The Complete English Lyrics: Act I
By Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel SchönbergLyrics by Herbert Kretzmer
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Chorus (Prisoners): | Look down, look down Don't look 'em in the eye Look down, look down, You're here until you die
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| 1st Convict: | The sun is strong It's hot as hell below |
| Chorus: | Look down, look down, There's twenty years to go
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| 2nd Convict: | I've done no wrong! Sweet Jesus, hear my prayer! |
| Chorus: | Look down, look down, Sweet Jesus doesn't care
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| 3rd Convict: | I know she'll wait, I know that she'll be true! |
| Chorus: | Look down, look down, They've all forgotten you |
| 4th Convict: | When I get free ya won't see me Here for dust!
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| Chorus: | Look down, look down Don't look 'em in the eye |
| 5th Convict: | How long, oh Lord Before you let me die? |
| Chorus: | Look down, look down, You'll always be a slave Look down, look down, You're standing in your grave
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| Javert | Now bring me prisoner 24601 Your time is up And your parole's begun You know what that means. |
| Valjean: | Yes, it means I'm free.
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| Javert: | No! It means you get Your yellow ticket-of-leave You are a thief |
| Valjean: | I stole a loaf of bread. |
| Javert: | You robbed a house. |
| Valjean: | I broke a window pane. My sister's child was close to death And we were starving. |
| Javert: | You will starve again Unless you learn the meaning of the law. |
| Valjean: | I know the meaning of those 19 years A slave of the law
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| Javert: | Five years for what you did The rest because you tried to run Yes, 24601. |
| Valjean: | My name is Jean Valjean |
| Javert: | And I am Javert Do not forget my name! Do not forget me, 24601.
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| Chorus: | Look down, look down You'll always be a slave Look down, look down You're standing in your grave.
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He finds work on a farm.
Farmer:
You'll have to go
I'll pay you off for the day
Collect your bits and pieces there
And be on your way.
Valjean:
You have given me half
What the other men get!
This handful of tin
Wouldn't buy my sweat!
Laborer:
You broke the law
It's there for people to see
Why should you get the same
As honest men like me?
Valjean:
Now every door is closed to me
Another jail. Another key. Another chain
For when I come to any town
They check my papers
And they find the mark of Cain
In their eyes I see their fear
`We do not want you here.'
He comes to an inn.
Innkeeper's Wife:
My rooms are full
And I've no supper to spare
I'd like to help a stranger
All we want is to be fair
Valjean:
I will pay in advance
I can sleep in a barn
You see how dark it is
I'm not some kind of dog!
Innkeeper:
You leave my house
Or feel the weight of my rod
We're law-abiding people here
Thanks be to God.
They throw him out of the inn.
Valjean:
And now I know how freedom feels
The jailer always at your heels
It is the law!
This piece of paper in my hand
That makes me cursed throughout the land
It is the law!
Like a cur
I walk the street,
The dirt beneath their feet.
He sits down despairingly outside a house from which emerges the Bishop of Digne.
Bishop:
Come in, Sir, for you are weary,
And the night is cold out there.
Though our lives are very humble
What we have, we have to share.
There is wine here to revive you.
There is bread to make you strong,
There's a bed to rest till morning,
Rest from pain, and rest from wrong.
Valjean:
He let me eat my fill
I had the lion's share
The silver in my hand
Cost twice what I had earned
In all those nineteen years -
That lifetime of despair
And yet he trusted me.
The old fool trusted me -
He'd done his bit of good
I played the grateful serf
And thanked him like I should
But when the house was still,
I got up in the night.
Took the silver
Took my flight!
Taking the silver cup, he runs off, but is brought back by two constables.
Constables
1. Tell his reverence your story
2. Let us see if he's impressed
1. You were lodging here last night
2. You were the honest Bishop's guest.
And then, out of Christian goodness
When he learned about your plight
1. You maintain he made a present of this silver.
Bishop:
That is right.
But my friend you left so early
Surely something slipped your mind
The bishop gives Valjean two silver candlesticks.
You forgot I gave these also
Would you leave the best behind?
So, Messieurs, you may release him
For this man has spoken true
I commend you for your duty
And God's blessing go with you.
Constables leave. The bishop addresses Valjean.
But remember this, my brother
See in this some higher plan
You must use this precious silver
To become an honest man
By the witness of the martyrs
By the Passion and the Blood
God has raised you out of darkness
I have bought your soul for God!
If there's another way to go
I missed it twenty long years ago
My life was a war that could never be won
They gave me a number and murdered Valjean
When they chained me and left me for dead
Just for stealing a mouthful of bread
Yet why did I allow that man
To touch my soul and teach me love?
He treated me like any other
He gave me his trust
He called me brother
My life he claims for God above
Can such things be?
For I had come to hate the world
This world that always hated me
Take an eye for an eye!
Turn your heart into stone!
This is all I have lived for!
This is all I have known!
One word from him and I'd be back
Beneath the lash, upon the rack
Instead he offers me my freedom
I feel my shame inside me like a knife
He told me that I have a soul,
How does he know?
What spirit comes to move my life?
Is there another way to go?
I am reaching, but I fall
And the night is closing in
And I stare into the void
To the whirlpool of my sin
I'll escape now from the world
From the world of Jean Valjean
Jean Valjean is nothing now
Another story must begin!
He tears up his yellow ticket-of-leave.
The Poor:
At the end of the day you're another day older
And that's all you can say for the life of the poor
It's a struggle, it's a war
And there's nothing that anyone's giving
One more day standing about, what is it for?
One day less to be living.
At the end of the day you're another day colder
And the shirt on your back doesn't keep out the chill
And the righteous hurry past
They don't hear the little ones crying
And the winter is coming on fast, ready to kill
One day nearer to dying!
At the end of the day there's another day dawning
And the sun in the morning is waiting to rise
Like the waves crash on the sand
Like a storm that'll break any second
There's a hunger in the land
There's a reckoning still to be reckoned and
There's gonna be hell to pay
At the end of the day!
The foreman and workers, including Fantine, emerge from the factory.
| Foreman: | At the end of the day you get nothing for nothing Sitting flat on your butt doesn't buy any bread |
| Worker 1: | There are children back at home |
| Workers 1&2: | And the children have got to be fed |
| Worker 2 | And you're lucky to be in a job |
| Woman: | And in a bed! |
| Workers: | And we're counting our blessings!
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| Woman 2: | Have you seen how the foreman is fuming today? With his terrible breath and his wandering hands? |
| Woman 3: | It's because little Fantine won't give him his way |
| Woman 1: | Take a look at his trousers, you'll see where he stands! |
| Woman 4: | And the boss, he never knows That the foreman is always in heat |
| Woman 3: | If Fantine doesn't look out, watch how she goes She'll be out on the street!
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Girl: (Grabbing a letter from Fantine)
And what have we here, little innocent sister?
Come on Fantine, let's have all the news!
Reading the letter.
Ooh... "dear Fantine you must send us more money...
Your child needs a doctor...
There's no time to lose..."
Fantine:
Give that letter to me
It is none of your business
With a husband at home
And a bit on the side!
Is there anyone here
Who can swear before God
She has nothing to fear?
She has nothing to hide?
They fight over the letter. Valjean (M. Madeleine) rushes on to break up the squabble.
Valjean:
Will someone tear these two apart?
What is this fighting all about?
This is a factory, not a circus!
Now come on ladies, settle down
I run a business of repute
I am the Mayor of this town
(To the foreman)
I look to you to sort this out
And be as patient as you can-
He goes back into the factory.
Foreman:
Now someone say how this began!
Girl:
At the end of the day
She's the one who began it
There's a kid that she's hiding
In some little town
There's a man she has to pay
You can guess how she picks up the extra
You can bet she's earning her keep
Sleeping around
And the boss wouldn't like it!
Fantine:
Yes it's true there's a child
And the child is my daughter
And her father abandoned us,
Leaving us flat
Now she lives with an innkeeper man
And his wife
And I pay for the child
What's the matter with that?
Women:
At the end of the day
She'll be nothing but trouble
And there's trouble for all
When there's trouble for one!
While we're earning our daily bread
She's the one with her hands in the butter
You must send the slut away
Or we're all gonna end in the gutter
And it's us who'll have to pay
At the end of the day!
Foreman:
I might have known the bitch could bite
I might have known the cat had claws
I might have guessed your little secret
Ah, yes, the virtuous Fantine
Who keeps herself so pure and clean
You'd be the cause I had no doubt
Of any trouble hereabout
You play a virgin in the light
But need no urgin' in the night.
| Girl | She's been laughing at you While she's having her men |
| Women: | She'll be nothing but trouble again and again |
| Woman: | You must sack her today |
| Workers: | Sack the girl today! |
| Foreman: | Right my girl. On your way!
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Fantine is left alone, unemployed and destitute.
Fantine:
There was a time when men were kind
When their voices were soft
And their words inviting
There was a time when love was blind
And the world was a song
And the song was exciting
There was a time
Then it all went wrong
I dreamed a dream in time gone by
When hope was high
And life worth living
I dreamed that love would never die
I dreamed that God would be forgiving
Then I was young and unafraid
And dreams were made and used and wasted
There was no ransom to be paid
No song unsung, no wine untasted
But the tigers come at night
With their voices soft as thunder
As they tear your hope apart
And they turn your dream to shame
He slept a summer by my side
He filled my days with endless wonder
He took my childhood in his stride
But he was gone when autumn came
And still I dream he'll come to me
That we will live the years together
But there are dreams that cannot be
And there are storms we cannot weather
I had a dream my life would be
So different from this hell I'm living
So different now from what it seemed
Now life has killed the dream I dreamed.
| Sailor 1: | I smell women Smell 'em in the air Think I'll drop my anchor In that harbor over there |
| Sailor 2: | Lovely ladies Smell 'em through the smoke Seven days at sea Can make you hungry for a poke |
| Sailor 3: | Even stokers need a little stoke!
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| Old Woman | Come here, my dear Let's see this trinket you wear This bagatelle... |
| Fantine: | Madame, I'll sell it to you... |
| Old Woman: | I'll give you four |
| Fantine: | That wouldn't pay for the chain! |
| Old Woman: | I'll give you five. You're far to eager to sell. It's up to you. |
| Fantine: | It's all I have |
| Old Woman: | That's not my fault |
| Fantine: | Please make it ten |
| Old Woman: | No more than five My dear, we all must stay alive!
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| Crone | What pretty hair! What pretty locks you got there What luck you got. It's worth a centime, my dear I'll take the lot |
| Fantine: | Don't touch me! Leave me alone! |
| Crone: | Let's make a price. I'll give you all of ten francs, Just think of that! |
| Fantine: | It pays a debt |
| Crone: | Just think of that |
| Fantine: | What can I do? It pays a debt. Ten francs may save my poor Cosette!
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Fantine re-emerges, her long hair cut short.
| Pimp: | Give me the dirt, who's that bit over there? |
| Whore 1: | A bit of skirt. She's the one sold her hair. |
| Whore 2: | She's got a kid. Sends her all that she can |
| Pimp: | I might have known There is always some man Lovely lady, come along and join us! Lovely lady!
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| Whore 1 | Come on dearie, why all the fuss? You're no grander than the rest of us Life has dropped you at the bottom of the heap Join your sisters |
| Whore 2 | Make money in your sleep!
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| Fantine goes off with one of the sailors.
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| Whore 1: | That's right dearie, let him have the lot |
| Whore 3: | That's right dearie, show him what you've got!
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Lovely ladies
Going for a song
Got a lot of callers
But they never stay for long
Fantine:
Come on, Captain,
you can wear your shoes
Don't it make a change
To have a girl who can't refuse
Easy money
Lying on a bed
Just as well they never see
The hate that's in your head
Don't they know they're making love
To one already dead!
Bamatabois is a well dressed gentleman.
Bamatabois
Here's something new. I think I'll give it a try.
Come closer you! I like to see what I buy...
The usual price, for just a slice of your pie
Fantine: I don't want you. No, no, m'sieur, let me go.
Bamatabois: Is this a trick? I won't pay more!
Fantine: No, not at all.
Bamatabois
You've got some nerve, you little whore
You've got some gall.
It's the same with a tart as it is with a grocer
The customer sees what he gets in advance
It's not for the whore to say `yes sir' or `no sir'
It's not for the harlot to pick and to choose
Or lead me to a dance!
He hits her with his stick, she claws at his face, drawing blood.
Fantine:
I'll kill you, you bastard,
try any of that!
Even a whore who has gone to the bad
Won't be had by a rat!
Bamatabois
By Christ you'll pay for what you've done
This rat will make you bleed, you'll see!
I guarantee, I'll make you suffer
For this disturbance of the peace
For this insult to life and property!
Fantine:
I beg you, don't report me sir
I'll do whatever you may want
Bamatabois
Make your excuse to the police!
Javert enters, accompanied by constables.
Javert:
Tell me quickly what's the story
Who saw what and why and where
Let him give a full description
Let him answer to Javert!
In this nest of whores and vipers
Let one speak who saw it all
Who laid hands on this good man here?
What's the substance of this brawl?
Bamatabois
Javert, would you believe it
I was crossing from the park
When this prostitute attacked me
You can see she left her mark
Javert:
She will answer for her actions
When you make a full report
You may rest assured, M'sieur,
That she will answer to the court.
Fantine:
There's a child who sorely needs me
Please M'sieur, she's but that high
Holy God, is there no mercy?
If I go to jail she'll die!
Javert:
I have heard such protestations
Every day for twenty years
Let's have no more explanations
Save your breath and save your tears
`Honest work, just reward,
That's the way to please the Lord.'
Fantine gives a last despairing cry as she is arrested by the constables. Valjean emerges from the crowd.
Valjean:
A moment of your time, Javert
I do believe this woman's tale
Javert: But M'sieur Mayor!
Valjean:
You've done your duty, let her be
She needs a doctor, not a jail.
Javert: But M'sieur Mayor!
Fantine: Can this be?
Valjean:
Where will she end -
This child without a friend?
I've seen your face before
Show me some way to help you
How have you come to grief
In a place such as this?
Fantine:
M'sieur, don't mock me now, I pray
It's hard enough I've lost my pride
You let your foreman send me away
Yes, you were there, and turned aside
I never did no wrong
Valjean: Is it true, what I have done?
Fantine: My daughter's close to dying...
Valjean: To an innocent soul?
Fantine: If there's a God above
Valjean: Had I only known then...
Fantine: He'd let me die instead
Valjean:
In His name my task has just begun
I will see it done!
Javert: But M'sieur Mayor!
Valjean: I will see it done!
Javert: But M'sieur Mayor!
Valjean: I will see it done!
Voices: Look out! It's a runaway cart!
Voices
Look at that!
Look at that!
It's Monsieur Fauchelevant!
Don't approach! Don't go near!
At the risk of your life!
He is caught by the wheel!
Oh, the pitiful man!
Stay away, Turn away!
There is nothing to do!
There is nothing to do!
Valjean:
Is there anyone here
Who will rescue the man?
Who will help me to shoulder
The weight of the cart?
Voices
Don't go near him, Mr. Mayor
The load is heavy as hell
The old man's a goner for sure
It'll kill you as well.
Valjean attempts to lift the cart... but fails. He tries again. They manage to pull Fauchelevant clear.
Fauchelevant
M'sieur le Mayor, I have no words
You come from God, you are a saint.
Javert takes Valjean aside.
Javert:
Can this be true?
I don't believe what I see!
A man your age
To be as strong as you are!
A mem'ry stirs...
You make me think of a man
From years ago
A man who broke his parole
He disappeared
Forgive me, Sir,
I would not dare!
Valjean:
Say what you must
Don't leave it there...
Javert:
I have only known one other
Who can do what you have done
He's a convict from the chain gang
He's been ten years on the run
But he couldn't run forever
We have found his hideaway
And he's just been re-arrested
And he comes to court today.
Well, of course he now denies it
You'd expect that of a `con'
But he couldn't run forever -
No, not even Jean Valjean!
Valjean:
You say this man denies it all
And gives no sign of understanding or repentance?
You say this man is going to trial
And that's he's sure to be returned
To serve his sentence?
Come to that, can you be sure,
That I am not your man?
Javert:
I have known the thief for ages
Tracked him down through thick and thin
And to make the matter certain
There's the brand upon his skin
He will bend, he will break
This time there is no mistake.
Javert leaves. Valjean is alone.
Why should I save his hide?
Why should I right this wrong
When I have come so far
And struggled for so long?
If I speak, I am condemned.
If I stay silent, I am damned!
I am the master of hundreds of workers.
They all look to me.
How can I abandon them?
How would they live
If I am not free?
If I speak, I am condemned.
If I stay silent, I am damned!
Who am I?
Can I condemn this man to slavery
Pretend I do not feel his agony
This innocent who bears my face
Who goes to judgement in my place
Who am I?
Can I conceal myself for evermore?
Pretend I'm not the man I was before?
And must my name until I die
Be no more than an alibi?
Must I lie?
How can I ever face my fellow men?
How can I ever face myself again?
My soul belongs to God, I know
I made that bargain long ago
He gave me hope when hope was gone
He gave me strength to journey on
He appears in front of the court
Who am I? Who am I?
I am Jean Valjean!
He unbuttons his shirt to reveal the number tattooed to his chest.
And so Javert, you see it's true
That man bears no more guilt than you!
Who am I?
24601!
Fantine:
Cosette, it's turned so cold
Cosette, it's past your bedtime
You've played the day away
And soon it will be night.
Come to me, Cosette, the light is fading
Don't you see the evening star appearing?
Come to me, and rest against my shoulder
How fast the minutes fly away and every minute colder.
Hurry near, another day is dying
Don't you hear, the winter wind is crying?
There's a darkness which comes without a warning
But I will sing you lullabies and wake you in the morning.
Valjean enters.
Valjean:
Oh, Fantine, our time is running out
But Fantine, I swear this on my life
Fantine: Look, M'sieur, where all the children play
Valjean: Be at peace, be at peace evermore.
Fantine: My Cosette...
Valjean: Shall live in my protection
Fantine: Take her now
Valjean: Your child will want for nothing
Fantine: Good M'sieur, you come from God in Heaven.
Valjean: And none shall ever harm Cosette
As long as I am living.
Fantine: Take my hand. The night grows ever colder.
Valjean: Then I will keep you warm.
Fantine: Take my child. I give her to your keeping.
Valjean: Take shelter from the storm
Fantine: For God's sake, please stay till I am sleeping
And tell Cosette I love her
And I'll see her when I wake...
She dies with a smile. Javert arrives.
Valjean:
Before you say another word, Javert
Before you chain me up like a slave again
Listen to me! There is something I must do.
This woman leaves behind a suffering child.
There is none but me who can intercede,
In Mercy's name, three days are all I need.
Then I'll return, I pledge my word.
Then I'll return...
Javert:
You must think me mad!
I've hunted you across the years
A man like you can never change
A man such as you.
| Valjean: (in counterpoint) Believe of me what you will There is a duty that I'm sworn to do You know nothing of my life All I did was steal some bread You know nothing of the world You would sooner see me dead But not before I see this justice done I am warning you Javert I'm a stronger man by far There is power in me yet My race is not yet run I am warning you Javert There is nothing I won't dare If I have to kill you here I'll do what must be done!
| Javert: (in counterpoint) Men like me can never change Men like you can never change No, 24601 My duty's to the law - you have no rights Come with me 24601 Now the wheel has turned around Jean Valjean is nothing now Dare you talk to me of crime And the price you had to pay Every man is born in sin Every man must choose his way You know nothing of Javert I was born inside a jail I was born with scum like you I am from the gutter too!
|
Valjean: (to Fantine)
And this I swear to you tonight
Javert: (to Valjean)
There is no place for you to hide
Valjean: Your child will live within my care
Javert: Wherever you may hide away
Valjean: And I will raise her to the light.
Valjean & Javert
I swear to you, I will be there!
They fight, Javert is knocked out. Valjean escapes.
Young Cosette
There is a castle on a cloud,
I like to go there in my sleep,
Aren't any floors for me to sweep,
Not in my castle on a cloud.
There is a room that's full of toys,
There are a hundred boys and girls,
Nobody shouts or talks too loud,
Not in my castle on a cloud.
There is a lady all in white,
Holds me and sings a lullaby,
She's nice to see and she's soft to touch,
She says "Cosette, I love you very much."
I know a place where no one's lost,
I know a place where no one cries,
Crying at all is not allowed,
Not in my castle on a cloud.
Oh help! I think I hear them now,
and I'm nowhere near finished sweeping and
scrubbing and polishing the floor.
Oh, it's her! It's Madame!
Mme. Thénardier:
Now look who's here
The little madam herself!
Pretending once again she's been `so awfully good,'
Better not let me catch you slacking
Better not catch my eye!
Ten rotten francs your mother sends me
What is that going to buy?
Now take that pail
My little `Mademoiselle'
And go and draw some water from the well!
We should never have taken you in in the first place
How stupid the things that we do!
Like mother like daughter, the scum of the street.
Eponine, come my dear, Eponine, let me see you
You look very well in that new little blue hat
There's some little girls who know how to behave
And they know what to wear
And I'm saying thank heaven for that.
Still there Cosette?
Your tears will do you no good!
I told you fetch some water from the well in the wood!
Young Cosette
Please do not send me out alone
Not in the darkness on my own!
Mme. Thénardier:
Enough of that, or I'll forget to be nice!
You heard me ask for something,
And I never ask twice!
Young Eponine pushes Cosette out. Thénardier says good night to his daughter as the inn fills up for the evening.
Thénardier enters with a flask of wine.
Thénardier:
Here, try this lot
Guaranteed to hit the spot
Or I'm not Thénardier
Drinkers
Gissa glass a rum
Landlord, over here!
Thénardier:
Right away, you scum (to himself)
Right away, m'sieur (to customer)
Diners
1. God this place has gone to hell
2. So you tell me every year
Drinkers
6. Mine host Thénardier
He was there so they say,
At the field of Waterloo
7. Got there, it's true
When the fight was all through
1. But he knew just what to do
Crawling through the mud
So I've heard it said
Picking through the pockets
Of the English dead
8. He made a tidy score
From the spoils of war
Thénardier:
My band of soaks
My den of dissolutes
My dirty jokes, my always pissed as newts.
My sons of whores
Spent their lives in my inn
Homing pigeons homing in
They fly through my doors
And their money's as good as yours
Diner 2
Ain't got a clue
What he put in this stew
Must have scraped it off the street
Diner 1
God what a wine!
Chateau Neuf de Turpentine
Must have pressed it with his feet
Drinkers
Landlord over here!
Where's the bloody man?
One more for the road!
Thénardier, one more slug o' gin.
Girl: Just one more, or my old man is gonna do me in.
Thénardier greets a new customer.
Thénardier:
Welcome, M'sieur
Sit yourself down
And meet the best
Innkeeper in town
As for the rest,
All of 'em crooks
Rooking their guests
And cooking the books.
Seldom do you see
Honest men like me
A gent of good intent
Who's content to be
Master of the house
Doling out the charm
Ready with a handshake
And an open palm
Tells a saucy tale
Makes a little stir
Customers appreciate a bon-viveur
Glad to do a friend a favor
Doesn't cost me to be nice
But nothing gets you nothing
Everything has got a little price!
Master of the house
Keeper of the zoo
Ready to relieve 'em
Of a sou or two
Watering the wine
Making up the weight
Pickin' up their knick-knacks
When they can't see straight
Everybody loves a landlord
Everybody's bosom friend
I do whatever pleases
Jesus! Won't I bleed 'em in the end!
Thénardier & Drinkers
Master of the house
Quick to catch yer eye
Never wants a passerby
To pass him by
Servant to the poor
Butler to the great
Comforter, philosopher,
And lifelong mate!
Everybody's boon companion
Everybody's chaperone
Thénardier:
But lock up your valises
Jesus! Won't I skin you to the bone!
To another new customer
Enter M'sieur
Lay down your load
Unlace your boots
And rest from the road
Taking his bag
This weighs a ton
Travel's a curse
But here we strive
To lighten your purse
Here the goose is cooked
Here the fat is fried
And nothing's overlooked
Till I'm satisfied...
Food beyond compare
Food beyond belief
Mix it in a mincer
And pretend it's beef
Kidney of a horse
Liver of a cat
Filling up the sausages
With this and that
Residents are more than welcome
Bridal suite is occupied
Reasonable charges
Plus some little extras on the side!
Charge 'em for the lice
Extra for the mice
Two percent for looking in the mirror twice
Here a little slice
There a little cut
Three percent for sleeping with the window shut
When it comes to fixing prices
There are a lot of tricks he knows
How it all increases
All those bits and pieces
Jesus! It's amazing how it grows!
Thénardier & Chorus
Master of the house
Quick to catch yer eye
Never wants a passerby
To pass him by
Servant to the poor
Butler to the great
Comforter, philosopher,
And lifelong mate!
Everybody's boon companion
Gives 'em everything he's got
Thénardier:
Dirty bunch of geezers
Jesus! What a sorry little lot!
Mme. Thénardier:
I used to dream
That I would meet a prince
But God Almighty,
Have you seen what's happened since?
`Master of the house?'
Isn't worth me spit!
`Comforter, philosopher'
- and lifelong shit!
Cunning little brain
Regular Voltaire
Thinks he's quite a lover
But there's not much there
What a cruel trick of nature
Landed me with such a louse
God knows how I've lasted
Living with this bastard in the house!
Thénardier & Drinkers: Master of the house!
Mme. Thénardier: Master and a half!
Thénardier & Drinkers: Comforter, philosopher
Mme. Thénardier: Ah, don't make me laugh!
Thénardier & Drinkers: Servant to the poor. Butler to the great.
Mme. Thénardier: Hypocrite and toady and inebriate!
Thénardier & Drinkers: Everybody bless the landlord!
Everybody bless his spouse!
Thénardier: Everybody raise a glass
Mme. Thénardier: Raise it up the master's arse.
All: Everybody raise a glass to the master of the house!
Valjean:
I found her wandering in the wood
This little child, I found her trembling in the shadows
And I am here to help Cosette
And I will settle any debt you may think proper
I will pay what I must pay
To take Cosette away.
There is a duty I must heed,
There is a promise I have made
For I was blind to one in need
I did not see what stood before me
Now her mother is with God
Fantine's suffering is over
And I speak here with her voice
And I stand here in her place
And from this day and evermore
Mme. Thénardier: Let me have your coat, M'sieur
Valjean: Cosette shall live in my protection
Thénardier: You are very welcome here
Valjean: I will not forsake my vow
Thénardier: Take a glass
Mme. Thénardier: Take a chair
Valjean: Cosette shall have a father now!
Dear Fantine, gone to rest...
Have we done for her child what is best?
Shared our bread. Shared each bone.
Treated her like she's one of our own!
Like our own, Monsieur!
Valjean:
Your feelings do you credit, sir
And I will ease the parting blow
He pays them.
Let us not talk of bargains or bones or greed
Now, may I say, we are agreed?
Mme. Thénardier:
That would quite fit the bill
If she hadn't so often been ill
Little dear, cost us dear
Medicines are expensive, M'sieur
Not that we begrudged a sou
It's no more than we Christians must do!
M. and Mme. Thénardier:
One thing more, one small doubt
There are treacherous people about
No offense. Please reflect.
Your intentions may not be correct?
Valjean:
No more words. Here's your price.
Fifteen hundred for your sacrifice.
Come, Cosette, say goodbye
Let us seek out some friendlier sky.
Thank you both for Cosette
It won't take you too long to forget.
Valjean and Cosette leave the inn.
Come, Cosette, come, my dear
From now on I will always be here
Where I go, you will be.
Cosette:
Will there be children and castles to see?
Valjean:
Yes, Cosette, yes, it's true.
There's a castle just waiting for you.
Valjean & Cosette
La la la la la...
1832. The teeming, squalid streets of Paris. Beggars, urchins, prostitutes, students, etc.
Beggars
Look down and see the beggars at your feet
Look down and show some mercy if you can
Look down and see
The sweepings of the street
Look down, look down,
Upon your fellow man!
Gavroche
How do you do? My name's Gavroche.
These are my people. Here's my patch.
Not much to look at, nothing posh
Nothing that you'd call up to scratch.
This is my school, my high society
Here in the slums of Saint Michele
We live on crumbs of humble piety
Tough on the teeth, but what the hell!
Think you're poor?
Think you're free?
Follow me! Follow me!
Beggars
Look down and show some mercy if you can
Look down, look down, upon your fellow man
An old beggar woman finds a young prostitute occupying her pitch.
Old Beggar Woman
What you think yer at?
Hanging round me pitch?
If you're new around here, girl
You've got a lot to learn!
Young Prostitute
Listen you old bat...
Crazy bloody witch...
'Least I give me customers
Some pleasure in return!
Old Beggar Woman
I know what you give!
Give 'em all the pox!
Spread around your poison
Till they end up in a box.
Pimp
Leave the poor old cow,
Move it, Madeleine.
She used to be no better
Till the clap got to her brain.
Beggars
When's it gonna end?
When we gonna live?
Something's gotta happen now or
Something's gonna give
It'll come, it'll come, it'll come
It'll come, it'll come, it'll come
Enjolras:
Where the leaders of the land?
Where are the swells who run this show?
Marius
Only one man - and that's Lamarque
Speaks for these people here below.
Beggars
See our children fed
Help us in our shame
Something for a crust of bread
In Holy Jesus' name
Urchin
In the Lord's Holy name.
Beggars
In his name, in his name, in his name...
Marius
Lamarque is ill and fading fast!
Won't last the week out, so they say.
Enjolras:
With all the anger in the land
How long before the judgement day?
Before we cut the fat ones down to size?
Before the barricades arise?
Gavroche
Watch out for old Thénardier
All of his family's on the make
Once ran a hash-house down the way
Bit of a swine and no mistake
He's got a gang
The bleeding layabout
Even his daughter does her share
That's Eponine, she knows her way about
Only a kid, but hard to scare
Do we care?
Not a cuss
Long live us.
Long live us!
Beggars
Look down and show some mercy if you can
Look down, look down upon your fellow man!
Thénardier:
Everyone here, you know your place
Brujon, Babet, Claquesous
You, Montparnasse, watch for the law
With Eponine take care
You turn on the tears
No mistakes, my dears
Mme. Thénardier:
These bloody students on our street
Here they come slumming once again
Our Eponine would kiss their feet
She never had a scrap of brain
Marius
Hey, Eponine, what's up today?
I haven't seen you much about.
Eponine: Here you can always catch me in.
Marius: Mind the police don't catch you out!
Eponine:
Here, wotcher do with all them books?
I could have been a student too!
Don't judge a girl on how she looks.
I know a lot of things, I do!
Marius
Poor Eponine, the things you know
You wouldn't find in books like these.
Eponine: I like the way you grow your hair
Marius: I like the way you always tease
Eponine:
Little he knows!
Little he sees!
Valjean arrives with Cosette, now grown up.
Mme. Thénardier:
Here's the old boy. Stay on the job and watch out for the law.
Eponine: (to Marius)
Stay out of this.
Marius
But Eponine...
Eponine:
You'll be in trouble here
It's not your concern
You'll be in the clear
She pushes Marius away.
Marius: Who is that man?
Eponine: Leave me alone!
Marius: Why is he here? Hey, Eponine!
He tries to follow her, and bumps into Cosette.
I didn't see you there, forgive me.
Thénardier:
Please m'sieur, come this way
Here's a child that ain't eaten today.
Save a life, spare a sou
God rewards all the good that you do.
Wait a bit. Know that face.
Ain't the world a remarkable place?
Men like me don't forget
You're the bastard who borrowed Cosette!
Thénardier grabs Valjean and rips open his shirt, revealing the number on his chest.
Valjean:
What is this? Are you mad?
No, Monsieur, you don't know what you do!
Thénardier:
You know me, you know me.
I'm a con, just like you.
Eponine:
It's the police! Disappear!
Run for it! It's Javert!
Javert:
Another brawl in the square
Another stink in the air!
Was there a witness to this? (Marius steps forward)
Well, let him speak to Javert!
M'sieur, the streets are not safe,
But let these vermin beware
We'll see that justice is done!
Look upon this fine collection
Crawled from underneath a stone
This swarm of worms and maggots
Could have picked you to the bone!
I know this man over here
I know his name and his trade
And on your witness, M'sieur,
We'll see him suitably paid.
Valjean and Cosette have disappeared.
But where's the gentleman gone?
And why on earth did he run?
Marius runs off to find Cosette
Thénardier:
You will have a job to catch him
He's the one you should arrest
No more bourgeois when you scratch him
Than that brand upon his chest!
The constables search for Valjean.
Javert:
Could it be he's some old jailbird
That the tide now washes in
Heard my name and started running
Had the brand upon his skin
And the girl who stood beside him
When I turned they both had gone
Could he be the man I've hunted?
Could it be he's Jean Valjean?
Thénardier:
In the absence of a victim,
Dear Inspector, may I go?
And remember when you've nicked him,
It was me who told you so!
Javert:
Let the old man keep on running
I will run him off his feet!
Everyone about your business!
Clear this garbage off the street!
He knows his way in the dark
Mine is the way of the Lord
And those who follow the path of the righteous
Shall have their reward
And if they fall
As Lucifer fell
The flame
The sword!
Stars
In your multitudes
Scarce to be counted
Filling the darkness
With order and light
You are the sentinels
Silent and sure
Keeping watch in the night
Keeping watch in the night
You know your place in the sky
You hold your course and your aim
And each in your season
Returns and returns
And is always the same
And if you fall as Lucifer fell
You fall in flame!
And so it has been and so it is written
On the doorway to paradise
That those who falter and those who fall
Must pay the price!
Lord let me find him
That I may see him
Safe behind bars
I will never rest
Till then
This I swear
This I swear by the stars!
Gavroche
That inspector thinks he's something
But it's me who runs this town!
And my theater never closes
And the curtain's never down
Trust Gavroche, have no fear
Don't you worry, auntie dear,
You can always find me here!
Eponine:
Cosette! Now I remember!
Cosette! How can it be?
We were children together
Look what's become of me...
Marius returns.
Good God! Ooh, what a rumpus!
Marius: That girl, who can she be?
Eponine: That cop! He'd like to jump us
But he ain't smart, not he.
Marius: Eponine, who was that girl?
Eponine: Some bourgeois two-a-penny thing!
Marius: Eponine, find her for me!
Eponine: What will you give me?
Marius: Anything!
Eponine: Got you all excited now,
But God knows what you see in her
Ain't you all delighted now
She refuses Marius' money.
No, I don't want your money sir...
Marius
Eponine! Do this for me...
Discover where she lives
But careful how you go
Don't let your father know
'Ponine! I'm lost until she's found!
Eponine:
You see, I told you so!
There's lots of things I know
Marius leaves.
'Ponine... she knows her way around!
Combeferre: At Notre Dame the sections are prepared!
Feuilly: At rue de Bac they're straining at the leash!
Courfeyrac: Students, workers, everyone
There's a river on the run
Like the flowing of the tide
Paris coming to our side!
Enjolras:
The time is near
So near it's stirring the blood in their veins!
And yet beware
Don't let the wine go to your brains!
For the army we fight is a dangerous foe
With the men and the arms that we never can match
It is easy to sit here and swat 'em like flies
But the national guard will be harder to catch.
We need a sign
To rally the people
To call them to arms
To bring them in line!
Marius, you're late.
Joly:
What's wrong today?
You look as if you've seen a ghost.
Grantaire
Some wine and say what's going on!
Marius
A ghost you say... a ghost maybe
She was just like a ghost to me
One minute there, and she was gone!
Grantaire
I am agog!
I am aghast!
Is Marius in love at last?
I've never heard him `ooh' and `aah'
You talk of battles to be won
And here he comes like Don Ju-an
It's better than an o-per-a!
Enjolras:
It is time for us all
To decide who we are
Do we fight for the right
To a night at the opera now?
Have you asked of yourselves
What's the price you might pay?
Is it simply a game
For rich young boys to play?
The color of the world
Is changing day by day...
Red - the blood of angry men!
Black - the dark of ages past!
Red - a world about to dawn!
Black - the night that ends at last!
Marius
Had you been there tonight
You might know how it feels
To be struck to the bone
In a moment of breathless delight!
Had you been there tonight
You might also have known
How the world may be changed
In just one burst of light!
And what was right seems wrong
And what was wrong seems right!
Grantaire: Red...
Marius: I feel my soul on fire!
Grantaire: Black...
Marius: My world if she's not there!
All: Red...
Marius: The color of desire!
All: Black...
Marius: The color of despair!
Enjolras:
Marius, you're no longer a child
I do not doubt you mean it well
But now there is a higher call.
Who cares about your lonely soul?
We strive toward a larger goal
Our little lives don't count at all!
All
Red - the blood of angry men!
Black - the dark of ages past!
Red - a world about to dawn!
Black - the night that ends at last!
Enjolras:
Well, Courfeyrac, do we have all the guns?
Feuilly, Combeferre, our time is running short.
Grantaire, put the bottle down!
Do we have the guns we need?
Grantaire
Give me brandy on my breath
And I'll breathe them all to death!
Courfeyrac: In St. Antoine they're with us to a man!
Combeferre: In Notre Dame they're tearing up the stones!
Feuilly: Twenty rifles good as new!
Gavroche rushes in shouting.
Gavroche: Listen!
Joly: Twenty rounds for every man!
Gavroche: Listen to me!
Jean Prouvaire: Double that in Port St. Cloud!
Gavroche: Listen everybody!
Lesgles: Seven guns in St. Martin!
Gavroche: General Lamarque is dead!
Enjolras:
Lamarque is dead.
Lamarque! His death is the hour of fate.
The people's man.
His death is the sign we await!
On his funeral day they will honor his name.
It's a rallying cry that will reach every ear!
In the death of Lamarque we will kindle the flame
They will see that the day of salvation is near!
The time is near!
Let us welcome it gladly with courage and cheer
Let us take to the streets with no doubt in our hearts
But a jubilant shout
They will come one and all
They will come when we call!
Enjolras:
Do you hear the people sing?
Singing a song of angry men?
It is the music of a people
Who will not be slaves again!
When the beating of your heart
Echoes the beating of the drums
There is a life about to start
When tomorrow comes!
Combeferre:
Will you join in our crusade?
Who will be strong and stand with me?
Beyond the barricade
Is there a world you long to see?
Courfeyrac:
Then join in the fight
That will give you the right to be free!
All
Do you hear the people sing?
Singing a song of angry men?
It is the music of a people
Who will not be slaves again!
When the beating of your heart
Echoes the beating of the drums
There is a life about to start
When tomorrow comes!
Feuilly
Will you give all you can give
So that our banner may advance
Some will fall and some will live
Will you stand up and take your chance?
The blood of the martyrs
Will water the meadows of France!
All
Do you hear the people sing?
Singing a song of angry men?
It is the music of a people
Who will not be slaves again!
When the beating of your heart
Echoes the beating of the drums
There is a life about to start
When tomorrow comes!
Cosette stands in her garden on Rue Plumet.
Cosette:
How strange
This feeling that my life's begun at last
This change,
Can people really fall in love so fast?
What's the matter with you, Cosette?
Have you been too much on your own?
So many things unclear
So many things unknown.
In my life
There are so many questions and answers
That somehow seem wrong
In my life
There are times when I catch in the silence
The sigh of a faraway song
And it sings
Of a world that I long to see
Out of reach
Just a whisper away
Waiting for me.
Does he know I'm alive?
Do I know if he's real?
Does he see what I saw?
Does he feel what I feel?
In my life
I'm no longer alone
Now the love in my life
Is so near
Find me now, find me here!
Valjean:
Dear Cosette,
You're such a lonely child
How pensive, how sad you seem to me
Believe me, were it within my power
I'd fill each passing hour
How quiet it must be, I can see
With only me for company.
Cosette:
There's so little I know
That I'm longing to know
Of the child that I was
In a time long ago...
There's so little you say
Of the life you have known
Why you keep to yourself
Why we're always alone
So dark! So dark and deep...
The secrets that you keep!
In my life
I have all that I want
You are loving and gentle and good
But Papa, dear Papa,
In your eyes I am just like a child
Who is lost in a wood
Valjean:
No more words
No more words. It's a time that is dead
There are words
That are better unheard,
Better unsaid.
Cosette:
In my life
I'm no longer a child and I yearn
For the truth that you know
Of the years... years ago!
Valjean:
You will learn
Truth is given by God
To us all in our time
In our turn
Valjean leaves the garden. Marius and Eponine arrive outside.
Marius
In my life
She has burst like the music of angels
The light of the sun
And my life seems to stop
As if something is over
And something has scarcely begun.
Eponine
You're the friend who has brought me here
Thanks to you I am one with the gods
And Heaven is near!
And I soar through a world that is new that is free
Eponine: (to herself)
Every word that he says is a dagger in me!
In my life
There's been no one like him anywhere
Anywhere, where he is...
If he asked... I'd be his
Marius & Eponine: In my life
There is someone who touches my life
Marius: Waiting near
Eponine: Waiting here
Marius
A heart full of love
A heart full of song
I'm doing everything all wrong
Oh God, for shame
I do not even know your name
Dear Mad'moiselle
Won't you say?
Will you tell?
Cosette:
A heart full of love
No fear, no regret
Marius: My name is Marius Pontmercy
Cosette: And mine's Cosette
Marius: Cosette, I don't know what to say
Cosette: Then make no sound
Marius: I am lost
Cosette: I am found!
Marius: A heart full of light
Cosette: A night bright as day
Marius: And you must never go away
Cosette, Cosette
Cosette: This is a chain we'll never break
Marius: Do I dream?
Cosette: I'm awake!
Marius: A heart full of love
Cosette: A heart full of you
Marius: A single look and then I knew
Cosette: I knew it too
Marius: From today
Cosette: Every day
Cosette & Marius
For it isn't a dream
Not a dream after all.
Eponine: (Interjecting)
He was never mine to lose
Why regret what cannot be?
These are words he'll never say
Not to me...
Not to me...
Not to me...
His heart full of love
He will never feel this way...
Marius and Cosette move away as Montparnasse enters furtively
Montparnasse
This house, we're going to do it
Rich man, plenty of scratch
You remember he's the one
Who got away the other day
Got a number on his chest
Perhaps a fortune put away!
Eponine:
Oh Lord, somebody help me!
Dear God, what'll I do?
He'll think this is an ambush
He'll think I'm in it too!
What'll I do, what'll I say?
I've got to warn them here
I've got to find a way.
Thénardier arrives with the rest of his gang.
Thénardier:
This is his lair
I've seen the old fox around
He keeps himself to himself
He's staying close to the ground
I smell profit here!
Ten years ago
He came and paid for Cosette
I let her go for a song
It's time we settled the debt
This'll cost him dear
Brujon
What do I care
Who you should rob?
Gimme me my share
Finish the job!
Thénardier:
You shut your mouth
Give me your hand
Brujon (catching sight of Eponine)
What have we here?
Thénardier: (not recognizing her)
Who is this hussy?
Babet
It's your brat Eponine
Don't you know your own kid
Why's she hanging about you?
Thénardier:
Eponine, get on home
You're not needed in this
We're enough here without you
Eponine:
I know this house
I tell you there's nothing here for you
Just the old man and the girl
They live ordinary lives
Thénardier:
Don't interfere
You've got some gall
Take care, young miss,
You've got a lot to say!
Brujon: She's going soft
Claquesous: Happens to all
Montparnasse: Go home, 'Ponine,
Go home, you're in the way
Eponine: I'm gonna scream, I'm gonna warn them here.
Thénardier: One little scream and you'll regret it for a year.
Claquesous
What a palaver
What an absolute treat
To watch a cat and its father
Pick a bone in the street
Brujon: Not a sound out of you!
Eponine: Well I told you I'd do it, told you I'd do it...
She screams.
Thénardier:
You wait my girl, you'll rue this night
I'll make you scream, you'll scream all right
Leave her to me, don't wait around
Make for the sewers, go underground!
The gang scatters. Marius and Cosette run back into the garden and he hurriedly introduces Eponine before she takes off.
Marius
It was your cry sent them away
Once more 'Ponine saving the day
Dearest Cosette - my friend 'Ponine
Brought me to you, showed me the way!
Someone is near
Let's not be seen
Somebody's here!
Marius leaves quickly as Valjean enters.
Valjean:
My God, Cosette!
I heard a cry in the dark
I heard the shout of angry voices in the street.
Cosette:
That was my cry you heard, Papa,
I was afraid of what they'd do.
They ran away when they heard my cry.
Valjean:
Cosette, my child, what will become of you?
Cosette:
Three men I saw beyond the wall
Three men in shadow moving fast
Valjean:
This is a warning to us all
These are the shadows of the past
Must be Javert!
He's found my cover at last!
I've got to get Cosette away
Before they return!
We must get away from shadows
They will never let us be
Tomorrow to Calais...
And then a ship across the sea!
Hurry, Cosette, prepare to leave and say no more,
Tomorrow we'll away!
Hurry, Cosette, it's time to close another door
And live another day!
| Marius | I did not live until today. How can I live when we are parted? |
| Valjean: | One day more. |
| Marius & Cosette | Tomorrow you'll be worlds away, And yet with you, my world has started! |
| Eponine: | One more day all on my own. |
| Marius & Cosette: | Will we ever meet again? |
| Eponine: | One more day with him not caring. |
| Marius & Cosette: | I was born to be with you. |
| Eponine: | What a life I might have known. |
| Marius & Cosette: | And I swear I will be true! |
| Eponine: | But he never saw me there!
|
| Enjolras: | One more day before the storm! |
| Marius: | Do I follow where she goes? |
| Enjolras: | At the barricades of freedom. |
| Marius: | Shall I join my brothers there? |
| Enjolras: | When our ranks begin to form |
| Marius: | Do I stay; and do I dare? |
| Enjolras: | Will you take your place with me? |
| All: | The time is now, the day is here
|
Javert:
One more day to revolution,
We will nip it in the bud!
I will join these little schoolboys,
They will wet themselves with blood!
Valjean: One day more!
M. & Mme. Thénardier:
Watch 'em run amuck,
Catch 'em as they fall,
Never know your luck
When there's a free for all,
Here a little `dip'
There a little `touch'
Most of them are goners
So they won't miss much!
Students (2 Groups)
1: One day to a new beginning
2: Raise the flag of freedom high!
1: Every man will be a king
2: Every man will be a king
1: There's a new world for the winning
2: There's a new world to be won
All: Do you hear the people sing?
Marius: My place is here, I fight with you!
Valjean: One day more!
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Marius & Cosette I did not live until today. Eponine: One more day all on my own! M & C: How can I live when we are parted?
Javert: (overlapping) | I will join these people's heros I will follow where they go I will learn their little secrets, I will know the things they know.
| Valjean: One day more!
Marius & Cosette | Tomorrow you'll be worlds away Eponine: What a life I might have known! M & C: And yet with you my world has started
Javert: (overlapping) | One more day to revolution We will nip it in the bud We'll be ready for these schoolboys
Thénardiers (overlapping) | Watch 'em run amok Catch 'em as they fall Never know your luck When there's a free-for-all!
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The curtain falls.