"Almost Touching" - Will Roland

"Almost Touching"
Music by James Ballard, Lyrics by Greg Moss
Performed by Will Roland
Tisch GMTWP 2014 William Finn Master Lyric Class Cabaret
April 24th, 2014
Video by Micah Joel (xerkmedia.com)

[@bee.ok666]

All of Wills songs have plot twists or are just genuinely hilarious

[@e.keough2975]

I mean that credit kind of goes to people like Sam Salmond, Joe Iconis, James Ballard, Seth Christenfeld, Greg Bass, and Drew Gasparoni who write the songs.

[@Joseph-vn2sk]

E. Keough i think they meen wills song choices

[@e.keough2975]

My point still stands.

[@Joseph-vn2sk]

yep it does was just sayin

[@honeyart4988]

It’s like bo Burnham but more lighthearted

[@teijorei4549]

Everytime I listen to will singing a song I think "this is the weirdest song he's sung definitely" but nope it just gets weirder but in a good way

[@ababypigeon6593]

dude that cookie one tho

[@gigi1025_]

NO “I’M COOL” IS THE WEIRDEST SONG BUT IT IS SO GOOD

[@Ariana-ty5qy]

Lindsay sameee i always go back to that playlist😂😂

[@willa9366]

Gianna Alosi “the penis is gone” is def the weirdest. It’s about a failed circumcision that chopped off a baby’s pp. I was laughing my ass off the entire song tho 😂😂

[@jesscervantes13]

@@lindsay1966 I found this videos because of that playlist yey

[@joyfulthought]

*"SHE IS TOUCHING MY HAND."*

[@pixelbombed]

I do not understand, what's he reason she seems to be touching my hand-

[@randomrhythm3693]

He's looking kinda funny...
Does she think that I like her?
Is this because I touched his hand!?

[@galactic7458]

Thank you for reading my mind

[@fixyrheart]

TCB and BMC?? Fantasies come true

[@kuaia3245]

@@fixyrheart whats TCB?

[@jjju3]

_because she was insane_

[@notmary1119]

Will's expression and humor has touched my heart.

[@michaelsorrythismademeship3080]

Not Mary same here

[@joyfulthought]

*Looks at pro pic* JARED WITH HANAHAKI

[@evalieneva8374]

THIS MAN WILL PLAY JEREMY HEER BLESS

[@gahyeonsupremacy]

Evalien Eva YASSS

[@elliotdorn1381]

Heere***

[@pointlessdrama3148]

You weren’t wrong

[@raine3736]

can we just appreciate how beautiful will is?

[@kaisetic3150]

This man is too pure to the world. Someone give him a cookie

[@emmawalters7151]

We were almost touching...
"She is TOUCHING MY HAND I DO NOT UNDERSTAND-

[@patty.t2018]

WHATS THE REASON SHE SEEMS TO BE TOUCHING MY HAND

[@kuaia3245]

maybe this means she doesn't despise me, she doesn't despise me, and wants me to know

[@noreemalensuela3062]

lyrics~
I ride the train,
from my home to my work
Feeling lousy and lonely and always _____ (idk what he said here :P)
Then one day I saw a goddess walking in
She had a perfect face and perfect skin
She gave me a look,
and started reading a book
And I started to dream,
and I started to scheme
We were almost touching,
almost touching
There was so much
I thought it would be
To have a woman like her
almost touching me
Everyday, I get braver and braver,
getting closer and closer to the goddess on the train
Then one day I couldn't take it anymore
And as the morning rush poured through the door
I rose to my feet
And I gave up my seat
She was standing right there
And there was love in the air
We were almost touching,
almost touching
It was everything I thought it would be
To have a woman like her
almost touching me
And there I was,
caught in her spell
For a minute or a lifetime,
I couldn't tell
Then she stood up,
closed her book
And looked at my face
and then the embrace
She started,
"Couldn't keep up with the act," she said
"Pretending that she wasn't in love," she said
"Tell me that you feel the same," she said
"Please won't you tell me your name," she said
And then I fled
Running faster and faster
Knocking over small children
'cause she was _insane_
After that, I didn't see her anymore
No more goddess for me to adore
We shared a romance
But then she went
crazy-pants
But she was almost touching
almost touching
meeeee

[@BongoBon360]

For the first part where you didn’t know it was always in pain

[@janiceweaver6945]

For real, though, we are all wanting to be that goddess on the train. He is so talented and these lyrics are hilarious.

[@e.keough2975]

Who is?

[@janiceweaver6945]

E. Keough Will Roland is a Broadway actor currently playing the role of Jared Kleinman in "Dear Evan Hansen". The show won the Tony Award for Best Musical. He is adorable, hilarious and a great singer/actor.

[@e.keough2975]

Yes, I know who he is. I was just wondering whether you were referring to the songwriter, the singer or both.

[@peachimeachi8170]

Janice Weaver a tRUE iCoN

[@myawesomevideosmav7834]

The one dislike is the goddess

[@JamesBrown-ij1px]

What a talent! Both funny and poignant at the same time! Great song. Great performance.

[@elsaanimates]

I have recently been obsessed with the songs Will sings.. I just love them a lot lol

[@orangeblossom]

alMOST TOUCHING

[@e.keough2975]

He wore the same outfit from "It wasn't me" down to which buttons were unbuttoned. I suspect to hide from the kids at home. It worked. In December, this video only had 42 views.

[@jamesballardmusic]

It's actually from the same concert as "It Wasn't Me", hence the identical outfit!

[@e.keough2975]

James Ballard - Composer That makes sense. Took a while for the video to come up though and the stand was at a different angle. This is a really good song by the way. I loved the twist.

[@jamesballardmusic]

Yea, another singer was doing this song recently and I said "Oh let me send you the UA-cam video", but it turns out that while I had the video file on my computer I had never actually uploaded it to UA-cam. Better late than never I suppose!
And I'm glad you enjoyed it! Bill Finn liked this song because the first two A sections set it up for you to think that he's the crazy/creepy one, then in the B section we find out that SHE'S the crazy/creepy one. Always fun to have a twist in there! :)

[@wolfiebun5842]

_We shared a romance.... But she turned crazy pants_

[@k444ng]

olaoalaialaiala

[@tiny_saur6320]

_”We shared a romance, but then she went crazy-pants”_

[@evan10307]

This is why Jere is single

[@kaiyuen7883]

oOF POOR WILL

[@bethaniie_]

BANGER

[@princkleminckle1159]

I haven't seen anyone comment this before but...
WILL SOUNDS SO SQUEAKY BACK THEN OMFHDHDJDKS

[@lanetower3411]

Pure bliss

[@birdfarts]

he looks skinner in this and i don’t know how to feel about it because tbh i like his chub more

[@robinrobbielee]

wHaT iF sh3 ActuLlY d0esn'T liK3 Y0u

[@chanceclark3988]

Is this from a musical or just a single? I wonder this about most of the songs Will sings, such as "It wasn't me".

[@e.keough2975]

phil wong They are mostly singles.

[@chanceclark3988]

E. Keough Okay, thanks.

[@jamesballardmusic]

Not from a musical, just a stand-alone song. This and "It Wasn't Me" were both featured on a concert of songs from William Finn's class at NYU, where we write stand-alone cabaret songs based on various prompts.

[@chanceclark3988]

Oh, cool! Thanks, James! (Btw, I love it wasn't me). :D

[@e.keough2975]

That song's by Seth Christenfeld and Josh Frelich.

[@ExplodingHeadGuys]

Hi James. I know you might not see this but is it possible for me to buy the sheet music to this song to sing for an audition?

[@kitkat4260]

I know this is a little late but, I don't really understand, why did he run away?

[@elsaanimates]

"cause she was insaneeee"

[@krisinallcaps]

this is so stagedorks

[@cdcoach101]

Is there somewhere that I could buy the sheet music for this?

[@auburn_rachel]

pygmalion? this you?