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LES MISERABLES

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Act I

  1. Prologue - WORK SONG
  2. VALJEAN ARRESTED/VALJEAN FORGIVEN
  3. WHAT HAVE I DONE (Valjean's Soliloquy)
  4. AT THE END OF THE DAY
  5. I DREAMED A DREAM
  6. LOVELY LADIES
  7. FANTINE'S ARREST
  8. THE RUNAWAY CART
  9. WHO AM I? (The Trial)
 10. COME TO ME (Fantine's Death)
 11. THE CONFRONTATION
 12. CASTLE ON A CLOUD
 13. MASTER OF THE HOUSE
 14. THE BARGAIN
 15. THE WALTZ OF TREACHERY
 16. LOOK DOWN
 17. THE ROBBERY
 18. JAVERT'S INTERVENTION
 19. STARS
 20. EPONINE'S ERRAND
 21. RED AND BLACK (The ABC Cafe)
 22. DO YOU HEAR THE PEOPLE SING
 23. IN MY LIFE
 24. A HEART FULL OF LOVE
 25. THE ATTACK ON RUE PLUMET
 26. ONE DAY MORE

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Prologue - WORK SONG

[1815, Toulon, France. The chain gang, overseen by brutal warders, works in the
sun.

Prisoners
Look down, look down
Don't look 'em in the eye
Look down, look down,
You're here until you die
The sun is strong
It's hot as hell below
Look down, look down,
There's twenty years to go
I've done no wrong!
Sweet Jesus hear my prayer!
Look down, look down,
Sweet Jesus doesn't care
I know she'll wait,
I know that she'll be true!
Look down, look down,
They've all forgotten you
When I get free ya won't see me
Here for dust!
Look down, look down
Don't look 'em in the eye
How long O Lord
Before you let me die?
Look down, look down,
You'll always be a slave
Look down, look down,
You're standing in your grave

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

Javert
NO!
It means you get
Your yellow ticket-of-leave
You are a theif

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
And you will starve again
Unless you learn the meaning of the law.

Valjean
I know the meaning of these 19 years
A slave of the law

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

Chorus
Look down, look down
You will always be a slave
Look down, look down
You're standing in your grave.

Valjean
Freedom is mine. The earth is still.
I feel the wind. I breathe again.
And the sky clears, the world is waiting.
Drink from the pool. How clean the taste
Never forget the years, the waste.
Nor forgive them, for what they've done.
They are the guilty, everyone.
The day begins...
And now lets see
What this new world
Will do for me!

[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've 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.]

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 my 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's 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.]

VALJEAN ARRESTED/VALJEAN FORGIVEN

Constables
Tell his reverence your story
Let us see if he's impressed
You were lodging there last night
You were the honest Bishop's guest.
And then, out of Christian goodness
When he learned about your plight
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
May God's blessing go with you.
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!

WHAT HAVE I DONE (Valjean's Soliloquy)

Valjean
What have I done?
Sweet Jesus, what have I done?
Become a thief in the night
Become a dog on the run
And have I fallen so far
And is the hour so late
That nothing remains but the cry of my hate,
The cries in the dark that nobody hears,
Here where I stand at the turning of the years?
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 this world
This world which had 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 came 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 whirpool 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.]

AT THE END OF THE DAY

[1823, Montreuil-sur-Mer. Outside the factory, owned by the Mayor, Monsieur
Madeleine (Valjean in disguise).]

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 winder 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.]

Foreman
At the end of the day you get nothing for nothing
Sitting flat on your butt doesn't buy any bread

Workers
There are children back at home
And the children have got to be fed
And you're lucky to be in a job
And in a bed!
And we're counting our blessings!

Women
Have you seen how the foreman is fuming today?
With his terrible breath and his wandering hands?
It's because little Fantine won't give him his way
Take a look at his trousers, you'll see where he stands!
And the boss, he never knows
That the foreman is always in heat
If Fantine doesn't look out
Watch how she goes
She'll be out on the street!

Workers
At the end of the day it's another day over
With enough in your pocket to last for a week
Pay the landlord pay the shop
Keep on grafting as long as you're able
Keep on grafting till you drop
Or it's back to the crumbs on the table
You've got to pay your way
At the end of the day!

Girl
What have we here, little innocent sister?
Come on Fantine, let's have all the news!

[She grabs the letter from Fantine.]

"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 rushes over to break up the squabble.]

Valjean (as M. Madeleine)
What is this fighting all about?
Will someone tear these two apart?
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

Workers
You must sack her today
Sack the girl today!

Foreman
Right my girl!
On your way...

I DREAMED A DREAM

[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 times 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'll 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 much different from this hell I'm living
So different now from what it seemed
Now life has killed
The dream I dreamed.

LOVELY LADIES

[The docks. Sailors, whores and their customers, pimps, etc. Fantine wanders
in.]

Sailors
I smell women
Smell 'em in the air
Think I'll drop my anchor
In that harbor over there
Lovely ladies
Smell 'em through the smoke
Seven days at sea
Can make you hungry for a poke
Even stokers need a little stoke!

Whores
Lovely ladies
Waiting for a bite
Waiting for the customer
Who only comes at night
Lovely ladies
Waiting for the call
Standing up or lying down
Or any way at all
Bargain prices up against the wall

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!

Whores
Lovely ladies
Waiting in the dark
Ready for a thick one
Or a quick one in the park
Long time short time
Any time, my dear
Cost a little extra if you want to take all year!
Quick and cheap is underneath the pier!

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!

Sailors
Lovely lady!
Fastest on the street
Wasn't there three minutes
She was back up on her feet
Lovely lady!
What yer waiting for?
Doesn't take a lot of savvy
Just to be a whore
Come on, lady
What's a lady for?

Whores (in counterpoint)
Lovely ladies
Lovely little girls
Lovely ladies
Lovely little ladies
Lovely girlies
Lovely little girls
We are lovely, lovely girls
Lovely ladies
What's a lady for?

[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!

Whores
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, make money in your sleep!

[Fantine goes off with one of the sailors.]

That's right dearie, let him have the lot
That's right dearie, show him what you've got!

Old men, young men, take 'em as they come
Harbor rats and alley cats and every type of scum
Poor men, rich men, leaders of the land
See them with their trousers off they're never quite as grand
All it takes is money in your hand!
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 shame that's in your head
Don't they know they're making love
To one already dead!

FANTINE'S ARREST

[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 have 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 belive 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. 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?
To an innocent soul?
Had I only known then...

Fantine (in counterpoint)
My daughter's close to dying
If there's a God above
He'd let me die instead

Valjean
In His name my task has just begun
I will see it done!
I will see it done!

Javert
But M'sieur Mayor!

Valjean
I will see it done!

Javert
But M'sieur Mayor!

Voices
Look out! It's a runaway cart!

THE RUNAWAY CART

[The crowd parts to reveal that the cart has crashed, trapping M.
Fauchelevant.]

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. 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 memory 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.
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.]

WHO AM I? (The Trial)

Valjean
He thinks that man is me!
He knew him at a glance!
That stranger he has found
This man could be my chance
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 can 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 see 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 man?
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 steps 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!

COME TO ME (Fantine's Death)

[Fantine is lying in a hospital bed, deleriously dreaming of her daughter
Cosette.]

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 lullabyes 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 will 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.]

THE CONFRONTATION

Javert
Valjean, at last,
We see each other plain
`M'sieur le Mayor',
You'll wear a different chain.

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 rather 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 breaks chair and threatens Javert with the broken piece. Turns to
Fantine.]

Valjean
And this I swear to you tonight

Javert
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.]

CASTLE ON A CLOUD

[Young Cosette is working as a drudge in the Thenardier's inn at Montfermeil.]

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 lullabye,
She's nice to hear 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. Thenardier
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. Thenardier
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. Thenardier says good night to his daughter
as the inn fills up for the evening.]

MASTER OF THE HOUSE

Drinkers
Come on you old pest
Fetch a bottle of your best
What's the nectar of the day?

[Thenardier enters with a flask of wine.]

Thenardier
Here, try this lot
Guaranteed to hit the spot
Or I'm not Thenardier

Drinkers
Gissa glass a' rum
Landlord, over here!

Thenardier
[To himself] Right away, you scum
[To customer] Right away, m'sieur

Drinkers
God this place has gone to hell
So you tell me every year
Mine host Thenardier
He was there so they say,
At the field of Waterloo
Got there, it's true
When the fight was all through
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
He made a tidy score
From the spoils of war

Thenardier
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
Then fly through my doors
And their money's as good as yours

Drinkers
Ain't got a clue
What he put in this stew
Must have scraped it off the street
God what a wine!
Chateau Neuf de Turpentine
Must have pressed it with his feet
Landlord over here!
Where's the bloody man?
One more for the road!
Thenardier, one more slug o' gin.
Just one more, or my old man is gonna do me in.

[Thenardier greets a new customer.]

Thenardier
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 busom friend
I do whatever pleases
Jesus! Won't I bleed 'em in the end!

Thenardier & 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

Thenardier
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
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!

Thenardier & Chorus
Master of the house
Quick to catch yer eye
Never wants a passerby
To pass him by
Servent to the poor
Butler to the great
Comforter, philosopher,
And lifelong mate!
Everybody's boon companion
Gives 'em everything he's got

Thenardier
Dirty bunch of geezers
Jesus! What a sorry little lot!

Mme. Thenardier
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!

Thenardier & Drinkers
Master of the house!

Mme. Thenardier
Master and a half!

Thenardier & Drinkers
Comforter, philosopher

Mme. Thenardier
Ah, don't make me laugh!

Thenardier & Drinkers
Servant to the poor
Butler to the great

Mme. Thenardier
Hypocrite and toady
And inebriate!

Thenardier & Drinkers
Everybody bless the landlord!
Everybody bless his spouse!

Thenardier
Everybody raise a glass

Mme. Thenardier
Raise it up the master's arse

All
Everybody raise a glass to the master of the house!

THE BARGAIN

[Valjean and Young Cosette arrive at the now empty inn, hand in hand.]

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. Thenardier
Let me have your coat, M'sieur

Valjean
Cosette shall live in my protection

Thenardier
You are very welcome here

Valjean
I shall not forsake my vow

Thenardier
Take a glass

Mme. Thenardier
Take a chair

Valjean
Cosette shall have a father now!

THE WALTZ OF TREACHERY

Thenardier
What to do? What to say?
Shall you carry our treasure away?
What a gem! What a pearl!
Beyond rubies is our little girl!
How can we speak of debt?
Let's not haggle for darling Cosette!
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. Thenardier
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. Thenardier
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...

LOOK DOWN

[1832. The teeming, squalid streets of Paris. Beggars, urchins, prostitutes,
students, etc.]

Beggars
Look down, 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 streets
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 patch.]

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 my 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 Thenardier
All of his family is 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, look down, and show some mercy if you can
Look down, look down, upon your fellow man!

THE ROBBERY

[Thenardier assembling his gang.]

Thenardier
Everyone here, you know your place
Brujon, Babet, Claqusous
You, Montparnasse, watch for the law
With Eponine, take care.
You turn on the tears
No mistakes, my dears

Mme. Thenardier
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
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, whatcher doing 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. Thenardier
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 begins to follow her, and bumps into Cosette.]

I didn't see you there, forgive me.

Thenardier
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 that borrowed Cosette!

[Thenardier 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!

Thenardier
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'S INTERVENTION

[Javert and constables break up the fight. Valjean picks himself up and looks
for Cosette, who is with Marius.]

Javert
Another brawl in the square
Another stink in the air!
Was there a witness to this?
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?

Thenardier
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?

Thenardier
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!

STARS

Javert
There, out in the darkness
A fugitive running
Fallen from God
Fallen from grace
God be my witness
I never shall yield
Till we come face to face
Till we come face to face
He knows his way in the dark
But 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'S ERRAND

[Eponine is alone in the square.]

Eponine
Cosette! Now I remember!
Cosette! How can it be?
We were children together
Look what's become of me...

[Marius returns.]

Good God! Oh, 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
Be careful how you go
Don't let her 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...

RED AND BLACK (The ABC Cafe)

[The ABC Cafe, where the students, led by Enjolras, meet to discuss their
revolutionary plans.]

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
Oh, it's 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 enters.]

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 have never heard him `ooh' and `aah'
You talk of battles to be won
But 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 [mocking...]
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 [drunk]
Give me brandy on my breath
And I'll breath 'em 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!

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 hear!
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!

DO YOU HEAR THE PEOPLE SING

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
Echos 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?
Somewhere 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
Echos 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
Echos the beating of the drums
There is a life about to start
When tomorrow comes!

IN MY LIFE

[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 chile
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 are 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

A HEART FULL OF LOVE

[Marius goes into the garden, leaving Eponine outside.]

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
Dead 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

Eponine [outside, interjecting]
He was never mine to lose

Cosette
A heart full of you

Eponine
Why regret what could not be?

Marius
A single look and then I knew.

Eponine
These are words he'll never say

Cosette
I knew it too.

Eponine
Not to me...

Marius
From today...

Eponine
Not to me...

Cosette
Every day

Eponine
Not for me...

Cosette & Marius
For it isn't a dream
Not a dream
After all!

Eponine
His heart full of love
He will never
Feel this way...

THE ATTACK ON RUE PLUMET

Eponine
'Parnasse, what are you doing
So far out of our patch?

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.

[Thenardier arrives with the rest of his gang.]

Thenardier
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
Give me my share
Finish the job!

Thenardier
You shut your mouth
Give me your hand

[He notices Eponine but doesn't recognize her.]

Brujon
What have we here?

Thenardier
Who is this hussy?

Babet
It's your brat Eponine
Don't you know your own kid
Why's she hanging about you?

Thenardier
'Ponine, 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

Thenardier
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.

Thenardier
One little scream and you'll regret it for a year.

Claquesous
What a palaver
What an absolute treat
To watch a cat and it's 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.]

Thenardier
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
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
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!

ONE DAY MORE

Valjean
One day more,
Another day, another destiny,
This never ending road to Calvary;
These men who seem to know my crime
Will surely come a second time,
One day more...

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!
At the barricades of Freedom!
When our ranks begin to form,
Will you take your place with me?

Marius
Do I follow where she goes!
Shall I join my brothers there!
Do I stay or do I dare?

All
The time is now
The place is here

Valjean
One day more!

Javert
One more day till 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. Thenardier
Watch'm run amuck,
Catch'm when they fall,
Never know your luck
When there's a free for all,
Here a little pinch,
There a little touch,
Most of them are goners
So they won't miss much!

Various Students
One day to a new beginning
Raise the flag of freedom high!
Every man will be a king
Every man will be a king
There's a new world for the winning
There's a new world to be won
Do you hear the people sing?

Marius
My place is here,
I fight with you!

Valjean
One day more!

Marius & Cosette
I did not live until today...
Tomorrow you'll be worlds away
And yet with you my world has started

Eponine
One more day all on my own...

Javert
I will join these people's heros
I will follow where they go
I will know their little secrets,
I will know the things they know.

Valjean
One day more!

M. & Mme. Thenardier
Watch 'em run amuck
Catch 'em as they fall
Never know your luck
When there's a free-for-all

Javert
One more day to revolution
We weill nip it in the bud
We'll be ready for these schoolboys
Tommorow is the judgement day

Valjean
Tomorrow we'll be far away,
Tomorrow is the judgement day

All
Tomorrow we'll discover
What our God in Heaven has in store!
One more dawn
One more day
One day more!

[The curtain falls.]





-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

LES MISERABLES

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Act II

  1. UPON THESE STONES - BUILDING THE BARRICADE
  2. ON MY OWN
  3. UPON THESE STONES - AT THE BARRICADE
  4. LITTLE PEOPLE
  5. A LITTLE FALL OF RAIN
  6. NIGHT OF ANGUISH
  7. THE FIRST ATTACK
  8. DRINK WITH ME (The Night)
  9. BRING HIM HOME
 10. DAWN OF ANGUISH
 11. THE SECOND ATTACK (The Death of Gavroche)
 12. THE FINAL BATTLE
 13. DOG EAT DOG (The Sewers)
 14. JAVERT'S SUICIDE
 15. TURNING
 16. EMPTY CHAIRS AT EMPTY TABLES
 17. EVERY DAY
 18. VALJEAN'S CONFESSION
 19. THE WEDDING CHORALE
 20. BEGGARS AT THE FEAST
 21. EPILOGUE (Finale)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

UPON THESE STONES - BUILDING THE BARRICADE

[Enjolras is addressing the revolutionaries.]

Enjolras
Here upon these stones
We will build our barricade
In the heart of the city
We claim as our own!
Each man to his duty
And don't be afraid.
Wait! I will need a report
On the strength of the foe.

Javert [disguised as a rebel]
I can find out the truth
I know their ways
Fought their wars
Served my time
In the days
Of my youth!

Various Students
Now the people will fight
And so they might
Dogs will back
Fleas will bite.
They will do what is right

[Marius spots Eponine, who is dressed as a boy.]

Marius
Hey little boy, what's this I see?
God Eponine, the things you do!

Eponine
I know this is no place for me
Still I would rather be with you.

Marius
Get out before the trouble starts
Get out, 'Ponine, you might get shot

Eponine
I got you worried, now I have
That shows you like me quite a lot

Marius
There is a way that you can help
You are the answer to a prayer
Please take this letter to Cosette
And pray to God that she's still there!

[She walks to the Rue Plumet...]

Eponine
Little you know...
Little you care!

[...where she meets Valjean.]

I have a letter M'sieur
It's addressed to your daughter Cosette
It's from a boy at the barricade, Sir
In the Rue de Villette.

Valjean
Give me that letter here, my boy

Eponine
He said to give it to Cosette

Valjean
You have my word that my daughter will know
What this letter contains.

[He gives her a coin.]

Tell the young man she will read it tomorrow
And here's for your pains
Go careful now, stay out of sight
There's danger in the streets tonight.

[He opens the letter... and reads it.]

``Dearest Cosette, you have entered my soul
And soon you will be gone.
Can it be only a day since we met
And the world was reborn?
If I should fall in the battle to come
Let this be my goodbye
Now that I know you love me as well
It is harder to die...
I pray that god will bring me home
To be with you.
Pray for your Marius, he prays for you!''

[Valjean goes in, leaving Eponine alone.]

ON MY OWN

Eponine
And now I'm all alone again
Nowhere to turn, no one to go to
Without a home without a friend
Without a face to say hello to
And now the night is near
I can make believe he's here

Sometimes I walk alone at night
When everybody else is sleeping
I think of him and I'm happy
With the company I'm keeping
The city goes to bed
And I can live inside my head

Own my own
Pretending he's beside me
All alone
I walk with him till morning
Without him
I feel his arms around me
And when I lose my way I close my eyes
And he has found me

In the rain the pavement shines like silver
All the lights are misty in the river
In the darkness, the trees are full of starlight
And all I see is him and me forever and forever

And I know it's only in my mind
That I'm talking to myself and not to him
And although I know that he is blind
Still I say, there's a way for us

I love him
But when the night is over
He is gone
The river's just a river
Without him
The world around me changes
The trees are bare and everywhere
The streets are full of strangers

I love him
But every day I'm learning
All my life
I've only been pretending
Without me
His world would go on turning
A world that's full of happiness
That I have never known

I love him
I love him
I love him
But only on my own.

UPON THESE STONES - AT THE BARRICADE

[The barricade is now complete.]

Students
Now we pledge ourselves to hold this barricade
Let them come in their legions
And they will be met
Have faith in yourselves
And don't be afraid
Let's give 'em a screwing
That they'll never forget!
This is where it begins!
And if I should die in the fight to be free
Where the fighting is hardest
There will I be
Let them come if they dare
We'll be there!

Army Officer [Offstage]
You at the barricade listen to this
No one is coming to help you to fight
You're on your own
You have no friends
Give up your guns - or die!

Enjolras
Damn their warnings, damn their lies
They will see the people rise!

Students
Damn their warnings, damn their lies
They will see the people rise!

[Javert climbs over the barricade.]

Javert
Listen my friends
I have done as I said
I have been to their lines
I have counted each man
I will tell what I can
Better be warned
They have armies to spare
And the danger is real
We will need all our cunning
To bring them to heel.

Enjolras
Have faith
If you know what their movements are
We'll spoil their game
There are ways that a people can fight
We shall overcome their power

Javert
I have overheard their plans
There will be no attack tonight
They intend to starve us out
Before they start a proper fight
Concentrate their force
Hit us from the right.

LITTLE PEOPLE

[Gavroche enters.]

Gavroche
Liar!
Good evening, dear inspector
Lovely evening, my dear.
I know this man, my friends
His name is Inspector Javert
So don't believe a word he says
'Cause none of it's true
This only goes to show
What little people can do!

And little people know
When little people fight
We may look easy pickings
But we've got some bite
So never kick a dog
Because he's just a pup
We'll fight like twenty armies
And we won't give up
So you'd better run for cover
When the pup grows up!

Grantaire
Bravo, little Gavroche, you're the top of the class!

Prouvaire
So what are we going to do
With this snake in the grass?

Enjolras
Tie this man and take him
To the tavern in there
The people will decide your fate
Inspector Javert!

Various Students
Take the bastard now and shoot him!
Let us watch the devil dance
You'd have done the same Inspector
If we'd let you have your chance!

Javert
Shoot me now or shoot me later
Every schoolboy to his sport
Death to each and every traitor
I renounce your people's court!

Combeferre
Though we may not all survive here
There are things that never die

Grantaire
What's the difference? Die a schoolboy
Die a policeman die a spy!

Enjolras
Take this man, bring him through
There is work we have to do!

[Javert is bundled away as the first shots ring out. Eponine enters, wounded.]

Joly
There's a boy climbing the barricade!

Marius
Good God! What are you doing?
'Ponine, have you no fear?
Have you seen my beloved?
Why have you come back here?

Eponine
Took the letter like you said
I met her father at the door
He said he would give it

[She collapses]

Don't think I can stand any more.

Marius
Eponine, what's wrong? I feel...
There's something wet upon your hair

[There is blood on his hands]

Eponine, you're hurt
You need some help!
Oh God, it's everywhere....

A LITTLE FALL OF RAIN

Eponine
Don't you fret, M'sieur Marius
I don't feel any pain
A little fall of rain
Can hardly hurt me now
You're here, that's all I need to know
And you will keep me safe
And you will keep me close
And rain will make the flowers grow.

Marius
But you will live, 'Ponine - dear God above...
If I could close your wounds with words of love...

Eponine
Just hold me now, and let it be.
Shelter me, comfort me...

Marius
You would live
A hundred years
If I could show you how
I won't desert you now...

Eponine
The rain can't hurt me now
This rain will wash away what's past
And you will keep me safe
And you will keep me close
I'll sleep in your embrace at last
The rain that brings you here
Is Heaven-blessed!
The skies begin to clear
And I'm at rest
A breath away from where you are
I've come home from so far
So don't you fret, M'sieur Marius
I don't feel any pain
A little fall of rain
Can hardly hurt me now
That's all I need to know
And you will keep me safe
And you will keep me close
And rain
Will make the flowers...

Marius [in counterpoint]
Hush-a-bye, dear Eponine
You won't feel any pain
A little fall of rain
Can hardly hurt you now
I'm here

I will stay with you
Till you are sleeping
And rain
Will make the flowers...
Grow.

[She dies. Marius kisses her, then lays her on the ground.]

Enjolras
She is the first to fall
The first of us to fall upon this barricade

Marius
Her name was Eponine
Her life was cold and dark, yet she was unafraid.

Combeferre
We fight here in her name

Prouvaire
She will not die in vain.

Lesgles
She will not be betrayed.

[They carry her body off.]

NIGHT OF ANGUISH

[Valjean arrives, dressed as a soldier.]

Joly
Here comes a man in uniform
What brings you to this place?

Valjean
I come here as a volunteer

Joly
Approach and show your face.

Sentry
You wear an army uniform.

Valjean
That's why they let me through.

Joly
You've got some years behind you sir.

Valjean
There's much that I can do.

Joly
You see that prisoner over there?

Grantaire
A volunteer like you!

Combeferre
A spy who calls himself Javert!

Grantaire
He's going to get it too...

Sentry
They're getting ready to attack!

THE FIRST ATTACK

[Enjolras gives Valjean a gun.]

Enjolras
Take this and use it well!
But if you shoot us in the back,
You'll never live to tell.

Random Voices
Platoon of sappers advancing toward the barricade!
Troops behind them, fifty men or more!

Enjolras
FIRE!

[Gunfire is heard.]

Feuilly
Sniper!

[Valjean shoots a sniper who is aiming at Enjolras.]

Lesgles
See how they run away!

Grantaire
By God we've won the day!

Enjolras
They will be back again,
Make an attack again.

[To Valjean.]

For your presence of mind
For the deed you have done
I will thank you M'sieur
When our battle is won.

Valjean
Give me no thanks M'sieur
There is something that you can do.

Enjolras
If it is in my power...

Valjean
Give me the spy Javert
Let me take care of him

Javert
The law is inside out
The world is upside down

Enjolras
Do what you have to do,
The man belongs to you.

The enemy may be regrouping. Hold yourself in readiness.
Come my friends, back to your positions.
The night is falling fast...

[Valjean has taken Javert away.]

Valjean
We meet again.

Javert
You've hungered for this all your life;
Take your revenge!
How right you should kill with a knife!

[Valjean cuts the ropes which bind Javert.]

Valjean
You talk too much,
Your life is safe in my hands.

Javert
I don't understand

Valjean
Get out of here.

Javert
Valjean, take care,
I'm warning you...

Valjean
Clear out of here.

Javert
Once a thief, forever a thief
What you want you always steal!
You would trade your life for mine.
Yes, Valjean, you want a deal.
Shoot me now for all I care!
If you let me go beware.
You'll still answer to Javert!

Valjean
You are wrong, and always have been wrong.
I'm a man, no worse than any man.
You are free, and there are no conditions,
No bargains or petitions.
There's nothing that I blame you for.
You've done your duty, nothing more.
If I come out of this alive, you'll find me
At number fifty-five Rue Plumet
No doubt our paths will cross again.

[Valjean fires his gun into the air, Javert leaves quickly. Muted applause from
the students who think Javert has been shot.]

Enjolras
Courfeyrac, you take the watch
They won't attack until it's light
Everybody stay awake
We must be ready for the fight
For the final fight
Let no one sleep tonight!

DRINK WITH ME (The Night)

[The defenders settle down for the night with wine and a song.]

Enjolras
Marius, rest.

Feuilly
Drink with me
To days gone by
Sing with me
The songs we knew

Prouvaire
Here's to pretty girls
Who went to our heads

Joly
Here's to witty girls
Who went to our beds

All
Here's to them
And here's to you!

Grantaire
Drink with me
To days gone by
Can it be
You fear to die?
Will the world remember you
When you fall?
Could it be your death
Means nothing at all?
Is your life just one more lie?

Men
Drink with me
To days
Gone by
To the life
That used
To be
Let the wine of friendship
Never run dry

Women (in counterpoint)
Drink with me
To days
Gone by
To the life
That used
To be
At the shrine of friendship
Never say die

All
Here's to you
And here's
To me...

Marius
Do I care if I should die
Now she goes across the sea?
Life without Cosette
Means nothing at all
Would you weep, Cosette,
Should Marius fall?
Will you weep,
Cosette,
For me?

[Marius settles down to sleep.]

BRING HIM HOME

[Valjean is standing over Marius at the barricade.]

Valjean
God on high
Hear my prayer
In my need
You have always been there
He is young
He's afraid
Let him rest
Heaven blessed.
Bring him home
Bring him home
Bring him home.
He's like the son I might have known
If God had granted me a son.
The summers die
One by one
How soon they fly
On and on
And I am old
And will be gone.
Bring him peace
Bring him joy
He is young
He is only a boy
You can take
You can give
Let him be
Let him live
If I die
Let me die
Let him live
Bring him home
Bring him home
Bring him home.

DAWN OF ANGUISH

[Day breaks.]

Enjolras
The people have not stirred
We are abandoned by those who still live in fear.
The people have not heard.
Yet will will not abandon those who cannot hear.
Let us not waste lives
Let all the women and fathers of children
Go from here.

Feuilly
Drink with me to days gone by
Sing with me the songs we knew

All
At the shrine of friendship
Raise your glass high
Let the wine of friendship
Never run dry
If I die
I die with you!

THE SECOND ATTACK (The Death of Gavroche)

[The battle recommences.]

Enjolras
How do we stand, Feuilly?
Make your report.

Feuilly
We've guns enough
But ammunition short

Marius
Let me go into the streets
There are bodies all around
Ammunition to be had
Lots of bullets to be found!

Enjolras
I won't let you go
It's too much of a chance.

Marius
The same is true
For any man here!

Valjean
Let me go
He's no more than a boy
I am old
I have nothing to fear

Gavroche
You need somebody quicker
And I volunteer!

[Gavroche climbs the barricade.]

Lesgles
Come back Gavroche, don't you dare!

Joly
Someone pull him down at once!

Gavroche
Look at me, I'm almost there!

[A shot rings out from beyond the barricade. Gavroche is hit.]

Gavroche
Little people know, when
Little people fight, we

[Another shot is fired.]

May look easy pickings
But we've got some bite!

[He is hit again.]

So never kick a dog
Because he's just a pup
We'll fight like twenty armies
And we won't give up
So you'd better run for cover
When the pup grows......

[He dies.]

THE FINAL BATTLE

Army Officer [from beyond the barricade]
You at the barricade listen to this
The people of Paris sleep in their beds
You have no chance
No chance at all
Why throw your lives away?

Enjolras
Let us die facing our foes
Make them bleed while we can

Combeferre
Make 'em pay through the nose

Courfeyrac
Make 'em pay for every man!

Enjolras
Let others rise
To take our place
Until the earth is free!

[Amidst increasingly heavy gunfire, Marius is shot. Enjolras is killed at the
summit of the barricade. All at the barricade are killed, except Marius, who is
wounded and unconscious, and Valjean. Valjean discovers that Marius is still
alive and carries him down into the sewers to escape. Javert climbs over the
barricade looking for Valjean's body. Not finding it, he realizes that Valjean
must be in the sewers, so he goes off to where he must emerge.]

DOG EAT DOG (The Sewers)

[Thenardier is picking through the corpses in the sewers.]

Thenardier
Here's a hint of gold
Stuck into a tooth
Pardon me M'sieur
You won't be needing this no more.
Shouldn't be too hard to sell.
Add it to the pile
Add it to the stock
Here among the sewer rats
A breath away from hell
You get accustomed to the smell.

Well someone's got to clean 'em up, my friends
Bodies on the highway
Law and order upside down
Someone's got to collect their odds and ends
As a service to the town!

[Valjean arrives, carrying Marius, and collapses. Thenardier robs Marius.]

Here's a tasty ring
Pretty little thing
Wouldn't want to waste it
That would really be a crime
Thank you sir, I'm in your debt
Here's another toy
Take it off the boy
His heart's no longer going
And he's lived his little time
But his watch is ticking yet!

Well, someone's got to clean them up, my friends
Before the little harvest
Disappears into the mud
Someone's got to collect their odds and ends
When the gutters run with blood.

It's a world where the dog eats the dog
Where they kill for bones in the street
And God in His Heaven
He don't interfere
'Cause he's dead as the stiffs at my feet
I raise my eyes to see the heavens
And only the moon looks down
The harvest moon shines down!

[He turns over Valjean's body, recognizes him, and leaves. Eventually, Valjean
picks up Marius again and walks through the sewers. As they emerge, they meet
Javert.]

Valjean
It's you, Javert
I knew you wouldn't wait too long
The faithful servant at his post once more!
This man's done no wrong,
And he needs a doctor's care.

Javert
I warned you I would not give in
I won't be swayed

Valjean
Another hour yet
And then I'm yours
And all our debts are paid.

Javert
The man of mercy
Comes again
And talks of justice

Valjean
Come, time is running short
Look down, Javert
He's standing in his grave
Give way, Javert
There is a life to save.

Javert
Take him Valjean,
Before I change my mind
I will be waiting
24601.

[Valjean carries Marius off.]

JAVERT'S SUICIDE

[Javert walks the deserted streets until he comes to a bridge over the river
Seine.]

Javert
Who is this man?
What sort of devil is he?
To have me caught in a trap
And choose to let me go free?
It was his hour at last
To put a seal on my fate
Wipe out the past
And wash me clean off the slate!
All it would take
Was a flick of his knife
Vengence was his
And he gave me back my life!
Damned if I'll live in the debt of a theif!
Damned if I'll yield at the end of the chase.
I am the Law and the Law is not mocked
I'll spit his pity right back in his face
There is nothing on earth that we share
It is either Valjean or Javert!

How can I now allow this man
To hold dominion over me?
This desperate man whom I have hunted
He gave me my life, he gave me freedom.
I should have perished by his hand!
It was his right.
It was my right to die as well
Instead I live, but live in hell!
And my thoughts fly apart
Can this man be believed?
Shall his sins be forgiven?
Shall his crimes be reprieved?
And must I now begin to doubt
Who never doubted all these years?
My heart is stone and still it trembles
The world I have known is lost in shadow.
Is he from heaven or from hell?
And does he know
That granting me my life today
This man has killed me even so?
I am reaching, but I fall
And the stars are black and cold.
As I stare into the void
Of a world that cannot hold
I'll escape now from the world
From the world of Jean Valjean
There is nowhere I can turn
There is no way to go on.....

[He throws himself into the swollen river.]

TURNING

[The women of Paris mourn their lost loved ones.]

Women
Did you see them
Going off to fight?
Children of the barricade
Who didn't last the night?
Did you see them
Lying where they died?
Someone used to cradle them
And kiss them when they cried.
Did you see them
Lying side by side?

Who will wake them?
No one ever will.
No one ever told them
That a summer day can kill.
They were schoolboys
Never held a gun
Fighting for a new world
That would rise up like the sun
Where's that new world
Now the fighting's done?

Nothing changes, nothing ever will
Every year another brat, another mouth to fill.
Same old story, what's the use of tears?
What's the use of praying if there's nobody who hears?
Turning, turning, turning, turning, turning
Through the years.

Turning, turning, turning through the years
Minutes into hours and the hours into years.
Nothing changes, nothing ever can
Round and round the roundabout and back where you began!
Round and round and back where you began!

EMPTY CHAIRS AT EMPTY TABLES

[Marius, recovering from his wounds, imagines he's back at the ABC cafe.]

Marius
There's a grief that can't be spoken
There's a pain goes on and on
Empty chairs at empty tables
Now my friends are dead and gone

Here they talked of revolution
Here it was they lit the flame
Here they sang about tomorrow
And tomorrow never came.

From the table in the corner
They could see a world reborn
And they rose with voices ringing
I can hear them now!
The very words that they had sung
Became their last communion
On the lowly barricade..
At dawn.

Oh my friends, my friends forgive me.

[The ghosts of those who died on the barricade appear.]

That I live and you are gone
There's a grief that can't be spoken
There's a pain goes on and on

Phantom faces at the window
Phantom shadows on the floor
Empty chairs at empty tables
Where my friends will meet no more.

[The ghosts fade away.]

Oh my friends, my friends, don't ask me
What your sacrifice was for
Empty chairs at empty tables
Where my friends will sing no more...

EVERY DAY

[Cosette arrives to help Marius in his recovery.]

Cosette
Every day
You walk with stronger step
You walk with longer step
The worst is over

Marius
Every day
I wonder every day
Who was it brought me here
From the barricade?

Cosette
Don't think about it, Marius.
With all the years ahead of us!
I will never go away
And we will be together
Every day. Every day,
We'll remember that night
And the vow that we made:

`A heart full of love
A night full of you'

The words are old
But always true
Oh, God, for shame
You did not even know my name.

Marius
Dear Mad'moiselle
I was lost in your spell.

[Valjean enters, unnoticed.]

Cosette
A heart full of love
No fear no regret
`My name is Marius Pontmercy'

Marius
Cosette, Cosette!

Cosette
I saw you waiting and I knew.

Marius
Waiting for you
At your feet

Cosette
At your call

Both
And it wasn't a dream
Not a dream
After all

Valjean (interjections)
She was never mine to keep
She is youthful
She is free.
Love is the garden of the young
Let it be
Let it be
A heart full of love
This I give you
On this day.

[They notice Valjean.]

Marius
M'sieur, this is a day
I can never forget
Is gratitude enough
For giving me Cosette?
Your home shall be with us
And not a day shall pass
But will will prove our love
To you, whom we shall call
A father to us both
A father to us all.

[Cosette leaves.]

VALJEAN'S CONFESSION

Valjean
Not another word my son,
There's something now that must be done
You've spoken from the heart
And I must do the same
There is a story, sir
Of slavery and shame
That you alone must know.

I never told Cosette
She had enough of tears
She's never known the truth
Of the story you must hear
Of years ago.

There lived a man named Jean Valjean
He stole some bread to save his sister's son
For nineteen winters served his time
In sweat he washed away his crime
Years ago
He broke parole and lived a life apart
How could he tell Cosette and break her heart?
It's for Cosette that this must be faced
If he is caught she is disgraced
The time is come to journey on
And from this day he must be gone
Who am I?
Who am I?

Marius
You're Jean Valjean!
What can I do
That will turn you from this?
Monsieur, you cannot leave
Whatever I tell my beloved Cosette
She will never believe!

Valjean
Make her believe
I have gone on a journey
A long way away
Tell her my heart was too full for farewells
It is better this way
Promise me, M'sieur, Cosette will never know.

Marius
I give my word.

Valjean
... what I have spoken, why I must go.

Marius
For the sake of Cosette, it must be so.

THE WEDDING CHORALE

[Marius and Cosette lead a wedding procession.]

Chorus
Ring out the bells upon this day of days!
May all the angels of the Lord above
In jubilation sing their songs of praise!
And crown this blessed time with peace and love.

[The procession becomes a dancing celebration. A waltz is played.]

Major Domo
The Baron and Baroness de Thenard wish to pay their
respects to the groom!

Thenardier
I forget where we met
Was it not at the Chateau Lafarge
Where the duke did that puke
Down the Duchess's de-coll-etage?

Marius
No, `Baron de Thenard'
The circles I move in are humbler by far.
Go away, Thenardier!
Do you think I don't know who you are?

Mme. Thenardier
He's not fooled, told you so.
Show M'sieur what you've come here to show.
Tell the boy what you know!

[Applause from the dancers as the waltz finishes.]

Marius
When I look at you, I remember Eponine
She was more than you deserved, who gave her birth
But now she is with God and happier, I hope
Than here on earth!

[The waltz starts up again.]

Thenardier
So it goes, heaven knows
Life has dealt me some terrible blows.

Mme. Thenardier
You've got cash and a heart
You could give us a bit of a start
We can prove, plain as ink
Your bride's father is not what you think.

Thenardier
There's a tale I could tell

Mme. Thenardier
Information we're willing to sell.

Thenardier
There's a man that he slew
I saw the corpse clear as I'm seeing you!
What I tell you is true!

Mme. Thenardier
Pity to disturb you at a feast like this
But five hundred francs surely wouldn't come amiss.

Marius
In God's name say what you have to say.

Thenardier
But first you pay!

What I saw, clear as light
Jean Valjean in the sewers that night
Had this corpse on his back
Hanging there like a great bloody sack.
I was there, never fear
Even found me this fine souvenir!

[Thenardier shows Marius a ring.]

Marius
I know this! This was mine!
Surely this is some heavenly sign!

Thenardier
One more thing, mark this well
It was the night the barricades fell.

Marius
Then it's true, then I'm right
Jean Valjean was my saviour that night!

[Marius hits Thenardier and then throws money at him.]

As for you, take this too!
God forgive the things that we do.

Come my love, come Cosette
This day's blessings are not over yet!

[Marius and Cosette leave.]

BEGGARS AT THE FEAST

Thenardier
Ain't it a laugh?
Ain't it a treat?
Hob-nobbin' here
Among the elite?
Here comes a prince
There goes a Jew.
This one's a queer
But what can you do?
Paris at my feet
Paris in the dust
And here I'm breaking bread
With the upper crust!
Beggar at the feast!
Master of the dance!
Life is easy pickings
If you grab your chance.
Everywhere you go
Law-abiding folk
Doing what is decent
But they're mostly broke!
Singing to the Lord on Sundays
Praying for the gifts He'll send.

M. and Mme. Thenardier
But we're the ones who take it
We're the ones who make it in the end!
Watch the buggers dance
Watch 'em till they drop
Keep your wits about you
And you stand on top!
Masters of the land
Always get our share
Clear away the barricades
And we're still there!
We know where the wind is blowing
Money is the stuff we smell
And when we're rich as Croesus
Jesus! Won't we see you all in hell!

[Valjean is alone in the shadows, with a bare wooden cross for company.]

Valjean
Alone I wait in the shadows
I count the hours till I can sleep
I dreamed a dream Cosette stood by
It made her weep to know I die.
Alone at the end of the day
Upon this wedding night I pray
Take these children, my Lord, to thy embrace
And show them grace.

God on high
Hear my prayer
Take me now
To thy care
Where You are
Let me be
Take me now
Take me there
Bring me home
Bring me home.

[Fantine's spirit appears to Valjean.]

Fantine
M'sieur, I bless your name
M'sieur, lay down your burden
You raised my child in love
And you will be with God.

Valjean (interjecting)
I am ready, Fantine
At the end of my days
She's the best of my life.

[Marius and Cosette rush into the room, but they do not see Fantine.]

Cosette
Papa, papa, I do not understand!
Are you alright? They said you'd gone away.

Valjean
Cosette, my child, am I forgiven now?
Thank God, thank God, I've lived to see this day.

Marius
It's you who must forgive a thoughtless fool
It's you who must forgive a thankless man
It's thanks to you that I am living
And again I lay down my life at your feet.

Cosette, your father is a saint.
When they wounded me
He took me from the barricade
Carried like a babe
And brought me home to you!

Valjean (to Cosette)
Now you are here
Again beside me
Now I can die in peace
For now my life is blessed

Cosette
You will live, Papa, you're going to live
It's too soon, too soon to say goodbye.

Valjean
Yes, Cosette, forbid me now to die
I'll obey
I will try
On this page
I write my last confession
Read it well
When I at last am sleeping.
It's a story
Of those who always loved you
Your mother gave her life for you
Then gave you to my keeping.

[The other spirits appear.]

Fantine
Come with me
Where chains will never bind you
All your grief
At last, at last behind you.
Lord in Heaven
Look down on him in mercy.

Valjean
Forgive me all my trespasses
And take me to your glory.

Valjean, Fantine, and Eponine
Take my hand
And lead me to salvation
Take my love
For love is everlasting.
And remember
The truth that once was spoken
To love another person
Is to see the face of God!

EPILOGUE (Finale)

Chorus
Do you hear the people sing
Lost in the valley of the night
It is the music of a people
Who are climbing to the light

For the wretched of the earth
There is a flame that never dies
Even the darkest night will end
And the sun will rise.

They will live again in freedom
In the garden of the Lord
They will walk behind the plough-share
They will put away the sword
The chain will be broken
And all men will have their reward!

Will you join in our crusade?
Who will be strong and stand with me?
Somewhere beyond the barricade
Is there a world you long to see?
Do you hear the people sing
Say, do you hear the distant drums?
It is the future that they bring
When tomorrow comes!
Will you join in our crusade?
Who will be strong and stand with me?
Somewhere beyond the barricade
Is there a world you long to see?
Do you hear the people sing
Say, do you hear the distant drums?
It is the future that they bring
When tomorrow comes!
Tomorrow comes!
Tomorrow comes!

[The curtain falls.]