Jacob & Sons / Joseph's Coat Songtext
von Andrew Lloyd Webber

Way, way back many centuries ago
Not long after the Bible began
Jacob lived in the land of Canaan
A fine example of a family man

Jacob! Jacob and sons
Depended on farming to earn their keep
Jacob! Jacob and sons
Spent all of their days in the fields with sheep

Jacob was the founder of a whole new nation
Thanks to the number of children he′d had
He was also known as Israel but most of the time
His sons and his wives used to call him, "Dad!"

Jacob! Jacob and sons
Men of the soil, of the sheaf and crook
Jacob! Jacob and sons
A remarkable family in anyone's book


Reuben was the eldest of the children of Israel
With Simeon and Levi the next in line
Napthali and Isaachar, with Asher and Dan
Zebulun and Gad took the total to nine

Jacob! Jacob and sons
Benjamin and Judah, which leaves only one
Jacob! Jacob and sons
Joseph—Jacob′s favorite son

Jacob! Jacob and sons
Jacob! Jacob and sons
Jacob! Jacob and sons
Jacob—! (Jacob! Jacob! Jacob!)
Jacob and sons!

Joseph's mother—she was quite my favorite wife
I never really loved another all my life
But Joseph was my joy because
He reminded me of her

Through young Joseph
Jacob lived his youth again
Loved him, praised him
Gave him all he could but then
It made the rest feel second best
And even if they were—


Being told we're also-rans
Does not make us Joseph fans
But where they have really missed the boat is
We′re great guys but no-one seems to notice

Joseph′s charm and winning smiles
Fail to slay them in the aisles
And their father couldn't see the danger
He could not imagine any danger
He just saw in Joseph all his
Dreams come true

Jacob wanted to show the world he loved his son
To make it clear that Joseph was the special one
So Jacob bought his son a coat
A multicolored coat to wear

Joseph′s coat was elegant
The cut was fine
The tasteful style was the
Ultimate in good design
And this is why it caught the eye
A king would stop and stare!

And when Joseph tried it on
He knew his sheepskin days were gone
Such a dazzling coat of many colors
How he loved his coat of many colors

In a class above the rest
It even went well with his vest
Such a stunning coat of many colors
How he loved his coat of many colors

It was
Red and yellow and
Green and brown and
Blue

Joseph's brothers
Weren′t too pleased with what they saw
We had never liked him all that much before
And now this coat
Has got our goat
We feel life is unfair!

And when Joseph graced the scene
His brothers turned a shade of green
His astounding clothing took the biscuit
Quite the smoothest person in the district

I look handsome, I look smart
I am a walking work of art
Such a dazzling coat of many colors
How I love my coat of many colors

It was
Red and yellow and
Green and brown and
Scarlet and black and
Ochre and peach and
Ruby and olive and
Violet and fawn—

I look handsome, I look smart
I am a walking work of art
Such a dazzling coat of many colors
How I love my coat of many colors

It was
Red and yellow and
Green and brown and
Scarlet and black and
Ochre and peach and

Ruby and olive and
Violet and fawn and
Lilac and gold and
Chocolate and mauve and

Cream and crimson and
Silver and rose and
Azure and lemon and
Russet and grey and

Purple and white and
Pink and orange and
Blue!