One Jump Ahead

"One Jump Ahead" is a song sung by Aladdin (singing voice of Brad Kane) in the animated movie of the same name. It is sung as he and Abu escape Razoul and his guards after stealing a loaf of bread.

A few minutes later, the song is reprised in a softer, more dramatic tone as Aladdin contemplates his life and desires for more.

The melody is a recurring theme throughout the film's score, often used as a musical representation of Aladdin, himself.

Original version
Aladdin: Gotta keep

One jump ahead of the breadline

One swing ahead of the sword

I steal only what I can't afford

And that's everything!

One jump ahead of the lawmen

That's all, and that's no joke

These guys don't appreciate I'm broke

Guards: Riffraff!

Street rat!

Scoundrel!

Take that!

Aladdin: Just a little snack, guys

Guards: Rip him open! Take it back, guys!

Aladdin: I can take a hint,

Gotta face the facts

You're my only friend, Abu!

Harem Girls: Who?

Oh, it's sad, Aladdin's hit the bottom

He's become a one-man rise in crime

Woman: I'd blame parents except he hasn't got 'em

Aladdin: Gotta eat to live,

Gotta steal to eat

Tell you all about it when I got the time!

One jump ahead of the slowpokes

One skip ahead of my doom

Next time gonna use a nom de plume

One jump ahead of the hitmen

One hit ahead of the flock

I think I'll take a stroll around the block

Crowd: Stop, thief!

Vandal!

Aladdin: Abu!?

Crowd: (Outrage!) Scandal!

Aladdin: Let's not be too hasty

Lady: Still I think he's rather tasty

Aladdin: Gotta eat to live,

Gotta steal to eat

Otherwise, we'd get along

Crowd: Wrong!

Aladdin: One jump ahead of the hoofbeats

(Crowd: Riffraff!)

Aladdin: One hop ahead of the hump

(Crowd: Street rat!)

Aladdin: One trick ahead of disaster

(Crowd: Scoundrel!)

Aladdin: They're quick, but I'm much faster

(Crowd: Take that!)

Aladdin: Here goes:

Better throw my hand in

Wish me happy landin'

All I gotta do is jump!

Reprise
Riff-raff, street rat. I don't buy that. If only they'd look closer.

Would they see a poor boy? No, siree.

They'd find out there's so much more to me.

Trivia

 * The song is similar to "Belle" in the sense that they both introduce the main character who isn't happy with their lives and are taunted by the crowd. Also, both are reprised by the protagonists later on.