Bang, Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)

I was five, and he was six,
We rode on horses made of sticks,
He wore black, and I wore white,
He would always win the fight…
Nellie watched in sheer amazement as she watched Benjamin Barker ride the wooden horse that his father had made him for Christmas. It was a lacquered wood, making it gleam in the sunlight. It was so beautiful, but to her, what made it more beautiful was Ben riding it. She stood patiently at the old oak tree between the two hydrangea bushes, her slightly worn white dress fluttering in the wind. She smiled and watched him lovingly, and dreamt of one day standing next to him and saying with the utmost confidence…

"I do.."

Bang, Bang
He shot me down,
"I-I'm sorry, Nellie… But I'm courting Lucy… But we can still be friends, right?" Ben nervously answered. Nellie had just asked him if he was willing to go with her to a party, as a couple. He was 16, and she 15, barely at the age of courting.

Bang, Bang
I hit the ground,
"O-of course, love! I wasn't aware, or else I wouldn't 'ave asked." She replied, with false cheerfulness, blinking away the tears that pricked at her eyes. She hated her hopes being crushed. She should've known. Why else was Lucy clinging around the park?

Bang, Bang
That awful sound,
"Benny? Where are you? We're going to be late!" A melodic voice rang out, belonging to the girl in question. Her voice made Nellie's stomach turn, and her throat close up, the tears burning like acid in her eyes.

Bang, Bang
My baby shot me down…
"I'm sorry, Nellie, but I have to go…" He anxiously said, half turning to face the yellow haired angel. He didn't even listen to her response as he led Lucy away.

"Of course, go ahead…" She faltered, as she turned the opposite direction, and ran home.

Seasons came, and changed the time,
When I grew up, I called him mine,
He would always laugh and say,
"Remember when we used to play?"
Ben sat in the pie shoppe, sipping a glass of gin. Nellie stared at him dreamily, still pondering a wedding with him, although he was considering proposing to Lucy. He looked at Nellie with a faraway look and said, "Remember when you asked me to a dance?" He gulped down the rest of the gin, and smiled. "Would you like to try again?"

Bang, Bang
I shot him down,
Nellie swallowed down the lump that formed in her throat. Oh, how badly she was tempted to ask again, but she knew he was drunk, and did not mean what he said. Tears pricked at her eyes as she whispered, "I think you need to go home now, Ben."

Bang, Bang
He hit the ground,
Ben was slightly shocked at her response. He glared, the alcohol impairing his muddled mind. "Fine." He said indignantly, as he stood. He stumbled slightly as he walked to the door, and clung to the doorframe. He was still for about a minute, and Nellie wondered if he somehow fell asleep. She walked cautioiusly to her friend, and just when she barely touched his shoulder—

Bang, Bang
That awful sound
"Don't touch me! You silly woman!" He snapped, and slammed the door as he walked out. He managed to amble out into the street, and found his way home. Nellie was in shock, in disbelief. She fought back the tears, not allowing herself to cry. Then she sat in the booth where Ben had been sitting in minutes ago, and drunk herself to sleep.

Bang, Bang
I used to shoot you down…
The next morning, Nellie found herself in her bed, a glass of water and some herbs to help her headache at her side. However, she felt a pressure next to her bed, something that she never had felt before. She slowly turned her head, partially in fear, and partially because of her headache. She saw Ben, fully clothed, sleeping right next to her. Her shock overwhelmed her pain, and she shot upright in the bed. She panicked, wondering how they got there.

So she ran.

Then she drank, and drank, and drank, until she couldn't remember her own name.

Music played, and people sang,
Just for me, the church bells rang.
Nellie stood at the altar, full of regret. She looked at the man she was to marry. 'This is not… This is not the man I love.' Of course, she was referring to Albert Lovett, the son of the owner of Mrs. Lovett's Meat Pie Emporium. The minister's words seemed like another language as he reads their vows, binding them until death did them part. She looked to the pews, and saw the man she truly loved. Benjamin Barker sat in the second to last pew, next to his very pregnant wife, Lucy. She looked absolutely radiant, the glows of pregnancy making her look like an angel. Suddenly, everyone's eyes were on her. She looked at Albert, whom wore an impatient look.

"I do." She said hastily, trying to blink back the tears that threatened to spill.

Now he's gone, I don't know why,
And 'till this day, sometimes I cry,
He didn't even say goodbye,
He didn't take the time to lie.
Nellie had finally finished cleaning, her bones screaming in agony as she stood from the floor. She looked into her room, where Albert was passed out with a bottle of gin in his hand. 'Poor thing… Ever since he was fired, he hasn't left that chair…' As she was contemplating waking him up, there was a urgent knock in the door. She opened the door, and in came Lucy, carrying her one-year-old daughter, Johanna. Benjamin had named her after Nellie's mother, something that had almost reduced the baker to tears, had it not been for Lucy's disdain for the name. Lucy was whispering in a panicked tone, and Mrs. Lovett really did not listen until he heard, "They've taken him away, Nellie. The police." Then Lucy rambled on, shoved the baby girl into Mrs. Lovett's arms, muttered something that sounded similar to a combination of an apology and thanks, and ran off. She merely clutched the small child in her arms and for the first time in her life, wept.

Bang, Bang
He shot me down,
"We could 'ave a life, us two," Mrs. Lovett said quietly to Sweeney. "Maybe not like you remember. Maybe not like I dreamed. But we could get by." She said, looking at Sweeney's turned back, lightly touching his shoulder. She desperately wanted him to at least entertain the thought in his head. "We 'ave Toby, love. We can be a little broken family, jus' scraping by. We don't have to live by the sea," She stepped closer, "We can live here. We—"

Bang, Bang
I hit the ground,
Sweeney shoved her away, causing her to stumble onto the floor. Glaring furiously at the baker, he pulled out a razor. "There is no 'we', Mrs. Lovett. There is only me and my friends, and that is all. I don't need an insufferable woman like you." He spat, the room suddenly feeling noticeably colder. "Now I suggest you get. OUT."

Nellie clambered to her feet, and rushed downstairs. She wasn't foolish enough to talk to him while he was in his altered state.

Bang, Bang
That awful sound,
She heard the slam of the pedal hitting the floor, and the thud and crack of another body hitting the hard concrete floor of her bake house. She flinched, hating the sound. It reminded her of that one night Benjamin Barker got drunk. How badly she wanted to erase that painful memory of him like that. His anger was something of a glimpse of the man he would eventually become. She never wanted to be the brunt of his anger again. And she never would be, as long as he didn't find out about Lucy.

Bang bang,
My baby shot me down...
He did. 'Oh, God in 'eaven…' Mrs. Lovett thought as Sweeney came closer, a deranged look in his eyes. 'I neva' meant to 'urt 'im!' She whimpered as they danced together for the last time. She sceamed in pure agony as she was thrown into the fire, the flames licking and singing her pale skin. The last thing Nellie saw before she burned to death, was the hate filled eyes of Sweeney Todd. But what truly killed her, was the betrayal and sadness imbedded deep within that hate. Just like Benjamin Barker's eyes had been the night he gotten drunk.