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 3: | If Fantine doesn't look out, watch how she goes She'll be out on the street!
|
Girl: (Grabbing a letter from Fantine)
And what have we here, little innocent sister?
Come on Fantine, let's have all the news!
Reading the letter.
Ooh... "dear Fantine you must send us more money...
Your child needs a doctor...
There's no time to lose..."
Fantine:
Give that letter to me
It is none of your business
With a husband at home
And a bit on the side!
Is there anyone here
Who can swear before God
She has nothing to fear?
She has nothing to hide?
They fight over the letter. Valjean (M. Madeleine) rushes on to break up the squabble.
Valjean:
Will someone tear these two apart?
What is this fighting all about?
This is a factory, not a circus!
Now come on ladies, settle down
I run a business of repute
I am the Mayor of this town
(To the foreman)
I look to you to sort this out
And be as patient as you can-
He goes back into the factory.
Foreman:
Now someone say how this began!
Girl:
At the end of the day
She's the one who began it
There's a kid that she's hiding
In some little town
There's a man she has to pay
You can guess how she picks up the extra
You can bet she's earning her keep
Sleeping around
And the boss wouldn't like it!
Fantine:
Yes it's true there's a child
And the child is my daughter
And her father abandoned us,
Leaving us flat
Now she lives with an innkeeper man
And his wife
And I pay for the child
What's the matter with that?
Women:
At the end of the day
She'll be nothing but trouble
And there's trouble for all
When there's trouble for one!
While we're earning our daily bread
She's the one with her hands in the butter
You must send the slut away
Or we're all gonna end in the gutter
And it's us who'll have to pay
At the end of the day!
Foreman:
I might have known the bitch could bite
I might have known the cat had claws
I might have guessed your little secret
Ah, yes, the virtuous Fantine
Who keeps herself so pure and clean
You'd be the cause I had no doubt
Of any trouble hereabout
You play a virgin in the light
But need no urgin' in the night.
| Girl | She's been laughing at you While she's having her men |
| Women: | She'll be nothing but trouble again and again |
| Woman: | You must sack her today |
| Workers: | Sack the girl today! |
| Foreman: | Right my girl. On your way!
|
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.
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:
Cosette, it's turned so cold
Cosette, it's past your bedtime
You've played the day away
And soon it will be night.
Come to me, Cosette, the light is fading
Don't you see the evening star appearing?
Come to me, and rest against my shoulder
How fast the minutes fly away and every minute colder.
Hurry near, another day is dying
Don't you hear, the winter wind is crying?
There's a darkness which comes without a warning
But I will sing you lullabies and wake you in the morning.
Valjean enters.
Valjean:
Oh, Fantine, our time is running out
But Fantine, I swear this on my life
Fantine: Look, M'sieur, where all the children play
Valjean: Be at peace, be at peace evermore.
Fantine: My Cosette...
Valjean: Shall live in my protection
Fantine: Take her now
Valjean: Your child will want for nothing
Fantine: Good M'sieur, you come from God in Heaven.
Valjean: And none shall ever harm Cosette
As long as I am living.
Fantine: Take my hand. The night grows ever colder.
Valjean: Then I will keep you warm.
Fantine: Take my child. I give her to your keeping.
Valjean: Take shelter from the storm
Fantine: For God's sake, please stay till I am sleeping
And tell Cosette I love her
And I'll see her when I wake...
She dies with a smile. Javert arrives.
Valjean:
Before you say another word, Javert
Before you chain me up like a slave again
Listen to me! There is something I must do.
This woman leaves behind a suffering child.
There is none but me who can intercede,
In Mercy's name, three days are all I need.
Then I'll return, I pledge my word.
Then I'll return...
Javert:
You must think me mad!
I've hunted you across the years
A man like you can never change
A man such as you.
| Valjean: (in counterpoint) Believe of me what you will There is a duty that I'm sworn to do You know nothing of my life All I did was steal some bread You know nothing of the world You would sooner see me dead But not before I see this justice done I am warning you Javert I'm a stronger man by far There is power in me yet My race is not yet run I am warning you Javert There is nothing I won't dare If I have to kill you here I'll do what must be done!
| Javert: (in counterpoint) Men like me can never change Men like you can never change No, 24601 My duty's to the law - you have no rights Come with me 24601 Now the wheel has turned around Jean Valjean is nothing now Dare you talk to me of crime And the price you had to pay Every man is born in sin Every man must choose his way You know nothing of Javert I was born inside a jail I was born with scum like you I am from the gutter too!
|
Valjean: (to Fantine)
And this I swear to you tonight
Javert: (to Valjean)
There is no place for you to hide
Valjean: Your child will live within my care
Javert: Wherever you may hide away
Valjean: And I will raise her to the light.
Valjean & Javert
I swear to you, I will be there!
They fight, Javert is knocked out. Valjean escapes.
Master of the house
Doling out the charm
Ready with a handshake
And an open palm
Tells a saucy tale
Makes a little stir
Customers appreciate a bon-viveur
Glad to do a friend a favor
Doesn't cost me to be nice
But nothing gets you nothing
Everything has got a little price!
Master of the house
Keeper of the zoo
Ready to relieve 'em
Of a sou or two
Watering the wine
Making up the weight
Pickin' up their knick-knacks
When they can't see straight
Everybody loves a landlord
Everybody's bosom friend
I do whatever pleases
Jesus! Won't I bleed 'em in the end!
Thénardier & Drinkers
Master of the house
Quick to catch yer eye
Never wants a passerby
To pass him by
Servant to the poor
Butler to the great
Comforter, philosopher,
And lifelong mate!
Everybody's boon companion
Everybody's chaperone
Thénardier:
But lock up your valises
Jesus! Won't I skin you to the bone!
To another new customer
Enter M'sieur
Lay down your load
Unlace your boots
And rest from the road
Taking his bag
This weighs a ton
Travel's a curse
But here we strive
To lighten your purse
Here the goose is cooked
Here the fat is fried
And nothing's overlooked
Till I'm satisfied...
Food beyond compare
Food beyond belief
Mix it in a mincer
And pretend it's beef
Kidney of a horse
Liver of a cat
Filling up the sausages
With this and that
Residents are more than welcome
Bridal suite is occupied
Reasonable charges
Plus some little extras on the side!
Charge 'em for the lice
Extra for the mice
Two percent for looking in the mirror twice
Here a little slice
There a little cut
Three percent for sleeping with the window shut
When it comes to fixing prices
There are a lot of tricks he knows
How it all increases
All those bits and pieces
Jesus! It's amazing how it grows!
Thénardier & Chorus
Master of the house
Quick to catch yer eye
Never wants a passerby
To pass him by
Servant to the poor
Butler to the great
Comforter, philosopher,
And lifelong mate!
Everybody's boon companion
Gives 'em everything he's got
Thénardier:
Dirty bunch of geezers
Jesus! What a sorry little lot!
Mme. Thénardier:
I used to dream
That I would meet a prince
But God Almighty,
Have you seen what's happened since?
`Master of the house?'
Isn't worth me spit!
`Comforter, philosopher'
- and lifelong shit!
Cunning little brain
Regular Voltaire
Thinks he's quite a lover
But there's not much there
What a cruel trick of nature
Landed me with such a louse
God knows how I've lasted
Living with this bastard in the house!
Thénardier & Drinkers: Master of the house!
Mme. Thénardier: Master and a half!
Thénardier & Drinkers: Comforter, philosopher
Mme. Thénardier: Ah, don't make me laugh!
Thénardier & Drinkers: Servant to the poor. Butler to the great.
Mme. Thénardier: Hypocrite and toady and inebriate!
Thénardier & Drinkers: Everybody bless the landlord!
Everybody bless his spouse!
Thénardier: Everybody raise a glass
Mme. Thénardier: Raise it up the master's arse.
All: Everybody raise a glass to the master of the house!
He knows his way in the dark
Mine is the way of the Lord
And those who follow the path of the righteous
Shall have their reward
And if they fall
As Lucifer fell
The flame
The sword!
Stars
In your multitudes
Scarce to be counted
Filling the darkness
With order and light
You are the sentinels
Silent and sure
Keeping watch in the night
Keeping watch in the night
You know your place in the sky
You hold your course and your aim
And each in your season
Returns and returns
And is always the same
And if you fall as Lucifer fell
You fall in flame!
And so it has been and so it is written
On the doorway to paradise
That those who falter and those who fall
Must pay the price!
Lord let me find him
That I may see him
Safe behind bars
I will never rest
Till then
This I swear
This I swear by the stars!
Gavroche
That inspector thinks he's something
But it's me who runs this town!
And my theater never closes
And the curtain's never down
Trust Gavroche, have no fear
Don't you worry, auntie dear,
You can always find me here!
Combeferre: At Notre Dame the sections are prepared!
Feuilly: At rue de Bac they're straining at the leash!
Courfeyrac: Students, workers, everyone
There's a river on the run
Like the flowing of the tide
Paris coming to our side!
Enjolras:
The time is near
So near it's stirring the blood in their veins!
And yet beware
Don't let the wine go to your brains!
For the army we fight is a dangerous foe
With the men and the arms that we never can match
It is easy to sit here and swat 'em like flies
But the national guard will be harder to catch.
We need a sign
To rally the people
To call them to arms
To bring them in line!
Marius, you're late.
Joly:
What's wrong today?
You look as if you've seen a ghost.
Grantaire
Some wine and say what's going on!
Marius
A ghost you say... a ghost maybe
She was just like a ghost to me
One minute there, and she was gone!
Grantaire
I am agog!
I am aghast!
Is Marius in love at last?
I've never heard him `ooh' and `aah'
You talk of battles to be won
And here he comes like Don Ju-an
It's better than an o-per-a!
Enjolras:
It is time for us all
To decide who we are
Do we fight for the right
To a night at the opera now?
Have you asked of yourselves
What's the price you might pay?
Is it simply a game
For rich young boys to play?
The color of the world
Is changing day by day...
Red - the blood of angry men!
Black - the dark of ages past!
Red - a world about to dawn!
Black - the night that ends at last!
Marius
Had you been there tonight
You might know how it feels
To be struck to the bone
In a moment of breathless delight!
Had you been there tonight
You might also have known
How the world may be changed
In just one burst of light!
And what was right seems wrong
And what was wrong seems right!
Grantaire: Red...
Marius: I feel my soul on fire!
Grantaire: Black...
Marius: My world if she's not there!
All: Red...
Marius: The color of desire!
All: Black...
Marius: The color of despair!
Enjolras:
Marius, you're no longer a child
I do not doubt you mean it well
But now there is a higher call.
Who cares about your lonely soul?
We strive toward a larger goal
Our little lives don't count at all!
All
Red - the blood of angry men!
Black - the dark of ages past!
Red - a world about to dawn!
Black - the night that ends at last!
Enjolras:
Well, Courfeyrac, do we have all the guns?
Feuilly, Combeferre, our time is running short.
Grantaire, put the bottle down!
Do we have the guns we need?
Grantaire
Give me brandy on my breath
And I'll breathe them all to death!
Courfeyrac: In St. Antoine they're with us to a man!
Combeferre: In Notre Dame they're tearing up the stones!
Feuilly: Twenty rifles good as new!
Gavroche rushes in shouting.
Gavroche: Listen!
Joly: Twenty rounds for every man!
Gavroche: Listen to me!
Jean Prouvaire: Double that in Port St. Cloud!
Gavroche: Listen everybody!
Lesgles: Seven guns in St. Martin!
Gavroche: General Lamarque is dead!
Enjolras:
Lamarque is dead.
Lamarque! His death is the hour of fate.
The people's man.
His death is the sign we await!
On his funeral day they will honor his name.
It's a rallying cry that will reach every ear!
In the death of Lamarque we will kindle the flame
They will see that the day of salvation is near!
The time is near!
Let us welcome it gladly with courage and cheer
Let us take to the streets with no doubt in our hearts
But a jubilant shout
They will come one and all
They will come when we call!
Enjolras:
Do you hear the people sing?
Singing a song of angry men?
It is the music of a people
Who will not be slaves again!
When the beating of your heart
Echoes the beating of the drums
There is a life about to start
When tomorrow comes!
Combeferre:
Will you join in our crusade?
Who will be strong and stand with me?
Beyond the barricade
Is there a world you long to see?
Courfeyrac:
Then join in the fight
That will give you the right to be free!
All
Do you hear the people sing?
Singing a song of angry men?
It is the music of a people
Who will not be slaves again!
When the beating of your heart
Echoes the beating of the drums
There is a life about to start
When tomorrow comes!
Feuilly
Will you give all you can give
So that our banner may advance
Some will fall and some will live
Will you stand up and take your chance?
The blood of the martyrs
Will water the meadows of France!
All
Do you hear the people sing?
Singing a song of angry men?
It is the music of a people
Who will not be slaves again!
When the beating of your heart
Echoes the beating of the drums
There is a life about to start
When tomorrow comes!
Marius
A heart full of love
A heart full of song
I'm doing everything all wrong
Oh God, for shame
I do not even know your name
Dear Mad'moiselle
Won't you say?
Will you tell?
Cosette:
A heart full of love
No fear, no regret
Marius: My name is Marius Pontmercy
Cosette: And mine's Cosette
Marius: Cosette, I don't know what to say
Cosette: Then make no sound
Marius: I am lost
Cosette: I am found!
Marius: A heart full of light
Cosette: A night bright as day
Marius: And you must never go away
Cosette, Cosette
Cosette: This is a chain we'll never break
Marius: Do I dream?
Cosette: I'm awake!
Marius: A heart full of love
Cosette: A heart full of you
Marius: A single look and then I knew
Cosette: I knew it too
Marius: From today
Cosette: Every day
Cosette & Marius
For it isn't a dream
Not a dream after all.
Eponine: (Interjecting)
He was never mine to lose
Why regret what cannot be?
These are words he'll never say
Not to me...
Not to me...
Not to me...
His heart full of love
He will never feel this way...
Marius and Cosette move away as Montparnasse enters furtively
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! |
| Marius: | Do I follow where she goes? |
| Enjolras: | At the barricades of freedom. |
| Marius: | Shall I join my brothers there? |
| Enjolras: | When our ranks begin to form |
| Marius: | Do I stay; and do I dare? |
| Enjolras: | Will you take your place with me? |
| All: | The time is now, the day is here
|
Javert:
One more day to revolution,
We will nip it in the bud!
I will join these little schoolboys,
They will wet themselves with blood!
Valjean: One day more!
M. & Mme. Thénardier:
Watch 'em run amuck,
Catch 'em as they fall,
Never know your luck
When there's a free for all,
Here a little `dip'
There a little `touch'
Most of them are goners
So they won't miss much!
Students (2 Groups)
1: One day to a new beginning
2: Raise the flag of freedom high!
1: Every man will be a king
2: Every man will be a king
1: There's a new world for the winning
2: There's a new world to be won
All: Do you hear the people sing?
Marius: My place is here, I fight with you!
Valjean: One day more!
|
Marius & Cosette I did not live until today. Eponine: One more day all on my own! M & C: How can I live when we are parted?
Javert: (overlapping) | I will join these people's heros I will follow where they go I will learn their little secrets, I will know the things they know.
| Valjean: One day more!
Marius & Cosette | Tomorrow you'll be worlds away Eponine: What a life I might have known! M & C: And yet with you my world has started
Javert: (overlapping) | One more day to revolution We will nip it in the bud We'll be ready for these schoolboys
Thénardiers (overlapping) | Watch 'em run amok Catch 'em as they fall Never know your luck When there's a free-for-all!
| ||
The curtain falls.
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
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 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 will 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.
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!
|
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 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.
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 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.
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
(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.
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!
The curtain falls.
Links to Musicals
The Official Homepage of Les Miserables
The history of Victor Marie Hugo
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