“You Can’t Win (You Can’t Break Even)” from The Wiz

This song was cut from the stage version of The Wiz, but reinserted for the disastrous 1978 film version. It’s the only one of the new numbers added for that film that is any good, or that sounds remotely like it belongs alongside the stage songs, probably because it was actually written by the original stage songwriters and actually had a natural slot in the original story. It’s more upbeat than the number that replaced it in the stage version, “I Was Born On the Day Before Yesterday”, and it makes a big impression in the film, but that’s mostly because it’s being sung by Michael Jackson (he couldn’t act, but he did a fine job with his big musical number, even if his Scarecrow still being on his pole at that point meant his dance options were limited). That said, it isn’t as lyrically interesting or as relevant to the character as “I Was Born On the Day Before Yesterday”; the music in The Wiz may have been intentionally in the style of Motown-esque Pop-R&B, but the lyrics to “You Can’t Win” sound more like an actual pop tune and less like a theater song than “I Was Born On the Day Before Yesterday”, which does a much better job of setting up the Scarecrow’s character, so I can see why they thought it would ultimately be more valuable to the show.