Lyrics for Les Miserables
PROLOGUE
PRISONERS:
Uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-uh-uh-uh-uh-uh
Uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-uh-uh-uh-uh-uh-uh
Uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-uh-uh-uh-uh-uh
Uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-uh-uh-uh-uh-uh-uh
Look down, look down Don't look 'em in the eye
Look down, look down, You're here until you die
CONVICT ONE:
The sun is strong It's hot as hell below
PRISONERS:
Look down, look down, There's twenty years to go
CONVICT TWO:
I've done no wrong! Sweet Jesus, hear my prayer!
PRISONERS:
Look down look down, Sweet Jesus doesn't care
CONVICT THREE:
I know she'll wait, I know that she'll be true!
PRISONERS:
Look down, look down, They've all forgotten you
CONVICT FOUR:
When I get free ya won't see me here for dust! (spits)
PRISONERS:
Look down, look down don't look 'em in the eye
CONVICT FIVE:
How long, oh Lord before you let me die?
PRISONERS:
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!
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'm Javert!
Do not forget my name!
Do not forget me, 24601.
PRISONERS:
Look down, look down you'll always be a slave
Look down, look down you're standing in your grave.
Uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-uh-uh-uh-uh
Uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-uh-uh-uh-uh-uh-uh
VALJEAN:
Freedom is mine. The earth is still.
I feel the wind. I breathe again.
And the sky clears
The world is waking.
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!
FARMER:
You'll have to go, I'll pay you off for the day!
Collect your bits and pieces there,
And be on your way!
VALJEAN:
You have given me half what the other men get!
This handful of tin wouldn't buy my sweat!
LABORER:
You broke the law, it's there for people to see!
Why should you get the same as honest men like me?
VALJEAN:
And now I know how freedom feels
The jailer always at your heels
It is the law!
This piece of paper in my hand
That makes me cursed throughout the land
It is the law!
Like a cur, I walk the street,
The dirt beneath their feet.
BISHOP:
Come in, Sir, for you are weary
And the night is cold out there.
Though our lives are very humble
What we have, we have to share.
There is wine here to revive you.
There is bread to make you strong,
There's a bed to rest till morning,
Rest from pain, and rest from wrong.
VALJEAN:
He let me eat my fill, I had the lion's share
The silver in my hand cost twice what I had earned
In all those nineteen years-that lifetime of despair
And yet he trusted me.
The old fool trusted me-he'd done his bit of good
I played the grateful serf and thanked him like I should
But when the house was still, I got up in the night.
Took the silver...
Took my fliiiiight!
CONSTABLE ONE:
Tell his reverence your story
CONSTABLE TWO:
Let us see if he's impressed
CONSTABLE ONE:
You were lodging here last night
CONSTABLE TWO:
You were the honest Bishop's guest.
CONSTABLE ONE:
And then, out of Christian goodness
CONSTABLE TWO:
When he learned about your plight
CONSTABLE ONE:
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
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.
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!
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 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!
At The End of The Day
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!
FOREMAN:
At the end of the day you get nothing for nothing
Sitting flat on your butt doesn't buy any bread
WORKER ONE:
There are children back at home
WORKERS TWO:
And the children have got to be fed
WORKER THREE:
And you're lucky to be in a job
WOMAN:
And in a bed!
WORKERS:
And we're counting our blessings!
WOMAN TWO:
Have you seen how the foreman is fuming today?
With his terrible breath and his wandering hands?
WOMAN THREE
It's because little Fantine won't give him his way
WOMAN ONE:
Take a look at his eyes and you'll see where he stands!
WOMAN FOUR:
And the boss, he never knows
That the foreman is always in heat
WOMAN THREE:
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:
And what have we here, little innocent sister?
Come on Fantine, let's have all the news!
"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?
VALJEAN:
Will someone tear these two apart
What is this fighting all about?
This is a factory, not a circus!
Now, come on ladies, settle down
I run a business of repute
I am the Mayor of this town
I look to you to sort this out
And be as patient as you can-
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 that dog could bite
I might have known the cat had claws
I might have guessed your little secret
Ah yes, the virtuous Fantine
Who keeps herself so pure and clean
You'd be the cause I had no doubt
Of any trouble hereabout
You play a virgin in the light
But need no urgin' in the night.
GIRL:
She's been laughing at you while she's having her men
WOMEN:
She'll be nothing but trouble again and again
WOMAN:
You must sack her today
WORKERS:
Sack the girl today!
FOREMAN:
Right my girl. On your way!
I DREAMED A DREAM
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.
Lovely Ladies
SAILOR ONE :
I smell women
Smell 'em in the air
Think I'll drop my anchor
In that harbor over there
SAILOR TWO:
Lovely ladies
Smell 'em through the smoke
Seven days at sea
Can make a mighty hungry bloke
SAILOR THREE
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
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 THREE
Lovely lady!
Fastest on the street
Wasn't there three minutes
She was back up on her feet
SAILOR ONE
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 ONE
A bit of skirt. She's the one sold her hair.
WHORE TWO
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 ONE
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 TWO
Make money in your sleep!
(Fantine goes off with one of the sailors)
WHORE ONE
That's right dearie, let him have the lot
WHORE THREE
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!
FANTINE'S ARREST
BAMATABOIS
Here's something new. I think I'll give it a try.
Come closer you! I like to see what I buy...
The usual price, for just a slice of your pie
FANTINE
I don't want you. No, no, m'sieur, let me go.
BAMATABOIS
Is this a trick? I won't pay more!
FANTINE
No, not at all.
BAMATABOIS
You've got some nerve, you little whore
You've got some gall.
It's the same with a tart as it is with a grocer
The customer sees what he gets in advance
It's not for the whore to say `yes sir' or `no sir'
It's not for the harlot to pick and to choose
Or lead me to a dance!
(He hits her with his stick, she claws at his face, drawing blood)
FANTINE
I'll kill you, you bastard,
try any of that!
Even a whore who has gone to the bad
Won't be had by a rat!
BAMATABOIS
By Christ you'll pay for what you've done
This rat will make you bleed, you'll see!
I guarantee, I'll make you suffer
For this disturbance of the peace
For this insult to life and property!
FANTINE
I beg you, don't report me sir
I'll do whatever you may want
BAMATABOIS
Make your excuse to the police!
(Javert enters, accompanied by constables)
JAVERT
Tell me quickly what's the story
Who saw what and why and where
Let him give a full description
Let him answer to Javert!
In this nest of whores and vipers
Let one speak who saw it all
Who laid hands on this good man here?
What's the substance of this brawl?
BAMATABOIS
Javert, would you believe it
I was crossing from the park
When this prostitute attacked me
You can see she left her mark
JAVERT
She will answer for her actions
When you make a full report
You may rest assured, M'sieur,
That she will answer to the court.
FANTINE
There's a child who sorely needs me
Please M'sieur, she's but that high
Holy God, is there no mercy?
If I go to jail she'll die!
JAVERT
I have heard such protestations
Every day for twenty years
Let's have no more explanations
Save your breath and save your tears
`Honest work, just reward,
That's the way to please the Lord.'
(Fantine gives a last despairing cry as she is arrested by the constables. Valjean emerges from the crowd)
VALJEAN
A moment of your time, Javert
I do believe this woman's tale
JAVERT
VALJEAN
You've done your duty, let her be
She needs a doctor, not a jail.
JAVERT
But M'sieur Mayor!
FANTINE
Can this be?
VALJEAN
Where will she end -
This child without a friend?
I've seen your face before
Show me some way to help you
How have you come to grief
In a place such as this?
FANTINE
M'sieur, don't mock me now, I pray
It's hard enough I've lost my pride
You let your foreman send me away
Yes, you were there, and turned aside
I never did no wrong
VALJEAN
Is it true, what I have done?
FANTINE
My daughter's close to dying...
VALJEAN
To an innocent soul?
FANTINE
If there's a God above
VALJEAN
Had I only known then...
FANTINE
He'd let me die instead
VALJEAN
In His name my task has just begun
I will see it done!
JAVERT
But M'sieur Mayor!
VALJEAN
I will see it done!
JAVERT
But M'sieur Mayor!
VALJEAN
I will see it done!
VOICES
Look out! It's a runaway cart!
THE RUNAWAY CART
(The crowd parts to reveal that the cart has crashed, trapping Monsieur 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... but fails. He tries again. They manage to pull Fauchelevant clear)
FAUCHELEVANT
M'sieur le Mayor, I have no words
You come from God, you are a saint.
(Javert takes Valjean aside)
JAVERT
Can this be true?
I don't believe what I see!
A man your age
To be as strong as you are!
A mem'ry stirs...
You make me think of a man
From years ago
A man who broke his parole
He disappeared
Forgive me, Sir,
I would not dare!
VALJEAN
Say what you must
Don't leave it there...
JAVERT
I have only known one other
Who can do what you have done
He's a convict from the chain gang
He's been ten years on the run
But he couldn't run forever
We have found his hideaway
And he's just been re-arrested
And he comes to court today.
Well, of course he now denies it
You'd expect that of a `con'
But he couldn't run forever -
No, not even Jean Valjean!
VALJEAN
You say this man denies it all
And gives no sign of understanding or repentance?
You say this man is going to trial
And that's he's sure to be returned
To serve his sentence?
Come to that, can you be sure,
That I am not your man?
JAVERT
I have known the thief for ages
Tracked him down through thick and thin
And to make the matter certain
There's the brand upon his skin
He will bend, he will break
This time there is no mistake.
(Javert leaves. Valjean is alone)
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 would they live
If I am not free?
If I speak, I am condemned.
If I stay silent, I am damned!
Who am I?
Can I condemn this man to slavery
Pretend I do not feel his agony
This innocent who bears my face
Who goes to judgement in my place
Who am I?
Can I conceal myself for evermore?
Pretend I'm not the man I was before?
And must my name until I die
Be no more than an alibi?
Must I lie?
How can I ever face my fellow men?
How can I ever face myself again?
My soul belongs to God, I know
I made that bargain long ago
He gave me hope when hope was gone
He gave me strength to journey on
(He appears in front of the court)
Who am I? Who am I?
I am Jean Valjean!
(He unbuttons his shirt to reveal the number tattooed to his chest)
And so Javert, you see it's true
That man bears no more guilt than you!
Who am I?
24601!
FANTINE'S DEATH
(Fantine is lying in a hospital bed, deliriously 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 lullabies and wake you in the morning.
(Valjean enters)
VALJEAN
Oh, Fantine, our time is running out
But Fantine, I swear this on my life
FANTINE
Look, M'sieur, where all the children play
VALJEAN
Be at peace, be at peace evermore.
FANTINE
My Cosette...
VALJEAN
Shall live in my protection
FANTINE
Take her now
VALJEAN
Your child will want for nothing
FANTINE
Good M'sieur, you come from God in Heaven.
VALJEAN
And none shall ever harm Cosette
As long as I am living.
FANTINE
Take my hand. The night grows ever colder.
VALJEAN
Then I will keep you warm.
FANTINE
Take my child. I give her to your keeping.
VAKJEAN
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 sooner see me dead
But not before I see this justice
done
I am warning you Javert
I'm a stronger man by far
There is power in me yet
My race is not yet run
I am warning you Javert
There is nothing I won't dare
If I have to kill you here
I'll do what must be done!
JAVERT(in counterpoint)
Men like me can never change
Men like you can never change
No,
24601
My duty's to the law - you have no Rights
Come with me 24601
Now the wheel has turned around
Jean Valjean is nothing now
Dare you talk to me of crime
And the price you had to pay
Every man is born in sin
Every man must choose his way
You know nothing of Javert
I was born inside a jail
I was born with scum like you
I am from the gutter too!
(Valjean breaks a chair and threatens Javert with the broken piece. Turns to Fantine)
VALJEAN
(to Fantine) And this I swear to you tonight
JAVERT
(to Valjean) There is no place for you to hide
VALJEAN
Your child will live within my care
JAVERT
Wherever you may hide away
VALJEAN
And I will raise her to the light.
VALJEAN AND 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 Thénardier'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 lullaby,
She's nice to see and she's soft to touch,
She says "Cosette, I love you very much."
I know a place where no one's lost,
I know a place where no one cries,
Crying at all is not allowed,
Not in my castle on a cloud.
Oh help! I think I hear them now,
and I'm nowhere near finished sweeping and
scrubbing and polishing the floor.
Oh, it's her! It's Madame!
MME. 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!