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(1815, Toulon, France. The chain gang, overseen by brutal warders, works in the sun.)
CHORUS (Prisoners):
Look down, look down
Don't look 'em in the eye
Look down, look down,
You're here until you die
CONVICT 1
The sun is strong
It's hot as hell below
CHORUS
Look down, look down,
There's twenty years to go
CONVICT 2
I've done no wrong!
Sweet Jesus, hear my prayer!
CHORUS
Look down, look down,
Sweet Jesus doesn't care
CONVICT 3
I know she'll wait,
I know that she'll be true!
CHORUS
Look down, look down,
They've all forgotten you
CONVICT 4
When I get free ya won't see me
Here for dust!
CHORUS
Look down, look down
Don't look 'em in the eye
CONVICT 5
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
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 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
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.
Valjean Arrested/ Valjean Forgiven
(VALJEAN meets the BISHOP OF DIGNE, who invites him in and gives him shelter for the night. In recompense, he steals some silver from the Bishop and makes off into the night, only to be caught and brought back by the CONSTABLES)
CONSTABLE 1
Tell his reverence your story
CONSTABLE 2
Let us see if he's impressed
CONSTABLE 1
You were lodging here last night
CONSTABLE 2
You were the honest Bishop's guest.
And then, out of Christian goodness
When he learned about your plight
CONSTABLE 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!
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 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.)
(1823, Montreuil-sur-Mer. Outside the factory owned by the Mayor, Monsieur Madeleine)
(Jean 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 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!
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 5
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 off the table
You've got to pay your way
At the end of the day!
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
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
GIRL
You must sack her today
WOMEN
Sack the girl today!
FOREMAN
Right my girl. On your way!
(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.
(The docks. Sailors, whores and their customers, pimps, etc. Fantine wanders in.)
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
WOMEN
LOvely ladies
Waiting for a bite
Waiting for the customers
Who only come at night
Lovely ladies
Ready 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!
WOMEN
Lovely ladies
Waiting in the dark
Ready for a thick one
Or a quick one in the park
WHORE 1
Long time short time
Any time, my dear
Cost a little extra if you want to take all year
ALL
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!
SAILOR 3:
Lovely lady!
Fastest on the street
Wasn't there three minutes
She was back up on her feet
SAILOR 1:
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?
(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!
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!
(FANTINE goes off with one of the sailors.)
WHORE 1
That's right dearie, let him have the lot
WHORE 3
That's right dearie, show him what you've got!
WOMEN
Old men, young men, take 'em as they come
Harbor rats and alley cats and every kind 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 hate that's in your head
Don't they know they're making love
To one already dead!
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 tyhe master of hundreds of workers.
They all look to me
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 see his agony?
This innocent who bears my face
Who goes to judgment in my place.
Who am I?
Can I conceal myself for everymore?
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 gargain long ago
He gave me hope when hope was gone
He gave me strength to journey on.
Who am I? Who am I?
I am Jean Valjean!
And so, Javert, you see it's true
That man bears no more guilt than you!
Who am I?
24601!
FANTINE
Cosette, it's turning so cold
Cosette, it's past your bed time!
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
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
Will 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...
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 JAVERT Believe of me what you
will Men like you can never
change There is a duty that I'm sworn to
do Men like you can never
change You know nothing of my
life NO. 24601 All I did was steal some
bread My duty's to the
law You know nothing of the
world You have no
rights You would sooner see me
dead Come with me,
24601 But not before I see this justice
done. Now the wheel has
turned around I am warning you, Javert Jean Valjean is nothing
now. I'm a stronger man by
far Dare you talk to me of
crime There is power in me yet And the price you had
to pay? My race is not yet run Every man is born in
sin I am warning you, Javert Every man must choose
his way There is nothing I won't
dare You know nothing of
Javert If I have to kill you
here I was born inside a
jail I'll do what must be
done! I was born with scum
like you
VALJEAN (to Fantine)
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.
BOTH
I swear to you. I will be there!
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.
THENARDIER
Welcome, M'sieur
sit yourself down
And meet the best
Innkeeper in town.
As for the rest,
All of them crooks
Rooking the 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 my friends a favour
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! Don't I bleed 'em in the end!
THENARDIER AND CHORUS
Master of the house
Quick to catch yer eye
Never wants a passer-by
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 yer to the bone!
Enter, M'sieur
Lay down yer load
Unlace yer 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 per cent for looking in the mirror twice!
Here a little slice
There a little cut
Three per cent for sleeping with the window shut!
When it comes to fixing prices
There are lots of tricks he knows
How it all increases
All them bits and pieces
Jesus! It's amazing how it grows!
THENARDIER AND CHORUS
Master of the house
Quick to catch your 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.
THENARDIER
Dirty bunch of geezers
Jesus! What a sorry little lot!
MADAME THENARDIER
I used to think
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 cru-el trick of nature
Landing me with such a louse
God knows how I've lasted
Living with this bastard in the house!
THENARDIER AND CHORUS
Master of the house.
MADAME THENARDIER
Master and a half!
THENARDIER AND CHORUS
Comforter, philosopher
MADAME THENARDIER
Don't make me laugh!
THENARDIER AND CHORUS
Servants to the poor
Butler to the great
MADAME THENARDIER
Hypocrite and toady
And inebriate!
THENARDIER and Chorus
Everybody bless the landlord!
Everybody bless his spouse.
THENARDIER
Everybody raise a glass.
MADAME THENARDIER
Raise it up the master's arse!
ALL
Everybody raise a glass to
The master of the house!
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 your 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
Let us not talk of bargains or bones or greed
Now, may I say, we are agreed-?
MADAME 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 & Mme THENARDIER
One thing more. One small doubt.
There are treacherous people about.
No offence. Please reflect.
Your intentions might not be - correct?
VALJEAN
No more words! Here's your price.
Fifteen hundred for your 'sacrifice!'
Come, Cosette, say goodbye
Let us seek out a friendlier sky.
Thank you both for Cosette
It won't take too long to forget!
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
'Ow 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
From Saint Denis to Saint Michele
We live on crumbs of humble piety
Tough on the teeth, but what the hell!
If you're poor, if 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!
COMBEFERRE
As for the leaders of the land
As for the swells who run the show
Only one man - and that's Lamarque -
Speaks for the people here below.
FEUILLY
Lamarque is ill, and fading fast.
Won't last the week out, so they say.
With all the anger in the land.
How long before the judgment day?
Before we cut the fat ones down to size
Before the barricades arise!
BEGGARS
Look down and show some mercy if you can
Look down, look down, upon your fellow man!
JAVERT
There, out in the darkness,
A fugitive running
Fallen from grace,
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 skies
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's written
On the doorway to paradise,
That those who falter,
And those who fall
Must pay the price...
Scarce to be counted,
Changing the chaos,
To order and light.
You are the sentinels,
Silent and sure
Keeping watch in the night
Keeping watch in the night.
STUDENTS
At Notre Dame the sections are prepared!
At rue du Bac they're straining at the leash!
Students, workers, everyone,
There's a river on the run
Like the flowing of the tide
Paris coming to our side!
ENJORLAS
This time is near!
So near, it's stirring the blood in their feins
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
And to bring them in line.
STUDENT
Marius, what's wrong with you today?
You look as if you've seen a ghost
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... then she was gone!
GRANTAIRE
I am agog! I am aghast!
Is Marius in love at last?
I have never heard him 'ooh' and 'aah'
We 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?
It is simply a game
For rich young boys to play?
The colour 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!
Red - I feel my sould on fire!
Black - my world if she's not there!
Red - the color of desire!
Black - 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 towards a larger goal.
Our little lives don't count at 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
Do you hear the people sing?
Singing the 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...
CHORUS
Do you hear the people sing?
Singing the 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!
CHORUS
Do you hear the people sing?
Singing the 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 goes into the garden, leaving Eponine outside the gate)
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
M,ARIUS
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...
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 small 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 my share
Finish the job!
THENARDIER
You shut your mouth
Give me your hands
What have we here?
Who is this hussy?
BABET
It's your brat Eponine
Don't you know your own kid
Why's she hanging about you?
THENARDIER
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...
THENARDIER
Don't interfere
You've got some gall
Take care you miss
you'ev got a lot to say!
ROBBERS
She's going soft
Happens to all
Go home, 'Ponine
Go home, you're in the way.
EPONINE
I'm going to scream, I'm going to 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 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)
THENARDIER
You wait my girl, you'll rue this night.
I'll make you scream. You'll scream alright.
Make for the sewers! Don't wait around!
Leave her to me! Go underground!
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.
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 AND COSETTE
Tomorrow you'll be worlds away
And yet with you my world has started!
EPONINE
One more day all on my own.
MARIUS AND COSETTE
I was born to be with you.
EPONINE
What a life I might have known...
MARIUS AND 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?
CHORUS
The time is now
The day is here.
VALJEAN
One day more!
JAVERT
One day more to revolution
We will nip it in the bud!
We'll be ready for these schoolboys
They will wet themselves with blood!
THENARDERS
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
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 AND COSETTE
I did not live until today.
How can I live when we are parted!
JAVERT
I will join these people's heroes
I will follow where they go
I will learn their little secrets
I will know the things they know.
EPONINE
One more day all on my own
VALJEAN
One day more
MARIUS AND COSETTE
Tomorrow you'll be worlds away.
And yet with you my world has started
JAVERT
One more day to revolution.
We will nip it in the bud.
We'll be ready for these schoolboys.
THENARDIERS
Watch 'em run amuck, catch 'em as they fall
Never know your luck when there's a free for all.
VALJEAN
Tomorrow we'll be far away
Tomorrow is the judgment day.
ALL
Tomorrow we'll discover
What our God in Heaven has in store
One more dawn! One more day! One day more!
EPONINE
And now I'm all alone again
Nowhere to go, no one to turn to
I did not want your money, sir,
I came out here ;cos I was told to.
And now the nights is near. Now I can make
believe he's here.
Sometimes I walk alone at night when
everybody else is sleeping.
I think of him and then I'm happy with the
company I'm keeping.
The city goes to bed.
And I can live inside my head.
On 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 for ever 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 ay 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 everyday I'm learning
All my life I"ve only been pretending.
Without me his world will bo on turning
The world is full of happiness that I have
never known
I love him, I love him, I love him... but only
on my own.
(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.
PROUVAIRE
Now the people will fight
GRANTAIRE
And so they might
Dogs will bark
Fleas will bite.
LESGLES
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've 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!
EPONINE
Little you know!
Little you care!
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!
STUDENTS
Now we pledge ourselves to hold this barricade
MARIUS
Let them come in their legions
And they will be met
ENJOLRAS
Have faith in yourselves
And don't be afraid
GRANTAIRE
Let's give 'em a screwing
That they'll never forget!
COMBEFERRE
This is where it begins!
COURFEYRAC
And if I should die in the fight to be free
Where the fighting is hardest
There will I be
FEUILLY
Let them come if they dare
We'll be there!
ARMY OFFICER
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!
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.
EPONINE MARIUS So don't you fret, M'sieur
Marius Hushabye, dear
Eponine I don't feel any pain You won't feel any
pain A little fall of rain A little fall of
rain Can hardly hurt me now. Can hardly hurt you
now. That's all I need to know. And you
will I'm here. keep me safe I will stay with you
till you are sleeping. And you will keep me
close And rain And rain Will make the flowers... Will make the flowers
grow...
(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 out 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?
ALL
Drink with me to days gone by
To the life that used to be
WOMEN
At the shrine of friendship, never say die
MEN
Let the wine of friendship never run dry
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)
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 summer 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.
(VALJEAN escapes the fighting with MARIUS, who is out cold, and into the sewers, where he collapses from exhaustion)
THENARDIER
(THENARDIER is in the sewers, robbing the dead)
Here's a hint of gold
Stuck into a tooth
Pardon me, M'sieur
You won't be using 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
Y'get accustomed to the smell.
(he comes across VALJEAN and 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 a little toy
Take it off the boy
His heart's no longer going
And his watch is tiking yet.
Well someone's got to clean 'em 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 dogs eat the dogs
Where they kill for the bones in the street
And God in His Heaven
He don't interfere
'Cos 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, recognizes him, and leaves)
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.
Vengeance was his and he gave me back my life!
Damned if I'll live in the debt of a thief
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 desp'rate man that 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 reprived?
And must I now begin to doubt,
Who never doubted all those 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 Siene)
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?,br> What's the use of praying
If there's nobody who hears!
Tuning turning turning turning turing
Through the years.
Turning, turning, turning through the years.
Minutes into hours, and the hours into years.
Round about the roundabout, and back
where you began.
Round and round and back where you began!
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 lonely barricade at dawn.
Oh, my friends, my friends, forgive me
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.
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.
Wedding Choral/ Beggars at the Feast
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.
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 how can you do?
Paris at my feet.
Paris in the dust.
And here's me 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 th gifts He will send.
M. & 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.
THENARDIER
And when I'm reich as Croesus
Jesus! Won't I see you all in Hell!
VALJEAN
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 to ever 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.
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.
VLAJEAN, FANTINE, 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.
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 willl live again in freedom
In the garden of the Lord.
They will walk behind the ploughshare
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!
Les Miserables A wonderful page, well thought out and informative with cast info, articles, libretto, and ticket information.
