch, just an inch more. Because I was into dancing then, and I was good! And I wanted so much to grow up to be a prima ballerina! Then I went out for cheerleader! And they told me 'No dice! You'll get lost on the football field, the pom-poms are bigger than you!' I spent my whole childhood waiting to grow...

**Val Clarke:** Tits! When am I gonna grow tits?

**Paul San Marco:** Secret, my whole life was a secret.

**Mike Costa:** One little fart! And they called me stinky for three years! No!

**All:** Goodbye twelve, goodbye thirteen, hello love!

**Bebe Benzenheimer:** Robert Goulet! Robert Goulet! My god! Robert Goulet!

**All:** Oh! Down below! Up above!

**Don Kerr****:** Playing doctor with Evelyn!

**All:** La-la-la

**Richie Walters:** I'll show you mine!

**All:** La-La!

**Richie Walters:** You show me yours!

**All:** La-la

**Kristine Urich****:** Seeing daddy naked!

**All:** Time to grow! Time to go!

**Sheila Bryant****:** Surprise!

**All:** La-la-la!

**Sheila Bryant:** Mom and dad were doing it!

**Bobby Mills:** I'm gonna be a movie star!

**Connie Wong:** But you see, the only thing about me that grew was my desire. I was never gonna be Maria Tall Chief. I was just this peanut on pointe! That was my whole trick, my size. And still is, God, in my last show I was 32 and played a fourteen year old brat!

**Zach:** Aha! The year of the chicken!

(Richie clucks)

**Connie Wong:** So I got caught! But I don't look it! And I shouldn't knock it! 'Cause I've always been able to work, from the time I was five in 'King and I! 'King and I! Up 'til now, I've never stopped, 'cause whatever I am, I am...

## Trivia

* There is a small line of chords in Connie's bit which match the chords of the chorus of At the Ballet.