Total Drama Island, by Gilbert and Sullivan

This is it. This is what I became a registered user to promote. Because of the way this compilation is structured, I will have to post the verse sections before I can start posting episode chapters. In the meantime, here's a sneak preview for anyone who missed it.

Rated PG-13 for high concept that may be over the heads of younger readers.

Introduction
What if Gilbert and Sullivan had written Total Drama Island?

The verses presented here are drawn from the Gilbert & Sullivan series of operettas, sometimes with an introductory recitative that itself may be in either rhymed or blank verse, and describe in some way TDI characters or incidents. Excluding such things as repetitions by the chorus and blank verse in the spoken dialogue, over 70% of all the verse content from the 14 Gilbert & Sullivan plays fits characters or incidents from Total Drama Island, a (purportedly) children’s television show written over a century later. Truly, as the adage has it, “There is nothing new under the sun.”

Legal Notice
Total Drama Island, its characters and their distinctive likenesses are the property of Fresh TV, Inc. The Gilbert and Sullivan operettas are in the public domain, due to their age, but the actual performances of those plays are generally the property of their respective performing companies.

The compiler believes, but cannot guarantee, the the use of various screenshots from the Total Drama Island episodes constitutes “fair use”.

Full Version vs. Wiki Version
The wiki version of this compilation and the PDF-based full version differ in several ways. These differences stem mainly from the wiki’s technical characteristics, with the wiki’s administrative policies playing a lesser role.

The differences are:


 * The full version is intended for a general-interest website, and so assumes no prior knowledge of TDI. (Indeed, the whole purpose of combining TDI with G&S is to introduce to one people who are familiar with the other.) Accordingly, the full version has a substantial “Introduction to ‘’Total Drama Island’’” section, with general commentary on the show and descriptions and head shots of the characters. In the wiki version, the character descriptions and images appear on the character pages, and the general commentary on the show is omitted. The full version also has brief character development notes at the end of each episode’s plot summary, and the wiki version retains these because some have verse references attached to them.


 * In the wiki version, hyperlinked character names link to the character pages. In the full version, they link to the character articles on the main TD wiki.


 * In the wiki version, character theme songs appear on the character pages. In the full version, the theme songs are collected in an Appendix.


 * The full version uses a great deal of specialized formatting that the wiki either doesn’t support or supports halfheartedly, so some differences in the formatting of verses will be evident.


 * The full version is heavily illustrated with roughly 700 screenshots (some of which appear more than once) from the TDI episodes. The wiki cannot support that level of illustration, because it would make the page load too slowly and might slow down the search function as well. (Search functionality is crucial to this compilation, as explained later.)
 * Clicking a hyperlink opens a new window (or tab) in the full version, but navigates away from the page in the wiki version. The full version (when it becomes available) is therefore recommended for readers who will be making extensive use of the hyperlinks.

When the full version becomes available for download, this section will link to it. Downloads will be deemed to be released under the same licensing protocols that govern wiki postings. The PDF file for the full version is massive, ~50 MB.

Introduction to Gilbert & Sullivan
W.S. (William Schwenck) Gilbert (1836-1911) and Arthur Sullivan (1842-1900) collaborated on 14 operettas—if written today, they would be called musicals—from 1871 through 1896. All but the first were produced by Richard D’Oyly Carte and his Company, in which Gilbert and Sullivan eventually became business partners. These three were major players in transforming Victorian theater from bawdy adult entertainment to respectable family fare.

The “main sequence”, the 11 plays that remain popular to this day, begins with Trial By Jury (1875) and ends with The Gondoliers (1889). The Mikado is Gilbert & Sullivan’s greatest hit (although Iolanthe is the compiler’s favorite), with H.M.S. Pinafore, The Pirates Of Penzance, and The Mikado often called “The Big Three”, and those three plus The Gondoliers sometimes described as “The Big Four”.

Of the three outside the main sequence, none were hits in their first run, although only The Grand Duke was considered a failure. Today, none of the three are performed with any frequency.

Thespis can no longer be performed in its original form, because most of the music has been lost. (Many new scores have been written for Thespis, using either Sullivan music from other sources or original music in Sullivan’s style, but none of these replacement scores have gained wide acceptance.) Only two songs from Thespis are known to survive: one because it was published as a standalone ballad; and the other because it was recycled, with a few minor changes in the words, in The Pirates Of Penzance. Some ballet music from Thespis also survives.

Utopia, Limited is rarely performed because it is too elaborate for most theater companies; it has a large cast of principals, with most of the cast and chorus requiring two costumes. The Grand Duke is even more rarely performed because, fairly or not, it has been widely regarded (by Gilbert himself, among others) as being of inferior quality.

As was common at the time, most of the operettas (the name meaning “little opera”) have secondary titles. These are usually more descriptive than the often-cryptic primary titles, and so gave the audiences of Gilbert’s day a better idea of what to expect. For example, the primary title H.M.S. Pinafore (a warship named after a little girl’s garment) told audiences only that they should expect something funny. The secondary title, The Lass That Loved A Sailor, told them to expect romance.

Trial By Jury and The Sorcerer do not have secondary titles because the primary titles are descriptive enough. Conversely, Castle Adamant, the secondary title for Princess Ida, is just as cryptic as the primary.

Most of the operettas are, at their core, love stories or otherwise concerned with romantic attachments. Reflecting the fact that people typically married at younger ages in Gilbert’s time than they do today, most of Gilbert’s romantic leads are quite young by today’s standards, with most of the heroes in their early to mid-20s and most of the heroines in their late teens. (Elsie Maynard, heroine of The Yeomen of the Guard, is only 16 years old—the same age as the TDI contestants—yet is married by the end of the play.) As Frederick, the romantic hero of The Pirates of Penzance, notes, “A man of 21 usually looks for a wife of 17.”

A distinctively Gilbertian aspect of these love stories is the consistent attitude that most people can easily change romantic partners. This made happy ending easier to contrive. Thus, a heroine who becomes estranged from the hero tends to immediately turn to someone else, usually the hero’s main rival; and when the hero and heroine are subsequently reconciled, the rival immediately (and, apparently, sincerely) pledges undying love to whichever unattached lady is closest at hand.

If Gilbert and Sullivan had written Total Drama Island, the most obvious difference is that the national references would probably have been British instead of Canadian. One thing that would probably not have been different is for the stories to be any more logical or plausible. As the famous Gilbert & Sullivan actor Martyn Green noted in his annotation, A Treasury Of Gilbert & Sullivan, “It is pointless to logically analyze Gilbert’s plots, because not one of them will stand up to logical analysis.” When Gilbert needed something to happen, such as having the chorus emphasize the soloist’s points or getting a female chorus aboard a warship, he was not inclined to let little things like implausibility stop him. In any case, plausibility is less important to comedy than to drama, especially when the comedy is as absurdity-driven as Gilbert’s.

Most of the operettas have two acts. The exceptions are Trial By Jury, which is a one-act curtain raiser; and Princess Ida, which has three acts. All but The Yeomen of the Guard are comedies. Six of the first seven (excepting only Thespis) are set in Gilbert’s own time, but five of the last seven are period pieces—not that Gilbert was much concerned with continuity of setting, witness the anachronisms from his own time that tend to litter his period pieces.

Thespis, or The Gods Grown Old (premiered 1871): The Olympian gods are upset with the decline of their influence in the mortal world. Indeed, the best thing their worshippers now sacrifice to them is “preserved Australian beef”. When a theatre troupe climbs Mount Olympus on a day out, Jupiter appoints the troupe director (Thespis) and his companions to assume the Olympians’ offices for a year, whilst the latter go into the mortal world, incognito, to learn how they might revive their waning prestige. Mercury, who has recently been doing all the other gods’ work for them because he is younger and more energetic than they, remains on Olympus to advise the “deputy deities”. Naturally, Thespis and his troupe make a mess of things, so the gods are none too pleased when they return.

Conceived as a holiday entertainment, Thespis ran for 63 performances—the shortest opening run of any of the Gilbert & Sullivan operettas, although it was reasonably successful for its purpose. In lieu of a more detailed plot summary, click the link provided for the libretto text. Excluding repetitions, 72% of the play’s total verse content appears in this compilation.

Trial by Jury (1875): The only play in the series with no spoken dialogue. Angelina, the plaintiff, is suing Edwin, the defendant, for breach of promise of marriage. The suit is dismissed when the smitten judge decides to marry the beautiful plaintiff himself.

Click the link provided for a more detailed plot summary. Trial by Jury had an opening run of 131 performances, but was quickly revived for additional performances. Excluding repetitions, 56% of the play’s total verse content appears in this compilation.

The Sorcerer (1877): Alexis and Aline, two young aristocrats with decidedly egalitarian views, have just been betrothed to each other. (Their parents, Sir Marmaduke and Lady Sangazure, have a lost love of their own.) Determined that the entire village should share their joy—love for its own sake, without regard for artificial barriers such as wealth, rank or age—Alexis commissions a professional Family Sorcerer, one John Wellington Wells, to spike the banquet tea with a love potion. (The potion, according to Mr. Wells, is “compounded according to the strictest principles”, and so will not affect those villagers who are already married.)

The potion leads to many odd pairing, just as Alexis intended. He is undone, however, when, under the potion’s influence, Aline herself falls in love with someone else.

The only way to reverse the love potion’s effects is for either Mr. Wells (who created the potion) or Alexis (who hired Mr. Wells) to die. Because Alexis is the romantic hero and an aristocrat besides, whereas Mr. Wells is neither, the sorcerer is naturally the one who dies.

Click the link provided for a more detailed plot summary. The Sorcerer had an opening run of 175 performances, which was enough to persuade Gilbert and Sullivan to collaborate again, although the play did not truly become a hit until it was revived (along with Trial by Jury) seven years later. Excluding repetitions and blank verse in the spoken dialogue, 70% of the play’s total verse content appears in this compilation.

H.M.S. Pinafore, or The Lass That Loved a Sailor (1878): Ralph (pronounced Raife) Rackstraw, a crewman on the good ship Pinafore, is pining for Josephine, the daughter of his commanding officer, Captain Corcoran. In a class-conscious society, this poses serious problems, especially with a high-ranking government official, one Sir Joseph Porter, seeking Josephine’s hand in marriage.

Josephine also loves Ralph; but because his social station is much lower than hers, she cannot bring herself to admit her feelings until she sees Ralph about to commit suicide. The couple makes plans to elope, but the Captain gets wind of the plot. Ralph is arrested, but a local peddler, a woman known as “Little Buttercup”, comes to his defense. She has been hinting at a dark secret throughout the story, and now reveals it: she accidentally switched Ralph and the Captain in infancy, so both men have been living in social stations they don’t belong in. (As with a similar incident in The Gondoliers, nobody dreams of asking for proof.)

Even before this revelation, Josephine’s social station was considerably below Sir Joseph’s. Because she, like her father, is now lower-class, the new class differential is simply too great, and Josephine is no longer acceptable to Sir Joseph. Ralph can now marry Josephine, and her widower father can now marry Little Buttercup, whom he has long been fond of and who is now in the same social class as he. With the typically Gilbertian “any spouse is better than no spouse” attitude, Sir Joseph settles for one of his many cousins.

Corcoran, somehow restored to a captaincy, reappears briefly in Utopia, Limited.

Click the links provided for a more detailed plot summary; a tongue-in-cheek Short Attention Span summary; or a children's book adaptation of the Pinafore story, written by Gilbert himself. H.M.S. Pinafore was Gilbert & Sullivan’s first blockbuster hit, with an opening run of 571 performances. Excluding repetitions, 74% of the play’s total verse content appears in this compilation.

The Pirates of Penzance, or The Slave of Duty (1880): The only play in the series to have its official premiere in the United States, Pirates played in New York for some three months before its formal London premiere. The primary title contains a joke, in that Penzance was a resort town in Gilbert’s day.

Frederick, who was erroneously apprenticed to a pirate (instead of a ship’s pilot, as he was supposed to be), has reached the age of 21 and has therefore completed his apprenticeship. He decides to leave the pirates and go into law enforcement. Complications arise when it is discovered that Fredrick’s apprenticeship is scheduled to end on his 21st birthday—not when he reaches the age of 21—and that he was born on February 29.

The pirates have trouble making money at their piracy because they are too tenderhearted. For example, they make a point of never molesting orphans; but this scruple has become common knowledge, so everyone they capture claims to be an orphan. When the pirates capture the daughters of Major General Stanley, with the intent of marrying them on the spot (this is respectable Victorian theater, so the manly pirates’ first thought is to get married), the Major General claims to be an orphan and the pirates immediately relent.

When the pirates later learn of the deception, they plan a bloody vengeance. When they have General Stanley at their mercy, though, their tenderheartedness is once again their undoing. When the police squad they have just defeated demand their surrender in the name of Queen Victoria, the pirates comply without a second thought because they love their Queen. When it is revealed that the pirates are not commoners, but are noblemen who have gone wrong, they escape prosecution and get to marry General Stanley’s daughters after all.

Click the links provided for a more detailed plot summary or the Short Attention Span summary. Upon formally opening in London, Pirates ran for 363 performances. Excluding repetitions, 71% of the play’s total verse content appears in this compilation.

Patience, or Bunthorne’s Bride (1881): Satirizes the Aesthetic poets, of which Oscar Wilde is the best known today (although Wilde was a secondary figure when Patience was written). Of all the Gilbert & Sullivan plays, therefore, the subject matter of Patience seems the most remote to modern audiences. Aestheticism, the central tenet of which was Art for its own sake, was a fad of Gilbert’s day and did not have lasting impact.

Reginald Bunthorne, the local poet Aesthete (who, contrary to popular belief, was not patterned after Wilde) can have any woman in town he wants, except for the one he does want: Patience, the village milkmaid, who understands neither poetry nor love. When a rival poet, one Archibald Grosvenor (called “Archibald the All-Right”, because he is infallible) appears, Patience naturally falls in love with him, but still doesn’t understand love any better than she did before.

Because her only knowledge of love comes from seeing the symptoms of unrequited love and from the flowery, idealized statements of women suffering from unrequited love, Patience has fundamental misconceptions as to what love is all about, and of how being in love is supposed to feel. Believing that love must be utterly selfless and that being in love is supposed to feel unpleasant, she rejects Grosvenor because she believes loving such a perfect man is too selfish to qualify as love. She declares her love for Bunthorne because she thinks she is supposed to, although she actually finds him repellant.

Bunthorne eventually persuades his rival Grosvenor to renounce aestheticism and become completely ordinary—something Grosvenor, tired of being madly loved on sight by every woman he encounters, was looking for an excuse to do anyway. This victory, however, has an effect that Bunthorne did not count on. The village women follow Grosvenor’s lead in renouncing aestheticism, because “The All-Right cannot be all wrong.” With Grosvenor now utterly unremarkable, Patience decides it is no longer selfish to love him. The other women return to the soldiers they had forsaken for Bunthorne, and the joke of the secondary title becomes apparent: having cultivated an artificial personality for the sake of “a morbid love of admiration”, Bunthorne has been left out in the cold, with no bride at all and deprived of the female admirers he so coveted.

Gilbert originally intended to satirize the clergy instead of the aesthetic poets, but was deterred by the controversy over Dr. Daly, vicar of Ploverleigh in The Sorcerer. Although Dr. Daly was a respectable and sympathetic character with no real eccentricities, there were too many people who objected to the idea of religious officials being depicted in comic opera in any capacity. The line “your style is much to sanctified—your cut is too canonical” (i.e. “your style is too saintly—your clothing is too parsonish”) from the Act II duet, “So go to him and say to him”, is a vestige of Gilbert’s original intent.

Click the links provided for a more detailed plot summary or the Short Attention Span summary. Patience had an opening run of 578 performances, exceeding even that of H.M.S. Pinafore, although Patience would not have the lasting impact of the earlier play. Excluding repetitions, 73% of Patience’s total verse content appears in this compilation.

Iolanthe, or The Peer and the Peri (1882): Iolanthe is a fairy, banished from her clan for marrying a mortal. This is normally a capital crime in Fairyland, but she got her sentence commuted by faking her death in the mortal world—albeit not before she conceived a half-mortal son, Strephon, now 24 years old. Strephon wants to marry his love, Phyllis; but because she is a ward of the court and has not reached the age of consent (which was 21 at the time), they cannot marry without the Lord Chancellor’s approval, which he is unwilling to give. To make matters worse, the ageless fairies all look like teenaged girls; so, when Phyllis sees Strephon talking to his mother, Strephon’s rivals easily convince Phyllis that he is cheating on her.

Only Iolanthe knows—and cannot reveal, under pain of death—that Strephon is the Lord Chancellor’s son. When the Lord Chancellor decides to marry Phyllis himself, it appears that Iolanthe’s only option is to sacrifice herself for her son. She is saved when, at the point of execution, all her sisters reveal that they have also taken mortal husbands, all from the House of Lords. The Fairy Queen laments, “You have all incurred death—but I can’t slaughter the whole company,” so her only recourse is to change the law. Because the revised law states that fairies must marry mortals, the Fairy Queen takes on a handsome soldier, and makes all the new husbands immortal. (Apparently, having been born mortal is enough to satisfy the new Fairy Law.)

Click the links provided for a more detailed plot summary or the Short Attention Span summary. Iolanthe had an opening run of 398 performances. Excluding repetitions, 74% of the play’s total verse content appears in this compilation.

Princess Ida, or Castle Adamant (1884): Based on The Princess, an earlier Gilbert play satirizing Tennyson’s poem of the same name, which deals with the subject of higher education for women and equality of the sexes. Gilbert, being a man of his era, was dismissive of these notions. Of all the operettas, therefore, it is Princess Ida whose satire feels the most out of step with modern sensibilities. Gilbert used the same character names as Tennyson had, with the same plot basics, so the now-cryptic primary title was descriptive enough for audiences that were familiar with Tennyson’s poem.

The only operetta in the series with its spoken dialogue written in blank verse instead of prose, Princess Ida was also the first period piece of Gilbert & Sullivan’s “main sequence”. The setting date is not stated, but the story has a generally medieval flavor. There are, however, numerous anachronisms from Gilbert’s own time.

Ida, daughter of King Gama, was betrothed in infancy to Prince Hilarion, son of King Hildebrand, but has broken that betrothal to found a women’s college at Castle Adamant, one of her father’s properties. This means war between Gama and Hildebrand, unless Ida can be persuaded to relent.

Hilarion and his companions, Cyril and Florian, infiltrate the school and disguise themselves as students. When Ida finds them out, she pronounces sentences of death upon them—despite the fact that Hilarion has just saved her life—but is interrupted when Hildebrand’s forces attack the castle.

A central tenet of Ida’s teachings is that women should have nothing to do with men. When her plans come to ruin, she grudgingly accepts Hilarion but insists that Posterity would have thanked her had she succeeded in attaining her vision. She is disarmed, though, when Hildebrand asks the obvious question: if she had succeeded in persuading all women to abjure men, how would that Posterity have been provided?

Click the links provided for a more detailed plot summary or the Short Attention Span summary. Princess Ida had an opening run of 246 performances, which was disappointing in comparison to some of the earlier plays. Excluding repetitions and the blank verse of the spoken dialogue, 92% of the play’s total verse content appears in this compilation.

The Mikado, or The Town of Titipu (1885): Gilbert chose a Japanese veneer for this operetta, one of the most popular light operas ever written, because England was in the midst of a popular craze for all things Japanese. (Bunthorne refers to this in Patience.) Gilbert made little effort at authenticity because, beneath the Japanese trappings, he was (as always) actually satirizing Great Britain. Queen Victoria, herself no great fan of the operettas, pointed this out to the Japanese government when the latter objected to the way the title character is portrayed.

Nanki-Poo, an itinerant minstrel—actually the Mikado’s son, traveling incognito—comes to town looking for his old flame Yum-Yum, believing that her betrothed (whom she did not love) is now out of the way. He learns that said betrothed is not only still in the picture, but is now quite powerful. Further complications arise when Nanki-Poo’s own betrothed, Katisha (whom he likewise does not love, and who is neither young nor pretty) tracks him down. The situation becomes still more complicated when town officials learn that they have come to the Mikado’s unwelcome attention for unrelated reasons.

Click the links provided for a more detailed plot summary; the Short Attention Span summary; or a children's book adaptation of the Mikado story, written by Gilbert himself. The Mikado was Gilbert and Sullivan’s greatest hit, with an opening run of 672 performances, and remains their most popular collaboration to this day. Excluding repetitions, 74% of the play’s total verse content appears in this compilation.

Ruddigore, or The Witch’s Curse (1887): A period piece, set during the reign of Napoleon, and satirizing the melodrama form—complete with witches and curses, bad baronets (the villain of these melodramas invariably being a baronet), ghosts, madwomen and crimes. These melodramas were known for moral absolutism, so Gilbert’s topsy-turvy treatment of the medium produced a story where good becomes bad, bad becomes good, and heroes take the easy way out.

When an ancestor of the Murgatroyd house burned a certain witch at the stake, she cursed him and his family with her dying breaths. Under the terms of the curse, the ruling baronet of Ruddigore will die if he does not commit at least one serious crime every day. Ruthven (pronounced Rivven), the eldest nephew of the late Roderic Murgatroyd, escaped this curse by faking his death before his childless uncle died, so the office and the attendant curse fell to his younger brother, Despard. Ruthven, living under the name of Robin Oakapple, is eventually exposed and must become Baronet after all. Despard, relieved of the curse, reforms on the spot, intending to lead a blameless life henceforth.

The curse is finally broken when Ruthven realizes that refusing to commit his daily crime amounts to suicide—but that attempting suicide is itself a serious crime (and would remain so in Britain until the 1960s).

As it pertains to this compilation, Ruddigore is remarkable in that it has three major characters who have more than passing similarity to TDI characters: Robin (Ezekiel); Despard (Duncan); and Mad Margaret (Izzy).

Click the links provided for a more detailed plot summary or the Short Attention Span summary. Ruddigore (originally Ruddygore, a rude term meaning “red blood”) had an opening run of 288 performances, which was considered a disappointment after the runaway success of its immediate predecessor, The Mikado. Excluding repetitions, 87% of Ruddigore’s total verse content appears in this compilation.

The Yeomen of the Guard, or The Merryman and His Maid (1888): The only tragedy in the series, this period piece is set in England’s Tudor period, probably c. 1540 AD.

For legal reasons, a condemned prisoner, one Col. Fairfax, wishes to marry before he is executed, and offers a large payment to any girl who is willing to oblige him. There is no expectation that the marriage will be consummated, but that is apparently not a requirement—indeed, the ceremony is to be conducted under such conditions that bride and groom won’t even see each other.

Jack Point (the merryman) and his betrothed, Elsie (the maid) desperately need money to obtain medical attention for Elsie’s mother, so they agree that Elsie may accommodate Fairfax. Naturally, Fairfax escapes from the Tower of London and disappears, leaving Elsie’s status in limbo.

Fairfax has, in fact, escaped with the aid of the Guard’s Sergeant Meryll (who owes Fairfax his life from a long-ago battle) and Meryll’s daughter, Phoebe (who loves Fairfax). The Merylls disguise Fairfax and pass him off as Phoebe’s brother, Leonard, who is scheduled to join the Guard.

The disguised Fairfax, having learned that Elsie is his mysterious bride, approaches her and woos her so skillfully that she falls in love with him. When Fairfax is later pardoned, and so can reveal himself, all is lost for Jack. Heartbroken, and (according to some depictions) in chronically poor health in any case, Jack meets the usual fate of heartbroken clowns—he dies. (According to Gilbert, at any rate. The actual stage directions are ambiguous.)

As it pertains to this compilation, the setting and story of Yeomen make it a rich source of verses for events surrounding the elimination ceremony, which is, after all, a metaphor for death.

Click the links provided for a more detailed plot summary or the Short Attention Span summary. Yeomen had an opening run of 423 performances. Excluding repetitions, 77% of the play’s total verse content appears in this compilation.

The Gondoliers, or The King of Barataria (1889): The last of the Gilbert & Sullivan “main sequence”, and arguably the most dance-heavy operetta in the series, this period piece is set in the year 1750 A.D. The large cast is the result of Gilbert, upset with the salary demands of one of the D’Oyly Carte Opera Company’s stars, declaring that he would write an opera with no main characters.

Brothers Marco and Guiseppe, and their new brides Tessa and Gianetta, are shocked to discover that the men are not actually brothers, as they had believed, and that one (but nobody is really sure which) is the only son of the late King of Barataria. It is arranged that the “brothers” will rule jointly until it can be determined which of them is the actual king. Being ardent Republicans (i.e. anti-monarchist), they run an extraordinarily egalitarian court. Complications arise when the co-monarchs learn that the king was party to an arranged marriage in infancy, meaning that either Tessa’s or Gianetta’s marriage is not valid.

The maiden who stands to become the Queen of Barataria is no happier about the arranged marriage, as she has fallen in love with Luiz, one of her father’s employees.

In a typically Gilbertian twist, it is eventually revealed that neither brother is heir to the Baratarian throne, after all, and that Luiz actually has that distinction. (As with a similar incident in H.M.S. Pinafore, nobody dreams of asking for proof. An old woman’s word is enough.) So, “on one point rather sore, but on the whole, delighted”, the brothers must relinquish the reins of government, but can resume their carefree lives in Venice with their chosen wives.

Click the links provided for a more detailed plot summary or the Short Attention Span summary. Hailed by critics of Gilbert’s day as “the second Mikado”, The Gondoliers was—and remains, to this day—the most popular of Gilbert & Sullivan’s late operettas, with an opening run of 554 performances. Excluding repetitions, 76% of the play’s total verse content appears in this compilation.

Utopia, Limited, or The Flowers of Progress (1893): The most lavish production in the series, this play satirizes virtually all things British, but especially the concept of limited liability (i.e. incorporation of businesses), which Gilbert considered dishonest.

Princess Zara, eldest daughter of King Paramount of Utopia, returns home after completing her studies at a prestigious English university. She brings with her several advisors, collectively known as “The Flowers Of Progress”, whose job is to bring the blessings of British-style civilization to the Anglophilic Utopians.

The Flowers propose sweeping reforms, which King Paramount (who tends to govern by poll, in any case) sees as a way to get out from under the thumb of Utopia’s two Wise Men, Scaphio and Phantis. The duty of these two is to have the King put to death if he behaves irresponsibly or immorally, but they have abused this power to the point that the King has effectively become their slave.

The Flowers’ reforms produce various unpleasant side effects because they work too well. For example, there is no longer any sickness, so the doctors are starving; and there is no crime nor litigation, so the lawyers are starving. The balance is restored when Zara realizes that she and the Flowers had omitted a single critical reform: government by party, which insures that “no political measure can endure.”

The story of Utopia, Limited includes a subplot that appears to be loosely based on the story of Anna Leonowens, whose memoirs are the basis for the story of the 1944 book, Anna and the Kind of Siam and the related 1951 musical, The King and I.

Click the links provided for a more detailed plot summary or the Short Attention Span summary. Utopia, Limited ran for 245 performances—decent enough in absolute terms, but a disappointment in comparison to what Gilbert and Sullivan were accustomed to, especially in light of the relatively high production costs. Excluding repetitions, 67% of the play’s total verse content appears in this compilation.

The Grand Duke, or The Statutory Duel (1896): A period piece set, like The Gondoliers, in the year 1750 A.D. because the story required a setting predating the 19th Century unification of Germany. Some elements of the story, which is the most convoluted in the series, feel like a remake of Thespis.

Ernest Dummkopf (the name meaning, essentially, “idiot”) and his theater troupe are plotting to overthrow Grand Duke Rudolph and seize control of his impoverished, hole-in-the-wall realm of Pfennig Halbpfennig (“Penny Halfpenny”). When a ridiculous blunder by Ludwig, the troupe’s comedian, alerts the government to the plot, all seems lost for the conspirators. Ludwig salvages the situation by overthrowing Rudolph in a bloodless “Statutory Duel”, tricking the sickly and miserable despot into agreeing to a predetermined outcome.

In the Statutory Duel, the duelists each draw a card from a deck, with the highest card winning. The loser “dies” for all legal purposes, but is physically unharmed, and the winner steps into the loser’s shoes, assuming his position and obligations. Rudolph produces a King and Ludwig an Ace, so Rudolph “dies” and Ludwig becomes the new Grand Duke.

As the new Grand Duke, Ludwig models his court on ancient Athens, mainly so the troupe can use its Troilus and Cressida costumes as their courtly attire. The balance is eventually restored when it is discovered that, in a Statutory Duel, the Ace counts as the lowest card, not the highest. Because the Statutory Duel Act is expiring—Ludwig’s attempt to extend it was not valid because he didn’t win his duel with Rudolph—the “dead” people “come back to life”. An unrelated improvement in Rudolph’s fortunes leaves him in a forgiving mood, and the conspirators know better than to have another go at deposing him, so all ends happily.

Click the links provided for a more detailed plot summary or the Short Attention Span summary. The Grand Duke was considered a failure, perhaps not entirely of its own making, running for only 123 performances. Excluding repetitions, 57% of the play’s total verse content appears in this compilation.

Notes on Verse Selection
As might be expected, most of the references are metaphorical to some degree, but some references are remarkably literal. Conversely, some verses fit more for their mood than for their description of events.

The most common and important metaphor in the selection of verses is that characters in respectable Victorian theatre talk about getting married in much the same sense as teens and young adults today talk about hooking up—a parallel enhanced by the “any spouse is better than no spouse” attitude that tends to prevail among Gilbert’s characters. Furthermore, most of Gilbert’s romantic heroines are teenagers, reflecting the fact that people generally married younger in Gilbert’s time than they typically do today. This compilation, for the most part, treats Victorian (stage) marriage vs. modern hookup as a simple substitution.

It is somewhat rare for an entire song to fit a single TDI character or incident. It is far more common for one portion of a song to fit one TDI character (or group of characters) or incident, while another portion of the same song fits another. The most obvious example is “A Wandering Minstrel, I” from The Mikado, where each verse represents a different type of song from the minstrel’s repertoire. There are many instances of a three-verse song having each verse applied to a different character.

In some cases, the characters noted would be singing these verses; in others, someone else would be singing to them or about them. For the most part, it is reasonably clear which is which. Some verses refer to the character’s personality or background, but most refer to specific incidents from one episode or another. The latter are so noted, and this compilation includes a guide to these incidents.

In some cases, a verse’s mood is directly opposite the mood of the Total Drama Island incident to which it is assigned. Thus, a verse originally sung in earnest might be sung ironically or sarcastically for the TDI incident. These cases are so noted. An example of this comes from Iolanthe, where a verse sung in earnest for the return of the beloved Iolanthe could be sung in bitter irony for the return of TDI’s universally reviled Eva. Gilbert was a great lover—and a great purveyor—of antithetical humor (i.e., “topsy-turvydom”), so these reversals would probably have appealed to him.

Because most of the Gilbert & Sullivan plays are, at their core, love stories or otherwise concerned with romantic attachments, many of the verses in this compilation pertain to couples (or, in the case of Cody, to rejected suitors) with a good deal of thematic repetition. For example, a single TDI incident—Trent’s perceived betrayal of Gwen—has relevant verses in several plays. For the same reason, the Total Drama Island episodes most heavily referenced in this compilation tend to be those featuring pivotal events in romantic relationships.

Due to the types of characters that tend to appear in these plays, the verses pertaining to some TDI characters may tend to focus on peripheral aspects. Chef Hatchet’s verses, for instance, typically refer to his military background rather than to his cooking or his jack-of-all-trades support role. Likewise, the verses for characters such as Tyler and Bridgette focus mainly on their love lives.

For similar reasons, this compilation may cast some TDI characters in a somewhat different light than the TV show did. Most notably, Cody’s verses, with their emphasis on unrequited love, tend to depict a much more tragic figure than the one Total Drama Island portrays.

Several of the Gilbert & Sullivan operettas—especially Ruddigore—have characters with meaningful similarities to a Total Drama Island character. For example, a third of Justin’s verses come from Patience because a character in that play has a similar effect on women.

Conversely, two plays feature characters that amount to avatars for different aspects of Gilbert himself. These avatars are the thoroughly disagreeable King Gama in Princess Ida, through whom Gilbert acknowledges his reputation for unlikeability; and the more sympathetic Jack Point in The Yeomen of the Guard, through whom Gilbert boasts of his comic prowess and demonstrates his talent for self-pity.

Technical Notes
To provide some access to Sullivan’s music without running afoul of copyright issues—the music and lyrics are in the public domain, but most of the actual performances are not—this compilation links extensively to the “Web Operas” in the Gilbert & Sullivan Archive. These Web Operas provide downloadable MIDI (synthesizer) files for substantially all of the Gilbert & Sullivan music that survives and, for nine of the operettas, MIDI karaoke files as well. The lyrics on the Web Opera pages include all repetitions, the better to allow readers so inclined to sing along. The sequencing of MIDI karaoke files appears to be a project in progress as of this writing, with karaoke files provided for most of the earlier operettas but not for most of the later ones.

Additional links to the Archive provide supplemental information both for the operettas themselves and on various other topics related to Gilbert and/or Sullivan.

Links to various websites, most notably Wikipedia and the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, provide supplemental information on a variety of ancillary topics.

Underlined words and phrases that are not part of hyperlinks are defined in the Glossary. In most cases, these are either archaic or chiefly British. Additional terms are defined through links to online dictionaries, as previously noted. The Glossary, as opposed to online dictionaries, generally serves for terms that either do not appear in those dictionaries, use a secondary definition, or merit additional commentary. The Gilbert & Sullivan Archive also has Glossary pages for most of the operettas, under their respective home pages.

For verses that refer to specific incidents in the TDI episodes, the incident references follow the format xx.yy, where xx is the TDI episode number, and yy is a sequence number. Thus, the notation 08.39 refers to the 39th incident reference in episode #8 (“Up the Creek”). This nomenclature is designed to allow readers to quickly move back and forth between the Guide reference and the verse, using the web browser’s Edit/Find command. Verses fitting multiple incidents, and incidents with multiple verse references, are somewhat common.

In cases where a verse would fit a TDI character except for having been written about a character of the opposite sex, the original gender-specific words are retained, with explanatory notes only where needed to avoid confusion. (The relationship between Gwen and Cody has several examples of these gender role reversals, with Cody taking the role of the pining maiden.)

The original proper names, where they occur, are likewise retained. Most of these names appear in the synopses of the Gilbert & Sullivan plays provided in the “Introduction to Gilbert & Sullivan” section above.

When only a portion of a song (e.g. one verse in a three-verse song) fits a TDI character or incident, only the relevant verse(s) appear in this compilation. Conversely, when only a portion of a verse is relevant, the entire verse appears in most cases. Exceptions are noted when the extract disrupts the rhyme scheme or is not the first part of the verse. Verses that are split in Sullivan’s musical arrangements tend to be split in this compilation as well, and this compilation generally does not identify verses split in this way. Interjections by the chorus, unless they are integral to the verse, are omitted in most cases.

A portion of a word appearing in italics indicates a mispronunciation for the sake of rhyme or meter. An entire word italicized means the word is emphasized or comes from a language other than English. (Gilbert had no qualms about turning to foreign languages, or to substandard English, when he needed a rhyme.)

In a few cases, the original stage directions are included when they help to inform the verse. These directions are italicized and enclosed in brackets [thusly].

A tab or multi-tab indent indicates a change in singer (in the play, not necessarily in the TDI reference). The main purpose of these indents is to help give the reader a feel for the music, although there are a few cases—most notably Heather, Lindsay & Beth’s “I am a maiden” trio from Princess Ida and Katie & Sadie’s “Replying, We Sing” verse from The Gondoliers—where they also help to inform the verse.

Verses
The verses in the following sections appear in the same order that they appear in the Gilbert & Sullivan series, which preserves some sense of Gilbert’s stories. The Guide to Incidents is structured to place these verses in accordance with the TDI story arc.

Verses from Thespis
For a brief plot summary, see the “Introduction to Gilbert & Sullivan” section above. In lieu of a more detailed plot summary, click the link provided for the libretto text.

[ Gwen / Trent  – incident 03.21]

Throughout the night

The constellations

Have given light

From various stations.

When midnight gloom

Falls on all nations,

We will resume

Our occupations.

[ Beth / Lindsay  – incident 21.28]

Our light, it’s true,

Is not worth mention;

What can we do

To gain attention,

When, night and noon,

With vulgar glaring,

A great big moon

Is always flaring?

[ Chef Hatchet  – nature and incident 24.05]

Oh, I’m the celestial drudge,

From morning to night I must stop at it,

On errands all day I must trudge,

And I stick to my work till I drop at it!

In summer I get up at one

(As a good-natured donkey I’m ranked for it),

Then I go and I light up the Sun,

And Phoebus Apollo gets thanked for it!

Well, well, it’s the way of the world,

And will be through all its futurity;

Though noodles are baroned and earled,

There’s nothing for clever obscurity!

I’m the slave of the Gods, neck and heels,

And I’m bound to obey, though I rate at ‘em;

And I not only order their meals,

But I cook ‘em, and serve ‘em, and wait at ‘em.

Then I make all their nectar—I do—

(Which a terrible liquor to rack us is)

And whenever I mix them a brew,

Why, all the thanksgivings are Bacchus’s!

Well, well, it’s the way of the world, etc.

Then reading and writing I teach,

And spelling books many I’ve edited!

And for bringing those arts within reach,

That donkey Minerva gets credited.

Then I scrape at the stars with a knife,

And plate-powder the moon (on the days for it),

And I hear all the world and his wife

Awarding Diana the praise for it!

Well, well, it’s the way of the world, etc.

[Castaways – incident 23.41]

Oh, incident unprecedented!

I hardly can believe it’s true!


 * Why, bless the boy, he’s quite demented!


 * Why, what’s the matter, sir, with you?


 * Speak quickly, or you’ll get a warming !

Why, mortals up the mount are swarming,

Our temple on Olympus storming,

In hundreds—aye, in thousands, too!

[Castaways – incident 23.43]


 * Goodness gracious,


 * How audacious;


 * Earth is spacious,


 * Why come here?


 * Our impeding


 * Their proceeding


 * Were good breeding,


 * That is clear.

[ Owen / Duncan  – incident 24.18]

What fools to give themselves so much exertion!


 * A government survey, I’ll make assertion!


 * Perhaps the Alpine club at their diversion!


 * They seem to be more like a “ Cook’s Excursion ”.

[ Chris  – incident 23.01]

If, mighty Jove, you value your existence,

Send them a thunderbolt with your regards!


 * My thunderbolts, though valid at a distance,


 * Are not effective at a hundred yards.

[ Cody /Gwen – incidents 05.15, 08.03]

Here far away from all the world,

Dissension and derision,

With Nature’s wonders all unfurled

To our delighted vision

With no one here

(At least in sight)

To interfere

With our delight,

And two fond lovers sever,

Oh, do not free

Thine hand from mine,

I swear to thee

My love is thine,

Forever and forever!


 * On mountaintop the air is keen,


 * And most exhilarating,


 * And we say things we do not mean


 * In moments less elating.


 * So please to wait,


 * For thoughts that crop


 * En téte-a-téte,


 * On mountain top,


 * May not exactly tally


 * With those that you


 * May entertain,


 * Returning to


 * The sober plain


 * Of yon relaxing valley.

[ D.J.  /Gwen – incident 11.07] (recycled in The Pirates of Penzance)

[Duncan/Owen – incident 24.17]

Climbing over rocky mountain,

Skipping rivulet and fountain,

Passing where the willows quiver

By the ever-rolling river,

Swollen with the summer rain;

Threading long and leafy mazes

Dotted with unnumbered daisies;

Scaling rough and rugged passes,

Climb the hardy lads and lasses

Till the mountaintop they gain!

[Boot camp party – incident 12.25]

[Wrap party – incident 27.04] (from “Climbing over rocky mountain”, recycled in The Pirates of Penzance, MIDI file 1:19 – 2:09)


 * Fill the cup and tread the measure,


 * Make the most of fleeting leisure;


 * Hail it as a true ally,


 * Though it perish by and by!


 * Every moment brings a treasure


 * Of its own especial pleasure,


 * Though the moments quickly die,


 * Greet them gaily as they fly!

[ Geoff  – nature and incident 10.02]

[Lindsay/ Heather – incident 17.02]

I once knew a chap who discharged a function

On the North South East West Diddlesex junction,

He was conspicuous exceeding,

For his affable ways and his easy breeding.

Although a Chairman of Directors,

He was hand in glove with the ticket inspectors,

He tipped the guards with brand new fivers,

And sang little songs to the engine drivers.

Each Christmas Day he gave each stoker

A silver shovel and a golden poker,

He’d buttonhole flowers for the ticket sorters,

And rich Bath buns for the outside porters.

He’d mount the clerks on his first-class hunters

And he built little villas for the roadside shunters,

And if any were fond of pigeon shooting,

He’d ask them down to his place at Tooting.

[Incident 17.02 continued]

[Bass boys/ Harold – incident 10.14]

In course of time there spread a rumor

That he did all this from a sense of humor,

So instead of signaling and stoking,

They gave themselves up to a course of joking.

Whenever they knew that he was riding,

They shunted his train on lonely siding,

Or stopped all night in the middle of a tunnel,

On the plea that the boiler was a-coming through the funnel.

[Incident 17.02 continued]

[Geoff – incident 21.18]

If he wished to go to Perth or Stirling,

His train through several counties whirling,

Would set him down in a fit of larking,

At four a.m. in the wilds of Barking.

This pleased his whim and seemed to strike it,

But the general Public did not like it;

The receipts fell, after a few repeatings,

And he got it hot at the annual meetings.

[Incident 17.02 continued]

[Heather/Lindsay – incident 18.10]

He followed out his whim with vigor,

The shares went down to a nominal figure,

These are the sad results proceeding

From his affable ways and his easy breeding!

The line, with its rails and guards and peelers ,

Was sold for a song to marine store dealers.

The shareholders are all in the work’us ,

And he sells pipe-lights in the Regent Circus.

‘Twas told to me with much compunction,

By one who had discharged with unction

A Chairman of Directors’ function,

At the North South East West Diddlesex junction.

[Chris/Chef Hatchet – incident 24.06]

So that’s arranged – you take my place, my boy,

While we make trial of a new existence.

At length I shall be able to enjoy

The pleasures I have envied from a distance.


 * Compelled upon Olympus here to stop,


 * While other gods go down to play the hero,


 * Don’t be surprised if on this mountaintop


 * You find your Mercury down at zero!

[Gwen – incident 05.22] (sarcastically in TDI)


 * I, as the modest moon with crescent bow,


 * Have always shown a light to nightly scandal,


 * I must say I should like to go below,


 * And find out if the game is worth the candle!

[Geoff/Bass – incident 10.03]

While mighty Jove goes down below

With all the other deities,

I fill his place and wear his “ clo ,”

The very part for me it is.

To mother earth to make a track,

They all are spurred and booted, too,

And you will fill, till they come back,

The parts you best are suited to.

[Chef Hatchet – incident 24.03]


 * Here’s a pretty tale for future Iliads and Odysseys,


 * Mortals are about to personate the gods and goddesses.


 * Now to set the world in order, we will work in unity.


 * Jupiter’s perplexity is Thespis’ opportunity.

[ Justin  – incident 27.55]


 * Phoebus am I, with golden ray,


 * The god of day, the god of day,


 * When shadowy night has held her sway,


 * I make the goddess fly.


 * ‘Tis mine the task to wake the world,


 * In slumber curled, in slumber curled,


 * By me her charms are all unfurled.


 * The god of day am I!

[Gwen – nature and incident 11.10]


 * I am the moon, the lamp of night.


 * I show a light—I show a light.


 * With radiant sheen I put to flight


 * The shadows of the day.


 * By my fair rays, as you’re aware,


 * Gay lovers swear—gay lovers swear,


 * While graybeards sleep away their care.


 * The lamp of night am I!

[ Izzy  – incident 27.79]


 * Mighty old Mars, the God of War,


 * I’m destined for—I’m destined for—


 * A terribly famous conqueror,


 * With sword upon his thigh.


 * When armies meet with eager shout,


 * And warlike rout, and warlike rout,


 * You’ll find me there without a doubt.


 * The God of War am I!


 * The God of War, the God of War,


 * Great Timidon is destined for!


 * The rarest fun and rarest fare


 * That ever fell to mortal share!

[Chris – incident 01.03]


 * When, as the fruit of warlike deeds,


 * The soldier bleeds, the soldier bleeds,


 * Calliope crowns heroic deeds


 * With immortality.


 * From mere oblivion I reclaim


 * The soldier’s name, the soldier’s name,


 * And write it on the roll of fame,


 * The muse of fame am I!

[Boys team – incident 14.16]

We will go

Down below,

Revels rare

We will share.

With a gay

Holiday,

All unknown,

And alone.

[Gwen – incident 20.16]

[Geoff – incident 21.08]

[Heather – incident 23.26]

Of all symposia,

The best by half

Upon Olympus, here, await us,

We eat Ambrosia,

And nectar quaff,

It cheers but don’t inebriate us.

[Incident 23.26 continued]

We know the fallacies

Of human food,

So please to pass the Olympian rosy,

We built up palaces

Where ruins stood,

And find them much more snug and cozy.

[Geoff – incident 02.07]

Olympus is now in a terrible muddle,

The deputy deities all are at fault;

They splutter and splash like a pig in a puddle,

And dickens a on of ‘em’s earning his salt,

For Thespis as Jove is a terrible blunder,

Too nervous and timid—too easy and weak—

Whenever he’s called on to lighten or thunder,

The thought of it keeps him awake for a week!

[Heather – incident 20.09]

Then mighty Mars hasn’t the pluck of a parrot,

When left in the dark he will quiver and quail;

And Vulcan has arms that would snap like a carrot

Before he could drive in a tenpenny nail!

Then Venus’s freckles are very repelling,

And Venus should not have a squint in her eyes;

The learned Minerva is weak in her spelling,

And scatters her h’s all over the skies.

[Killer Bass – incidents 02.06, 04.12]

In short, you will see from the facts that I’m showing,

The state of the case is exceedingly sad;

If Thespis’ people go on as they’re going,

Olympus will certainly go to the bad!

From Jupiter downwards, there isn’t a dab in it,

All of ‘em quibble and shuffle and shirk;

A premier in Downing Street, forming a Cabinet,

Couldn’t find people less fit for their work!

[Gwen/Trent – incident 08.47] (this is the song that survives as a standalone ballad)



Sat on Cousin Robin’s knee,

Thought in form and face and limb,

Nobody could rival him.

He was brave and she was fair.

Truth, they made a pretty pair.

Happy little maiden, she—

Happy maid of Arcadee!

[Gwen/Trent – incident 16.31] (verse 2 from “”)

Moments fled, as moments will,

Happily enough, until

After, say, a month or two,

Robin did as Robins do.

Weary of his lover’s play,

Jilted her and went away.

Wretched little maiden, she—

Wretched maid of Arcadee!

[Gwen – incident 25.08]

Oh rage and fury! Oh shame and sorrow!

We’ll be resuming our ranks tomorrow,

Since from Olympus we have departed,

We’ve been distracted and brokenhearted.

Oh wicked Thespis! Oh villain scurvy;

Through him Olympus is topsy-turvy!

Compelled to silence to grin and bear it!

He’s caused our sorrow and he shall share it.

Where is the monster? Avenge his blunders,

He has awakened Olympian thunders.

[Heather – incident 01.08]

[Duncan – incident 10.12]

We can’t stand this,

We can’t stand this,

It’s much too strong,

We can’t stand this.

It would be wrong,

Extremely wrong,

If we stood this,

If we stand this,

If we stand this,

We can’t stand this.

[Gwen/losers – incident 26.08]


 * Jupiter, Mars and Apollo,


 * Have quitted the dwellings of men;


 * The other gods quickly will follow,


 * And what will become of us then?


 * Oh, pardon us, Jove and Apollo,


 * Pardon us, Jupiter, Mars,


 * Oh, see us in misery wallow,


 * Cursing our terrible stars.

[Heather – incident 25.35]


 * Let us remain, we beg of you pleadingly!


 * Life on Olympus suits us exceedingly.


 * Let us remain, we pray in humility!


 * If we have shown some little ability.

[Chris/ Courtney – incident 12.48]

[ EPKWACAAH /Gwen – incident 19.31]

Enough, your reign is ended;

Upon this sacred hill

Let him be apprehended,

And learn our awful will.

[Losers – incident 22.02]

[Duncan/Heather – incident 23.24]

Away to earth, contemptible comedians,

And hear our curse, before we set you free;

You shall all be eminent tragedians,

Whom no one ever goes to see!

[Heather – incident 25.38]


 * Now, here you see the arrant folly


 * Of doing your best to make things jolly


 * I’ve ruled the world like a chap in his senses—


 * Observe the terrible consequences.


 * Great Jupiter, whom nothing pleases,


 * Splutters and swears, and kicks up breezes,


 * And sends us home in a mood avengin’,


 * In double quick time, like a railroad engine.


 * And this he does without compunction,


 * Because I have discharged with unction


 * A highly complicated function,


 * Complying with his own injunction.

Verses from Trial by Jury
See the “Introduction to Gilbert & Sullivan” section above for a brief plot summary. Click the link provided for a more detailed plot summary.

[ Courtney / Sadie  – incident 11.26]

[Courtney – incident 22.16]

[Elimination ceremony – nature]

Hark, the hour of ten is sounding:

Hearts with anxious fears are bounding,

Hall of Justice crowds surrounding,

Breathing hope and fear—

For today in this arena,

Summoned by a stern subpoena,

Edwin, sued by Angelina,

Shortly will appear.

[ Chris  – nature and incident 22.38]

Now, Jurymen, hear my advice—

All kinds of vulgar prejudice

I pray you set aside:

With stern judicial frame of mind

From bias free of every kind

This trial must be tried.

Oh, listen to the plaintiff’s case:

Observe the features of her face—

The broken-hearted bride.

Condole with her distress of mind:

From bias free of every kind

This trial must be tried!

And when, amid the plaintiff’s shrieks,

The ruffianly defendant speaks

Upon the other side;

What he may say, you needn’t mind—

From bias free of every kind

This trial must be tried!

[ Trent  – incident 22.22] (from “Is this the Court of the Exchequer?”, MIDI file 2:12 – 2:24)

Hear me, hear me if you please,

These are very strange proceedings—

For permit me to remark

On the merits of my pleadings,

You’re at present in the dark.

[ Cody  – incident 22.31]

When first my old, old love I knew,

My bosom welled with joy;

My riches at her feet I threw—

I was a lovesick boy!

No terms seemed too extravagant

Upon her to employ—

I used to mope, and sigh, and pant,

Just like a lovesick boy!

[ Izzy / Owen  – incident 27.86] (verse 2 from “When first my old, old love I knew”, mutual in TDI)

But joy incessant palls the sense,

And love unchanged will cloy,

And she became a bore intense

Unto her lovesick boy!

With fitful glimmer burnt my flame,

And I grew cold and coy;

At last, one morning, I became

Another’s lovesick boy.

[Izzy/Trent – incident 22.24] (MIDI file 1:47 – 2:15)

Oh, I was like that when a lad!

A shocking young scamp of a rover;

I behaved like a regular cad,

But that sort of thing is all over.

I’m now a respectable chap,

And shine with a virtue resplendent

And, therefore, I haven’t a scrap

Of sympathy with the defendant!

[ Heather /Chris – incident 03.02] (MIDI file 0:21 – 0:49)

[http://math.boisestate.edu/gas/trial/webopera/tbj03.html All hail great Judge! ]

To your bright rays

We never grudge

Ecstatic praise.

All hail!

[Heather – incident 24.33] (verse 2 from “When I, good friends, was called to the bar”, gender roles reversed in TDI)

In Westminster Hall I danced a dance,

Like a semi-despondent fury;

For I though I never should hit on a chance

Of addressing a British Jury—

But I soon got tired of third-class journeys,

And dinners of bread and water;

So I fell in love with a rich attorney’s

Elderly, ugly daughter.

[Heather – incident 24.35] (verse 5 from “When I, good friends, was called to the bar”, gender roles reversed in TDI)

At length I became as rich as the Gurneys—

An incubus then I thought her,

So I threw over that rich attorney’s

Elderly, ugly daughter.

The rich attorney my character high

Tried vainly to disparage—

And now, if you please, I’m ready to try

This Breach of Promise of Marriage!

[Heather – incident 05.06] (from “When I, good friends, was called to the bar”, MIDI file 2:14 – 2:41)

For now I’m a judge!


 * And a good Judge too!

Yes, now I’m a Judge!


 * And a good Judge too!

Though all my law is fudge ,

Yet I’ll never, never budge,

But I’ll live and die a Judge!


 * And a good Judge too!

It was managed by a job !


 * And a good job too!

It was managed by a job!


 * And a good job too!

It is patent to the mob,

That my being made a nob

Was effected by a job.


 * And a good job too!

[Heather – incidents 21.10, 24.42] (from “Swear thou the jury”, MIDI file 0:13 – 0:37)

[Elimination vote - nature]

Oh, will you swear by yonder skies,

Whatever question may arise,

‘Twixt rich and poor, ‘twixt low and high,

That you will well and truly try.

[Elimination vote] (from “Swear thou the jury”, MIDI file 0:38 – 1:06)


 * To all of this we make reply


 * By the dull slate of yonder sky:


 * That we will well and truly try.

[Courtney – incident 22.13] (MIDI file 0:30 – 1:53)

[ LeShawna  – incident 22.41]

Comes the broken flower—

Comes the cheated maid—

Though the tempest lower ,

Rain and cloud will fade.

Take, oh take these posies:

Though thy beauty rare

Shame the blushing roses,

They are passing fair!

Wear the flowers till they fade;

Happy be thy life, oh maid!

[ Gwen  – incident 16.72] (MIDI file 1:54 – 3:09)


 * Oe’r the season vernal,


 * Time may cast a shade;


 * Sunshine, if eternal,


 * Makes the roses fade!


 * Time may do his duty;


 * Let the thief alone—


 * Winter hath a beauty


 * That is all his own.


 * Fairest days are sun and shade:


 * I am no unhappy maid!

[ Justin  – nature and incident 01.14]

Oh, never, never, never, since I joined the human race,

Saw I so exquisitely fair a face.

How say you, is she not designed for capture?


 * We’ve but one word, my lord, and that is “rapture”.

[LeShawna – incident 16.58]

[Izzy/Owen – incidents 19.11, 20.02]

[Izzy/Trent – incident 22.25]

With a sense of deep emotion,

I approach this painful case;

For I never had a notion

That a man could be so base,

Or deceive a girl confiding,

Vows, etcetera, deriding.

See my interesting client,

Victim of a heartless wile!

See the traitor all defiant

Wear a supercilious smile!

Sweetly smiled my client on him,

Coyly wooed and gently won him.

Swiftly fled each honeyed hour

Spent with this unmanly male!

Camberwell became a bower,

Peckham an Arcadian Vale,

Breathing concentrated otto—

An existence ala Watteau.

Picture, then, my client naming,

And insisting on the day:

Picture him excuses framing—

Going from her far away;

Doubly criminal to do so,

For the maid had bought her  trousseau !

[Sadie – incident 01.17]

[ D.J.  – incident 19.34]

[Heather – incident 25.18]

That she is reeling

Is plain to see!


 * If faint you’re feeling,


 * Recline on me!


 * I shall recover


 * If left alone.


 * Oh, perjured lover,


 * Atone! Atone!

[ Eva  – incident 15.21] (from “That she is reeling”, MIDI file 0:44 – 0:56)

Monster, dread our fury!

There’s the judge and we’re the jury!

Monster, monster dread our fury!

[Izzy – nature and incident 27.07]

Oh, gentlemen, listen, I pray,

Though I own that my heart has been ranging,

Of nature the laws I obey,

For nature is constantly changing.

The moon in her phases is found,

The time and the wind and the weather,

The months in succession come round,

And you don’t find two Mondays together.

[Cody – incident 22.36] (from “Oh, gentlemen, listen, I pray”, MIDI file 0:48 – 1:09)

[Owen – nature and incident 27.87]

You cannot eat breakfast all day,

Nor is it the act of a sinner,

When breakfast is taken away,

To turn his attention to dinner;

And it’s not in the range of belief,

To look upon him as a glutton,

Who, when he is tired of beef,

Determines to tackle the mutton.

[ Bridgette  – incident 14.08]

[Sadie – incident 22.28]

[Castaways – incident 23.13]

A nice dilemma we have here

That calls for all our wit:

And at this stage, it don’t appear

That we can settle it.

[Gwen/Trent – incident 16.44]

[Courtney – incident 22.17]

I love him—I love him—with fervor unceasing

I worship and madly adore;

My blind adoration is always increasing,

My loss I shall ever deplore.

Oh, see what a blessing, what love and caressing

I’ve lost, and remember it, pray,

When you I’m addressing, are busy assessing

The damages Edwin must pay!

[ Duncan  (from “I love him—I love him”, MIDI file 0:35 – 1:05)

I smoke like a furnace—I’m always in liquor,

A ruffian—a bully—a sot;

I’m sure I should thrash her, perhaps I should kick her,

I am such a very bad lot!

I’m not prepossessing, as you may be guessing,

She couldn’t endure me a day;

Recall my professing, when you are assessing

The damages Edwin must pay!

[Cody/Gwen/Trent – incident 08.34]

[Owen/Izzy – incident 26.43]

Oh, joy unbounded,

With wealth surrounded,

The knell is sounded

Of grief and woe.


 * With love devoted


 * On you he’s doated


 * To castle moated


 * Away they go.


 * I wonder whether


 * They’ll live together


 * In marriage tether


 * In manner true?


 * It seems to me, sir,


 * Of such as she, sir,


 * A judge is he, sir,


 * And a good judge, too.

Verses from The Sorcerer
For a brief plot summary, see the “Introduction to Gilbert & Sullivan” section above. Click the link provided for a more detailed plot summary.

[ Owen  and his supporters – incident 26.38]

Ring forth, ye bells,

With clarion sound—

Forget your knells,

For joys abound.

Forget your notes

Of mournful lay,

And from your throats

Pour joy today!

[ Geoff  – incident 08.13] (MIDI file 2:06 – 3:15, gender roles reversed in TDI)

When he is here,

I sigh with pleasure,

When he is gone,

I sigh with grief.

My hopeless fear

No soul can measure—

His love alone

Can give my aching heart relief!

When he is cold,

I weep for sorrow—

When he is kind,

I weep for joy.

My grief untold

Knows no tomorrow—

My woe can find

No hope, no solace, no alloy!

[ Cody  – nature and incident 22.32] (verse 2 (MIDI file 3:16 – 4:28) from “When he is here”, gender roles reversed in TDI)

When I rejoice,

He shows no pleasure.

When I am sad,

It grieves him not.

His solemn voice

Has tones I treasure—

My heart they glad,

They solace my unhappy lot!

When I despond,

My woe they chasten—

When I take heart,

My hope they cheer;

With folly fond

To him I hasten—

From him apart,

My life is very sad and drear.

[ Trent  – incident 22.20] (with opening recitative )

The air is charged with amatory numbers—

Soft madrigals, and dreamy lovers’ lays.

Peace, peace, old heart! Why waken from its slumbers

The aching memory of the old, old days?

Time was when Love and I were well acquainted.

Time was when we walked ever hand in hand.

A saintly youth, with worldly thoughts untainted,

None better loved than I in all the land!

Time was, when maidens of the noblest station,

Forsaking even military men,

Would gaze upon me, rapt in adoration—

Ah me, I was a fair young curate then!

[ Heather  – incident 11.02] (verse 2 from “Time was when Love and I were well acquainted”, MIDI file 2:05 – 3:29, ironically in TDI)

Had I a headache? sighed the maids assembled;

Had I a cold? welled forth the silent tear;

Did I look pale? half the parish trembled;

And when I coughed, all thought the end was near!

I had no care—no jealous doubts hung o’er me—

For I was loved beyond all other men.

Fled gilded dukes and belted earls before me—

Ah me, I was a pale young curate then!

[Cody/ Gwen – incident 08.37] [spoken through music]

May Fortune bless you! May the middle distance

Of your young life be pleasant as the foreground—

The joyous foreground! And, when you have reached it,

May that which is the far-off horizon

(But which will then become the middle distance),

In fruitful promise be exceeded only

By that which will have opened, in the meantime,

Into a new and glorious horizon!

[ Lindsay  – incident 05.13]

[ Bridgette  – incident 27.17]

With heart and with voice

Let us welcome this mating:

To the youth of her choice,

With a heart palpitating,

Comes the lovely Aline!

May their love never cloy!

May their bliss be unbounded!

With a halo of joy

May their lives be surrounded!

Heaven bless our Aline!

[Bridgette – incident 17.36] (MIDI file 0:19 – 2:29)

Oh, happy young heart!

Comes thy young lord a-wooing

With joy in his eyes,

And pride in his breast—

Make much of thy prize,

For he is the best

That ever came a-suing.

Yet—yet we must part,

Young heart!

Yet—yet we must part!

Oh, merry young heart,

Bright are the days of thy wooing!

But happier far

The days untried—

No sorrow can mar,

When Love has tied

The knot there’s no undoing.

Then, never to part,

Young heart!

Then, never to part!

[ Chef Hatchet /Gwen – incident 12.43] ( recitative )

My child, I join in these congratulations:

Heed not the tear that dims this aged eye!

Old memories crowd upon me. Though I sorrow,

‘Tis for myself, Aline, and not for thee!

[Geoff – nature and incident 27.31] (MIDI file 0:47 – 1:35)

[ Tyler  - nature]

With heart and with voice

Let us welcome this mating;

To the maid of his choice,

With a heart palpitating,

Comes Alexis the brave!

[Trent/Gwen – incident 05.30]

[Trent]


 * [with stately courtesy]

[http://math.boisestate.edu/gas/sorcerer/web_opera/sorc09.html Welcome joy, adieu to sadness! ]

As Aurora gilds the day,

So those eyes, twin orbs of gladness,

Chase the clouds of care away.

Irresistable incentive

Bids me humbly kiss your hand;

I’m your servant most attentive—

Most attentive to command!


 * [aside, with frantic vehemence]

Wild with adoration!

Mad with fascination!

To indulge my lamentation

No occasion do I miss!

Goaded to distraction

By maddening inaction,

I find some satisfaction

In apostrophe like this:

“Sangazure immortal,

“Sangazure diving,

“Welcome to my portal,

“Angel, oh be mine!


 * [aloud, with stately courtesy]

Irresistable incentive

Bids me humbly kiss your hand;

I’m your servant most attentive—

Most attentive to command!


 * [Gwen]
 * [with much ceremony]
 * Sir, I thank you most politely


 * For your graceful courtesy;


 * Compliment more true and knightly


 * Never yet was paid to me!


 * Chivalry is an ingredient


 * Sadly lacking in our land—


 * Sir, I am your most obedient,


 * Most obedient to command!


 * [aside, with great vehemence]


 * Wild with adoration!


 * Mad with fascination!


 * To indulge my lamentation


 * No occasion do I miss!


 * Goaded to distraction


 * By maddening inaction,


 * I find some satisfaction


 * In apostrophe like this:


 * “Marmaduke immortal,


 * “Marmaduke diving,


 * “Take me to thy portal,


 * “Loved one, oh be mine!


 * [aloud, with much ceremony]


 * Chivalry is an ingredient


 * Sadly lacking in our land—


 * Sir, I am your most obedient,


 * Most obedient to command!

[Heather/ Harold – incident 27.72] (platonically)

All is prepared for sealing and for signing,

The contract has been drafted as agreed;

Approach the table, oh, ye lovers pining,

With hand and seal come execute the deed!


 * See they sign without a quiver, it—


 * Then to seal proceed.


 * They deliver it—they deliver it


 * As their Act and Deed!

[Heather/Bridgette/Geoff – incident 27.34] (from “All is prepared”, MIDI file 1:29 – 2:17)

With heart and with voice

Let us welcome this mating;

Leave them here to rejoice,

With true love palpitating,

Alexis the brave

And the lovely Aline!

[ LeShawna  – incident 13.18]

Love feeds on many kinds of food, I know,

Some love for rank, and some for duty:

Some give their hearts away for empty show,

And others love for youth or beauty.

To love for money, all the world is prone:

Some love themselves, and live all lonely:

Give me the love that loves for love alone—

I love that love—I love it only!

[Geoff/Bridgette – incident 27.16] (verse 2 from “Love feeds on many kinds of food”)

What man for any other joy can thirst,

Whose loving wife adores him duly?

Want, misery, and care may do their worst,

If loving woman loves you truly.

A lover’s thoughts are ever with his own—

None truly loved is ever lonely:

Give me the love that loves for love alone—

I love that love—I love it only.

[Harold – incident 12.56]

My name is John Wellington Wells,

I’m a dealer in magic and spells,

With blessings and curses

And ever-filled purses

In prophecies, witches and knells.

If you want a proud foe to “make tracks”—

If you’d melt a rich uncle in wax—

You’ve but to look in

On our resident Djinn ,

Number seventy Simmery Axe!

[ Katie/Sadie  – incident 27.51] (from “My name is John Wellington Wells”, MIDI file 0:43 – 1:04)

For he can prophesy

With a wink of his eye,

Peep with security

Into futurity,

Sum up you history,

Clear up a mystery,

Humor proclivity

For a nativity—for a nativity;

With mirrors so magical,

Tetrapods tragical,

Bogies spectacular,

Answers oracular,

Facts astronomical,

Solemn or comical,

And, if you want it, he

Makes a reduction on taking a quantity!

[Harold – incident 27.44] (from “My name is John Wellington Wells”, MIDI file 1:04 – 1:20)

If anyone anything lacks,

He’ll find it all ready in stacks,

If he’ll only look in

On our resident Djinn,

Number seventy, Simmery Axe !

[Gwen – incident 27.11] (from “My name is John Wellington Wells”, MIDI file 1:20 – 1:36)

He can raise you hosts

Of ghosts,

And that without reflectors;

And creepy things

With wings,

And gaunt and grisly specters.

He can fill you crowds

Of shrouds,

And horrify you vastly,

He can rack your brains

With chains,

And gibberings grim and ghastly!

[The many guises of Chef Hatchet] (from “My name is John Wellington Wells”, MIDI file 1:37 – 1:57)

Then, if you plan it, he

Changes organity

With an urbanity

Full of Satanity,

Vexes humanity

With an inanity

Fatal to vanity—

Driving your foes to the verge of insanity!

Barring tautology,

In demonology,

‘Lecto-biology,

Mystic nosology,

Spirit philology,

High-class astrology,

Such is his knowledge, he

Isn’t the man to require an apology!

[Harold – incident 12.57] (“The Sorcerer’s Incantation”)

Sprites of earth and air—

Fiends of flame and fire—

Demon souls,

Come here in shoals,

This dreadful deed inspire!

Appear! Appear! Appear!


 * Good master, we are here!

[ Izzy  – incident 20.20] (from The Sorcerer’s Incantation, MIDI file 0:46 – 1:11)

Noisome hags of night—

Imps of deadly shade—

Pallid ghosts,

Arise in hosts,

And give me all your aid.

Appear! Appear! Appear!


 * Good master, we are here!

[Izzy/Owen – incident 19.09] (from The Sorcerer’s Incantation, MIDI file 1:12 – 1:20)

[campers/Sasquatchinakwa – incident 24.27]

[Trent/LeShawna – incident 27.14]

Hark, they assemble,

These fiends of the night!


 * Oh, Alexis, I tremble,


 * Seek safety in flight!

[Incident 19.09 continued]

[Bridgette/Geoff – incident 27.28] (from The Sorcerer’s Incantation, MIDI file 1:21 – 1:55)


 * Let us fly to a far-off land,


 * Where peace and plenty dwell—


 * Where the sigh of the silver strand


 * Is echoed in every shell


 * To the joy that land will give,


 * On the wings of Love we’ll fly;


 * In innocence there to live—


 * In innocence there to die!

[Owen/Izzy – incident 19.12] (from The Sorcerer’s Incantation, MIDI file 1:55 – 2:16)


 * Too late—too late


 * It may not be!


 * That happy fate


 * Is not for thee!

[Heather/ D.J. – incident 19.15] (from The Sorcerer’s Incantation, MIDI file 2:17 – 2:44)

[Gwen – incident 27.13]

Now, shriveled hags, with poison bags,

Discharge your loathsome loads!

Spit flame and fire, unholy choir!

Belch forth your venom, toads!

Ye demons fell, with yelp and yell,

Shed curses far afield—

Ye fiends of night, your filthy blight

In noisome plenty yield!

[ Chris /Chef Hatchet – incident 23.17] (Finale Act I)

[ Noah  – incident 27.23]

[Owen – nature]

Now to the banquet we press;

Now for the eggs, the ham;

Now for the mustard and cress,

Now for the strawberry jam!

Now for the tea of our host,

Now for the rollicking bun

Now for the muffin and toast,

Now for the gay Sally Lunn !

[Chris/campers – incident 03.06] ( recitative – from Finale Act I, MIDI file 1:36 – 2:05)

[Chef Hatchet/Owen – incident 25.02]


 * Be happy all—the feast is spread before ye;


 * Fear nothing, but enjoy yourselves, I pray!


 * Eat, aye, and drink—be merry, I implore ye,


 * For once let thoughtless Folly rule the day.

[Boot camp trainees – incident 12.26] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 2:06 – 2:46 & 3:08 – 3:45)

[Geoff – incident 21.09]

[semifinalists – incident 25.01]


 * Eat, drink, and be gay,


 * Banish all worry and sorrow,


 * Laugh gaily today,


 * Weep, if you’re sorry, tomorrow!


 * Come, pass the cup ‘round—


 * I will go bail for the liquor;


 * It’s strong, I’ll be bound,


 * For it was brewed by the vicar!


 * Pain, trouble, and care,


 * Misery, heartache, and worry,


 * Quick, out of your lair!


 * Get you all gone in a hurry!


 * Toil, sorrow, and plot,


 * Fly away quicker and quicker—


 * Three spoons to the pot—


 * That is the brew of your vicar!

[lovebirds] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 3:46 – 5:31)

Oh love, true love—unworldly, abiding!

Source of all pleasure—true fountain of joy—

Oh love, true love—divinely confiding,

Exquisite treasure that knows no alloy—

O love, true love, rich harvest of gladness,

Peace-bearing tillage—great garner of bliss—

Oh love, true love, look down on our sadness—

Dwell in this village—oh, hear us in this!

[Tyler – incident 03.19] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 5:32 – 7:26)

[Owen – incident 23.46]

Oh, marvelous illusion!

Oh, terrible surprise!

What is this strange confusion

That veils my aching eyes?

I must regain my senses,

Restoring Reason’s law,

Or fearful inferences

Society will draw!

[ Courtney / Duncan  – incident 06.11] (Opening Act II)

‘Tis twelve, I think,

And at this mystic hour

The magic drink

Should manifest its power.

Oh, slumbering forms,

How little have ye guessed

The fire that warms

Each apathetic breast!

[campers – incident 24.08] (from Opening Act II, MIDI file 1:44 – 2:07, ironically in TDI)

I did not think it meet to see

A dame of lengthy pedigree,

A Baronet and K.C.B.,

A Doctor of Divinity,

And that respectable Q.C.,

All fast asleep al-fresco-ly,

And so I had them taken home

And put to bed respectably!

[Courtney/Duncan – incident 11.23] (from Opening Act II, MIDI file 2:08 – 2:37)

I trust my conduct meets your approbation.


 * Sir, you have acted with discrimination,


 * And shown more delicate appreciation


 * Than we expect in persons of your station.

[Bridgette/Geoff and Courtney/Duncan – incident 06.12] (from Opening Act II, MIDI file 2:38 – 3:20)

But stay—they waken, one by one—

The spell has worked—the deed is done!

I would suggest that we retire

While Love, the Housemaid, lights her kitchen fire!

[Courtney/Duncan – incident 06.13] (from Opening Act II, MIDI file 3:21 – 3:57)

[Gwen/Heather – incident 23.05]

Why, where be oi, and what be oi a doin’

A sleepin’ out, just when the dews du rise?


 * Why, that’s the very way your health to ruin,


 * And don’t seem quite respectable likewise!

[lovebirds] (from Opening Act II, MIDI file 3:57 – 6:35)

[Boys]


 * [Girls]

Eh, that’s you!

Only think of that, now!


 * What may you be at, now?


 * Tell me, du!

Eh, what a nose,

And eh, what eyes, miss!

Lips like a rose,

And cheeks likewise, miss!


 * Oi tell you true,


 * Which I’ve never done, sir,


 * Oi loike you


 * As I never loiked none, sir!


 * Eh, but oi du loike you!

If you’ll marry me, I’ll dig for you and rake for you!


 * If you’ll marry me, I’ll scrub for you and bake for you!

If you’ll marry me, all others I’ll forsake for you!


 * All this I will du, if you’ll marry me!


 * If you’ll marry me, I’ll cook for you and brew for you!

If you’ll marry me, I’ve guinea s not a few for you!


 * If you’ll marry me, I’ll take for you and du for you!


 * All this will I du, if you’ll marry me!


 * Eh, but I du loike you!

[Gwen/Trent – incident 16.45] (verse 2 from “Thou hast the power”)

[Izzy/Owen – incident 19.10]

Thine is the power and thine alone,

To place me on so proud a throne

That kings might envy me!

A priceless throne of love untold,

More rare than orient pearl and gold.

But no! Thou wouldst be free!

Such love is like the ray

That dies within the day:

If such thy love, oh, shame!

Call it by other name—

It is not love!

[LeShawna – incident 16.76]

Oh, I have wrought much evil with my spells!

An ill I can’t undo!

This is too bad of you, J.W. Wells—

What wrong have they done you?

And see—another lovelorn lady comes—

Alas, poor stricken dame!

A gentle pensiveness her life benumbs—

And mine, alone, the blame!

[ Justin /Katie/Sadie – incident 27.41] (from “I have wrought much evil with my spells”, MIDI file 1:30 – 2:44)

[Justin]


 * [Katie/Sadie]

Hate me! I drop my H’s—have through life!


 * Love me! I’ll drop them too!

Hate me! I always eat peas with a knife!


 * Love me! I’ll eat like you!

Hate me! I spend the day a Rosherville!


 * Love me! That joy I’ll share!

Hate me! I often roll down One Tree Hill!


 * Love me! I’ll meet you there!


 * Love me! My prejudices I will drop!

Hate me! That’s not enough!


 * Love me! I’ll come and help you in the shop!

Hate me! The life is rough!


 * Love me! My grammar I will all forswear!

Hate me! Abjure my lot!


 * Love me! I’ll stick sunflowers in my hair!

Hate me! They’ll suit you not!

[LeShawna – incident 16.77] (from “I have wrought much evil with my spells”, MIDI file 3:58 – 4:36)

Oh, agony, rage, despair!

Oh, where will this end—oh where?

I should very much like to know!

It will certainly be my fault

If she goes to her family vault,

To bury her life-long woe!

[Duncan/Courtney – incident 27.26] (gender roles reversed in TDI)

[Lindsay/Justin – incident 27.82] (gender roles as in original)

[http://math.boisestate.edu/gas/sorcerer/web_opera/sorc20.html Alexis! Doubt me not ], my loved one! See,

Thine uttered will is sovereign law to me!

All fear—all thought of ill I cast away!

It is my darling’s will, and I obey!

[Courtney – incident 12.13] (from “Alexis! Doubt me not”, MIDI file 0:34 – 1:23)

The fearful deed is done,

My love is near!

I go to meet my own

In trembling fear!

If o’er us aught of ill

Should cast a shade,

It was my darling’s will,

And I obeyed!

[Cody – incident 08.16]

Oh, my voice is sad and low

And with timid step I go—

For with load of love o’erladen,

I enquire of every maiden,

“Will you wed me, little lady?

Will you share my cottage shady?”

Little lady answers “No!

Thank you for your kindly proffer—

Good your heart, and full your coffer;

Yet I must decline your offer—

I’m engaged to So-and-so!”

[Izzy/Owen – incident 07.08] (MIDI file 2:18 – 3:00)

[various lovebirds – nature]

Oh, joyous boon! Oh, mad delight;

Oh, sun and moon! Oh, day and night!

Rejoice, rejoice with me!

Proclaim our joy, ye birds above—

Yet brooklets, murmur forth our love,

In choral ecstasy:

Ye birds, and brooks, and fruitful trees,

With choral joy delight the breeze—

Rejoice, rejoice with me!

[Trent/Gwen – incident 16.81] (from ensemble: “Oh, joyous boon”, MIDI file 3:47 – 4:15)

My dear young friend, consoled be—

In this I’m not an agent free—

Some most extraordinary spell

O’er us has cast its magic fell—

The consequence I need not tell.

[Gwen – incident 16.46] (from ensemble: “Oh, joyous boon”, MIDI file 4:16 – 4:30)


 * False one, begone—I spurn thee,


 * To thy new lover turn thee!


 * Thy perfidy all men shall know!

[LeShawna – incident 16.59] (from ensemble: “Oh, joyous boon”, MIDI file 4:31 – 4:43)


 * Come one, come all!


 * Obey my call!


 * Come hither, run!


 * Come, everyone!

[Trent/Gwen – incident 16.47] (from ensemble: “Oh, joyous boon”, MIDI file 4:44 – 5:17)


 * Oh, what is the matter,


 * And what is the clatter?


 * He’s glowering at her,


 * And threatens a blow!


 * Oh, why does he batter


 * The girl he did flatter?


 * And why does the latter


 * Recoil from him so?

[Gwen – incident 16.33] (MIDI file 5:18 – 5:51, gender roles reversed in TDI)


 * Prepare for sad surprises—


 * My love Aline despises!


 * No thought of sorrow shames her—


 * Another lover claims her!


 * Be his, false girl, for better or for worse—


 * But, ere you leave me, may a lover’s curse—

[ Ezekiel  – incident 02.17] (Finale)

Or I or he

Must die!

Which shall it be?

Reply!


 * Die thou!


 * Thou art the cause of all offending!


 * Die thou!


 * Yield to our decree unbending!


 * Die thou!

[Eva – incident 03.23] (from Finale, MIDI file 0:38 – 1:14)

[various eliminated campers]

So be it! My fate is sealed.

To public execration thus I yield!

Be happy all—leave me to my despair—

I go—it matters not to whom—or where!

Verses from H.M.S. Pinafore
Gilbert & Sullivan's first blockbuster hit. For a brief plot summary, see the "Introduction to Gilbert & Sullivan" section above. Click the links provided for a more detailed plot summary; a tongue-in-cheek Short Attention Span summary; or a children's book adaptation of the Pinafore story, written by Gilbert himself.

[ Duncan / Owen  – incident 18.09]

We sail the ocean blue,

And our saucy ship’s a beauty;

We’re sober men and true,

And attentive to our duty.

When the balls whistle free

O’er the bright blue sea,

We stand to our guns all day;

When at anchor we ride

On the Portsmouth tide,

We have plenty of time for play.

[ Geoff  – incident 19.14] (with opening recitative )

Hail, men-o’-war’s men—safeguards of your nation,

Here is an end, at last, of all privation;

You’ve got your pay—spare all you can afford

To welcome Little Buttercup on board.

For I’m called Little Buttercup—

Dear Little Buttercup,

Though I could never tell why,

But still I’m called Buttercup—

Poor little Buttercup,

Sweet Little Buttercup I!

I’ve snuff and tobaccy,

And excellent jacky

I’ve scissors and watches and knives;

I’ve ribbons and laces

To set off the faces

Of pretty young sweethearts and wives.

[Incident 19.14 continued]

[Screaming Gophers – incident 07.03] (verse 3 from “I’m called Little Buttercup”, MIDI file 1:10 – 1:27)

[ Chris  – incident 20.10]

I’ve treacle and toffee,

I’ve tea and I’ve coffee,

Soft tommy and succulent chops;

I’ve chickens and conies,

And pretty polonies,

And excellent peppermint drops.

[Incident 19.14 continued]

Then buy of your Buttercup—

Dear Little Buttercup;

Sailors should never by shy;

So, buy of your Buttercup—

Poor Little Buttercup;

Come, of your Buttercup buy!

[ Katie/Sadie  – incidents 01.24, 06.16] (platonically, MIDI file 0:25 – 1:30)

[ D.J.  – incident 11.13] (platonically)

[ Gwen / Trent  16.37] (romantically)

The nightingale

Sighed for the moon’s bright ray,

And told his tale

In his own melodious way!

He sang, “Ah, well-a-day!”

The lowly vale

For the mountains vainly sighed,

To his humble wail

The echoing hills replied.

He sang, “Ah, well-a-day!”

[ Cody  – incident 22.35] (from scena #3, MIDI file 1:31 – 2:00)

I know the value of a kindly chorus,

But choruses yield little consolation

When we have pain and sorrow, too, before us!

I love—and love, alas, above my station!


 * He loves, and loves a lass above his station!


 * Yes, yes, the lass is much above his station!

[Gwen/Cody – incident 05.02] (from scena #3, MIDI file 2:01 – 2:46)

A maiden fair to see,

The pearl of minstrelsy,

A bud of blushing beauty;

For whom proud nobles sigh,

And with each other vie

To do her menial’s duty.

A suitor, lowly born,

With hopeless passion torn,

And poor beyond denying,

Has dared for her to pine

At whose exalted shrine

A world of wealth is sighing.

[ Heather / Beth / Lindsay  – incident 04.01] (recitative)

[Chris/campers – incident 14.01] (ironically in TDI)

My gallant crew, good morning.


 * Sir, good morning!

I hope you’re all quite well.


 * Quite well; and you, sir?

I am in reasonable health,

And happy to meet you all once more.


 * You do us proud, sir!

[Incident 04.01 continued]

I am the Captain of the Pinafore.


 * And a right good captain, too!

You’re very, very good,

And be it understood,

I command a right good crew.

Though related to a peer,

I can hand, reef and steer,

And ship a selvagee;

I am never known to quail

At the fury of a gale,

And I’m never, never sick at sea.

[Chris/campers] (verse 2 (MIDI file 1:27 – 2:17) from “I am the Captain of the Pinafore” – ironically in TDI)

I do my best to satisfy you all.


 * And with you we’re quite content.

You’re exceedingly polite,

And I think it only right

To return the compliment.

Bad language or abuse,

I never, never use

Whatever the emergency;

Though “Bother it” I may

Occasionally say,

I never use a big, big D.

[ LeShawna /Gwen – incident 16.50] (recitative)

Sir, you are sad! The silent eloquence

Of yonder tear that trembles on your eyelash

Proclaims a sorrow far more deep than common;

Confide in me—fear not—I am a mother!


 * Sorry her lot who loves too well,


 * Heavy the heart that hopes but vainly,


 * Sad are the sighs that own the spell,


 * Uttered by eyes that speak too plainly;


 * Heavy the sorrow that bows the head


 * When love is alive and hope is dead!


 * Sad is the hour when sets the sun—


 * Dark is the night to earth’s poor daughters,


 * When to the ark the wearied one


 * Flies from the empty waste of waters!


 * Heavy the sorrow that bows the head


 * When love is alive and hope is dead!

[ Eva  – incident 15.04] (barcarolle)

[Owen – incident 23.08]

Over the bright blue sea

Comes Sir Joseph Porter, K.C.B.,

Wherever he may go

Bang-bang the loud nine-pounder s go!

Shout o’er the bright blue sea

For Sir Joseph Porter K.C.B.

[ Harold  – incident 07.05] (partial verse (MIDI file 1:03 – 1:13) from “Sir Joseph’s barge is seen”)

We’re smart and sober men,

And quite devoid of fe-ar;

In all the Royal N.

None are so smart as we are.

[Gwen/Heather/Duncan – incident 23.06] (from “Sir Joseph’s barge is seen”, MIDI file 1:13 – 1:40)

Gaily tripping,

Lightly skipping,

Flock the maidens to the shipping.


 * Flags and guns and pennants dipping!


 * All the ladies love the shipping!

[Duncan – incident 23.12] (from “Sir Joseph’s barge is seen”, MIDI file 1:40 – 1:58)

Sailors sprightly

Always rightly

Welcome ladies most politely.


 * Ladies who can smile so brightly,


 * Sailors welcome most politely.

[D.J. – incident 08.44] (Entrance of Sir Joseph, MIDI file 0:16 – 0:35)

I am the monarch of the sea,

The ruler of the Queen’s navy,

Whose praise Great Britain loudly chants.


 * And we are his sisters and his cousins and his aunts!

[D.J. – incident 08.02] (from Entrance of Sir Joseph, MIDI file 0:35 – 0:52)

When at anchor here I ride,

My bosom swells with pride,

And I snap my fingers at a foeman’s taunts;


 * And so do his sisters and his cousins and his aunts!

[Incident 08.02 continued] (from Entrance of Sir Joseph, MIDI file 0:52 – 1:16)

[Duncan/Gwen/Heather – incident 23.07]

But when the breezes blow,

I generally go below,

And seek the seclusion that a cabin grants;


 * And so do his sisters and his cousins and his aunts!


 * His sisters and his cousins,


 * Whom he reckons up by dozens,


 * And his aunts!

[ Courtney  – incident 27.20]

When I was a lad, I served a term

As office boy to an Attorney’s firm.

I cleaned the windows and I swept the floor,

And I polished up the handle of the big front door.

I polished up that handle so carefully

That now I am the ruler of the Queen’s Navy!

As office boy I made such a mark

That they gave me the post of a junior clerk.

I served the writs with a smile so bland,

And I copied all the letters in a big round hand—

I copied all the letters in a hand so free,

That now I am the ruler of the Queen’s Navee!

In serving writs I made such a name

That an articled clerk I soon became;

I wore clean collars and a brand-new suit

For the pass examination at the Institute,

And that pass examination did so well for me,

That now I am the ruler of the Queen’s Navee!

Of legal knowledge I acquired such a grip

That they took me into the partnership.

And that junior partnership, I ween,

Was the only ship that I ever had seen.

But that kind of ship so suited me,

That now I am the ruler of the Queen’s Navee!

I grew so rich that I was sent

By a pocket borough into Parliament.

I always voted at my party’s call,

And I never thought of thinking for myself at all.

I thought so little, they rewarded me

By making me the ruler of the Queen’s Navee!

Now, landsmen all, whoever you may be,

If you want to rise to the top of the tree,

If your soul isn’t fettered to an office stool,

Be careful to be guided by this golden rule—

Stick close to your desks and never go to sea,

And you all may be rulers of the Queen’s Navy!

[Eva – nature and incident 03.04]

[Duncan – nature]

A British tar is a soaring soul,

As free as a mountain bird,

His energetic fist should be ready to resist

A dictatorial word.

His nose should pant and his lip should curl

His cheeks should flame and his brow should furl,

His bosom should heave and his heart should glow,

And his fist be ever ready for a knockdown blow.

His eyes should flash with an inborn fire,

His brow with scorn be wrung;

He never should bow down to a domineering frown,

Or the tang of a tyrant tongue.

His foot should stamp and his throat should growl,

His hair should twirl and his face should scowl,

His eyes should flash and his breast protrude,

And this should be his customary attitude—[belligerent pose]

[Gwen/Cody – incident 08.04]

[ Izzy /Owen – incident 27.08]

Refrain, audacious tar,

Your suit from pressing.

Remember what you are,

And whom addressing!

[Courtney/Duncan – incidents 12.30, 26.22] (from “Refrain, audacious tar” MIDI file 0:28 – 0:57)

I’d laugh my rank to scorn

In union holy,

Were he more highly born

Or I more lowly!

[Cody/Gwen – incident 08.18] (from “Refrain, audacious tar” MIDI file 0:57 – 1:54)


 * Proud lady, have your way,


 * Unfeeling beauty!


 * You speak, and I obey,


 * It is my duty!


 * I am the lowliest tar


 * That sails the water,


 * And you, proud maiden, are


 * My captain’s daughter!


 * My heart with anguish torn


 * Bows down before her,


 * She laughs my love to scorn,


 * Yet I adore her!

[Trent – incident 26.31] (recitative – Finale Act I)

Can I survive this overbearing

Or live a life of mad despairing,

My proffered love despised, rejected?

No, no, it’s not to be expected!

[Trent/Owen – incident 26.53] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 0:19 – 0:39)

Messmates ahoy!

Come here! Come here!


 * Aye, aye, my boy,


 * What cheer, what cheer?


 * Now tell us, pray,


 * Without delay,


 * What does she say?


 * What cheer? What cheer?

[Cody/Trent – incident 08.26] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 0:40 – 0:55)

The maiden treats my suit with scorn,

Rejects my humble gift;

She says I am ignobly born,

And cuts my hopes adrift.

[Cody – incident 08.07] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 1:07 – 1:55)


 * Shall we submit? Are we but slaves?


 * Love comes alike to high and low—


 * Britannia’s sailors rule the waves,


 * And shall they stoop to insult? No, no!


 * You must submit, you are but slaves;


 * A lady she! Oho! Oho!


 * You lowly toilers of the waves,


 * She spurns you all! I told you so!

[Trent – incident 16.86] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 1:55 – 2:42)

My friends, my leave of life I’m taking,

For oh, my heart, my heart is breaking.

When I am gone, oh, prithee tell

The maid that, as I died, I loved her well!

[Cody – incident 08.10] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 2:42 – 2:55)

[Trent – incident 26.35]

Be warned, my messmates all

Who love in rank above you—

For Josephine I fall!

[Lindsay/ Tyler – incident 01.32] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 3:15 – 3:30)

[Geoff/ Bridgette – incident 22.03]


 * Oh joy, oh rapture unforeseen


 * For now the sky is all serene;


 * The god of day—the orb of love—


 * Has hung his ensign high above;


 * The sky is all ablaze.

[Incident 01.32 continued]

[Izzy/Owen – incident 19.07] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 3:30 – 3:47)

[Geoff/Bridgette – incident 22.09]


 * With wooing words and loving song,


 * We’ll chase the lagging hours along,


 * And if we find the maiden coy,


 * We’ll murmur forth decorous joy


 * In dreamy roundelays!

[Harold/Duncan – incident 12.37] (partial verse from Finale Act I, MIDI file 3:47 – 4:01)

[Heather/Trent – incident 16.18]


 * He thinks he’s won his Josephine,


 * But though the sky is now serene,


 * A frowning thunderbolt above


 * May end their ill-assorted love


 * Which now is all ablaze.

[Chris/ Chef Hatchet – incident 19.02] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 4:43 – 4:52)

This very night,

With bated breath

And muffled oar—

Without a light,

As still as death,

We’ll steal ashore.

[Bridgette/Eva/ Ezekiel – incident 02.12] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 6:22 – 6:27)


 * Back, vermin, back,


 * Nor mock us!


 * Back, vermin, back,


 * You shock us!

[Heather – incident 09.16]

Fair moon, to thee I sing,

Bright regent of the heavens,

Say, why is everything

Either at sixes or at sevens?

I have lived hitherto

Free from the breath of slander,

Beloved by all my crew—

A really popular commander.

But now my kindly crew rebel,

My daughter to a tar is partial,

Sir Joseph storms, and sad to tell,

He threatens a court martial!

Fair moon, to thee I sing,

Bright regent of the heavens,

Say, why is everything

Either at sixes or at sevens?

[Chris – nature and incident 03.07]

[Tyler - nature]

Things are seldom what they seem,

Skim milk masquerades as cream;

Highlows pass as patent leathers;

Jackdaws strut in peacock’s feathers.

Black sheep dwell in every fold;

All that glitters is not gold;

Storks turn out to be but logs;

Bulls are but inflated frogs.

Drops the wind and stops the mill;

Turbot is ambitious brill ;

Gild the farthing if you will,

Yet it is a farthing still.

[Lindsay – incident 18.17] (from “Things are seldom what they seem”, MIDI file 0:58 – 1:10)


 * Though to catch your drift I’m striving,


 * It is shady—it is shady;


 * I don’t see at what you’re driving,


 * Mystic lady—mystic lady.

[Elimination ceremony – incident 02.14] (from “Things are seldom what they seem”, MIDI file 1:11 – 1:24)


 * Stern conviction’s o’er me stealing,


 * That the mystic lady’s dealing


 * In oracular revealing.

[Lindsay/Beth] (from “Things are seldom what they seem”, MIDI file 1:25 – 1:43)


 * Though I’m anything but clever,


 * I could talk like that forever:


 * Once a cat was killed by care;


 * Only brave deserve the fair.

[Heather] (from “Things are seldom what they seem”, MIDI file 1:44 – 2:20)


 * Wink is often good as nod;


 * Spoils the child that spares the rod;


 * Thirsty lambs run foxy dangers;


 * Dogs are found in many mangers.


 * Paw of cat the chestnut snatches;


 * Worn-out garments show new patches;


 * Only count the chick that hatches;


 * Men are grown-up catchy-catchies.

[Chris – incident 18.16] (from “Things are seldom what they seem”, MIDI file 2:20 – 2:33)

[Owen – incident 27.43]

Though to catch my drift he’s striving,

I’ll dissemble—I’ll dissemble;

When he sees at what I’m driving,

Let him tremble—let him tremble!

[Ezekiel – incident 02.15] (from “Things are seldom what they seem”, MIDI file 2:33 – 2:46)

[Beth – incident 10.11]

[Elimination ceremony – nature]


 * Though a mystic tone you borrow,


 * I shall learn the truth with sorrow,


 * Here today and gone tomorrow;

Yes, I know—


 * That is so!

[Courtney – incident 12.17] ( recitative )

[Bridgette – incident 14.09]

The hours creep on apace,

My guilty heart is quaking!

Oh, that I might retrace

The step that I am taking!

Its folly it were easy to be showing,

What I am giving up and whither going.

On the one hand, papa’s luxurious home,

Hung with ancestral armor and old brasses,

Carved oak and tapestry from distant Rome,

Rare “blue and white” Venetian finger glasses,

Rich oriental rugs, luxurious sofa pillows,

And everything that isn’t old, from Gillow’s.

And on the other, a dark and dingy room,

In some back street with stuffy children crying,

Where organs yell, and clacking housewives fume,

And clothes are hanging out all day a-drying.

With one cracked looking-glass to see your face in,

And dinner served up in a pudding basin!

[Bridgette/Geoff – incidents 08.52, 13.04] (from scena #15, MIDI file 1:35 – 4:39)

A simple sailor, lowly born,

Unlettered and unknown,

Who toils for bread from early morn

Till half the night has flown!

No golden rank can he impart—

No wealth of house or land—

No fortune save his trusty heart

And honest brown right hand!

And yet he is so wondrous fair

That love for one so passing rare,

So peerless in his manly beauty,

Were little else than solemn duty!

Oh, god of love, and god of reason, say,

Which of you twain shall my poor heart obey!

[Courtney/Duncan – incident 12.31] (gender roles partially reversed in TDI)

Never mind the why and wherefore,

Love can level ranks, and therefore,

Though his lordship’s station’s mighty,

Though stupendous be his brain,

Though your tastes are mean and flighty

And your fortune poor and plain,


 * Let the air with joy be laden,


 * Rend with songs the air above,


 * For the union of a maiden


 * With the man who owns her love!


 * Never mind the why and wherefore,


 * Love can level ranks, and therefore,


 * Though your nautical relation


 * In my set could scarcely pass—


 * Though you occupy a station


 * In the lower middle class—


 * Let the air with joy be laden, etc.


 * Never mind the why and wherefore,


 * Love can level ranks, and therefore


 * I admit the jurisdiction;


 * Ably have you played your part;


 * You have carried firm conviction


 * To my hesitating heart.


 * Let the air with joy be laden, etc.

[Lindsay/Gwen – incident 16.21] (gender roles reversed in TDI)

Kind Captain, I’ve important information,

Sing hey, the kind commander that you are,

About a certain intimate relation,

Sing hey, the merry maiden and the tar.


 * Good fellow, in conundrums you are speaking,


 * Sing hey, the mystic sailor that you are;


 * The answer to them vainly I am seeking;


 * Sing hey, the merry maiden and the tar.

[Gwen – incident 16.32] (verse 3 from “Kind Captain, I’ve important information” – gender roles reversed in TDI)

Kind Captain, your young lady is a-sighing,

Sing hey, the simple captain that you are,

This very night with Rackstraw to be flying;

Sing hey, the merry maiden and the tar.

[Gwen – incident 16.48] (verse 4 from “Kind Captain, I’ve important information” – gender roles reversed in TDI)


 * Good fellow, you have given timely warning,


 * Sing hey, the thoughtful sailor that you are,


 * I’ll talk to Master Rackstraw in the morning:


 * Sing hey, that cat-o’-nine-tails and the tar.

[Izzy/Owen – incident 19.05]

Carefully on tiptoe stealing,

Breathing gently as we may,

Every step with caution feeling,

We will softly steal away.

[Heather/Lindsay – incident 04.10] (from “Carefully on tiptoe stealing”, MIDI file 1:32 – 1:54)

Pretty daughter of mine,

I insist upon knowing

Where you may be going

With these sons of the brine.

For my excellent crew,

Though foes they could thump any,

Are scarcely fit company,

My daughter, for you.


 * Now, hark at that, do!


 * Though foes we could thump any,


 * We are scarcely fit company


 * For a lady like you!

[Tyler/Heather – incident 04.15] (from “Carefully on tiptoe stealing”, MIDI file 1:55 – 2:08)


 * Proud officer, that haughty lip uncurl!


 * Vain man, suppress that supercilious sneer,


 * For I have dared to love your matchless girl,


 * A fact well known to all my messmates here!

[Ezekiel – incident 22.08] (from “Carefully on tiptoe stealing”, MIDI file 2:11 – 2:41)


 * I, humble, poor, and lowly born,


 * The meanest in the port division—


 * The butt of epauletted scorn,


 * The mark of quarterdeck derision—


 * Have dared to raise my wormy eyes


 * Above the dust to which you’d mould me,


 * In manhood’s glorious pride to rise,


 * I am an Englishman—behold me!

[Lindsay - incident 18.22] (from “Carefully on tiptoe stealing”, MIDI file 4:29 – 4:40)

[Owen- incident 21.29]


 * Did you hear him—did you hear him?


 * Oh, the monster overbearing!


 * Don’t go near him—don’t go near him—


 * He is swearing—he is swearing!

[Heather – incidents 18.25, 21.11] (from “Carefully on tiptoe stealing”, MIDI file 4:41 – 4:57)


 * My pain and my distress,


 * I find it is not easy to express.


 * My amazement—my surprise—


 * You may learn from the expression of my eyes!

[Courtney – incident 12.53]

[Trent – incident 16.84]

[Bridgette – incident 17.37]

Farewell, my own,

Light of my life, farewell!

For crime unknown

I go to a dungeon cell.

[Geoff – incident 18.05] (verse 2 from “Farewell, my own”)


 * I will atone.


 * In the meantime, farewell!


 * And all alone


 * Rejoice in your dungeon cell!

[Chef Hatchet/Duncan – incident 12.08] (verse 3 from “Farewell, my own”, MIDI file 0:30 – 0:44)

[LeShawna/Heather – incident 26.37]


 * A bone, a bone


 * I’ll pick with this sailor fell ;


 * Let him be shown


 * At once to his dungeon cell.

[Heather – incident 18.27]

My pain and my distress

Again it is not easy to express.

My amazement, my surprise

Again you may discover from my eyes.

[LeShawna – incident 16.73] (from “My pain and my distress”, MIDI file 0:20 – 0:37)

[Owen – incident 23.03]


 * Hold! Ere upon your loss


 * You lay much stress,


 * A long-concealed crime


 * I would confess!

[Gwen/Geoff – incident 21.23] (from “A many years ago”, MIDI file 1:35 – 1:47)


 * Oh, bitter is my cup!


 * However could I do it?


 * I mixed those children up,


 * And not a creature knew it!

[Gwen – incident 26.54] (from Finale, MIDI file 0:30 – 1:03, gender roles reversed in TDI)

For he’s the Captain of the Pinafore.


 * And a right good captain too!

And though before my fall

I was Captain of you all,

I’m a member of the crew.

I shall marry with a wife,

In my humble rank in life!

And you, my own, are she—

I must wander to and fro,

But wherever I may go,

I shall never be untrue to thee!

[Gwen/Trent – incident 08.48] (from Finale, MIDI file 1:24 – 1:58)


 * For he loves little Buttercup, dear little Buttercup,


 * Though I could never tell why;


 * But still he loves Buttercup, dear little Buttercup,


 * Sweet little Buttercup, aye!

[Owen/Izzy – incident 26.44] (from Finale, MIDI file 1:58 – 2:19)


 * I’m the monarch of the sea,


 * And when I’ve married thee


 * I’ll be true to the devotion that my love implants


 * Then goodbye to your sisters and your cousins and your aunts,


 * Especially your cousins,


 * Whom you reckon up by dozens,


 * And your aunts!

Verses from The Pirates of Penzance
For a brief plot summary, see the “Introduction to Gilbert & Sullivan” section above. Click the links provided for a more detailed plot summary or the Short Attention Span summary.

[Boot camp trainees – incident 12.27]

[Chris/campers – incident 16.62]

Pour, oh, pour the pirate sherry;

Fill, oh, fill the pirate glass;

And, to make us more than merry,

Let the pirate bumper pass.

[ Courtney  – incident 12.33] (verse 2 from Opening, MIDI file 0:50 – 1:05)


 * For today our pirate ‘prentice


 * Rises from indenture freed;


 * Strong his arm and keen his scent is,


 * He’s a pirate now, indeed!

Here’s good luck to Fredrick’s ventures!

Fredrick’s out of his indentures.

[ Lindsay  – incident 01.27] (verse 2 from “When Fredrick was a little lad”, MIDI file 0:46 – 1:36)

I was a stupid nurserymaid, on breakers always steering,

And I did not catch the word aright, through being hard of hearing;

Mistaking my instructions, which within my brain did gyrate,

I took and bound this promising boy apprentice to a pirate.

A sad mistake it was to make and doom him to a vile lot.

I bound him to a pirate—you—instead of to a pilot.

[ Gwen  – incident 02.21] (verse 3 from “When Fredrick was a little lad”, MIDI file 1:31 – 2:22)

I soon found out, beyond all doubt, the scope of this disaster,

But I hadn’t the face to return to my place and break it to my master.

A nurserymaid is not afraid of what you people call work,

So I made up my mind to go as a kind of piratical maid-of-all-work.

And that is how you find me now, a member of your shy lot,

Which you wouldn’t have found, had he been bound apprentice to a pilot.

[ Chris  – incident 16.07]

[ Duncan  – nature]

Oh, better far to live and die

Under the brave black flag I fly,

Than play a sanctimonious part

With a pirate head and a pirate heart.

Away to the cheating world go you,

Where pirates all are well to do;

But I’ll be true to the song I sing,

And live and die a Pirate King.

For I am a Pirate King.

And it is, it is a glorious thing

To be a Pirate King.

[Chris – incident 16.05] (verse 2 from “Oh, better far to live and die”, MIDI file 1:10 – 2:19)

[Duncan - nature]

When I sally forth to seek my prey

I help myself in a royal way:

I sink a few more ships, it’s true,

Than a well-bred monarch ought to do;

But many a king on a first-class throne,

If he wants to call his crown his own,

Must manage somehow to get through

More dirty work than ever I do,

Though I am a Pirate King,

And it is, it is a glorious thing

To be a Pirate King!

[Gwen/ Trent – incident 26.28] (from “Oh, false one”, MIDI file 0:40 – 1:18, gender roles reversed in TDI)

Faithless woman, to deceive me,

I who trusted so!


 * Master, master, do not leave me!


 * Here me, ere you go!

[Harold – incident 10.15] ( recitative, from “Oh, false one”, MIDI file 2:48 – 3:09)

What shall I do? Before these gentle maidens

I dare not show in this alarming costume!

No, no, I must remain in close concealment

Until I can appear in decent clothing!

[Gwen/ Heather – incident 24.14] (begins the song recycled from Thespis)

Climbing over rocky mountain,

Skipping rivulet and fountain,

Passing where the willows quiver

By the ever-rolling river,

Swollen with the summer rain;

Threading long and leafy mazes

Dotted with unnumbered daisies;

Scaling rough and rugged passes,

Climb the hardy little lasses

Till the bright seashore they gain!

[ Bridgette / Geoff  – incident 11.11] (from “Climbing over rocky mountain”, recycled from Thespis, MIDI file 1:19 – 2:09)


 * Let us gaily tread the measure,


 * Make the most of fleeting leisure;


 * Hail it as a true ally,


 * Though it perish by and by.


 * Every moment brings a treasure


 * Of its own especial pleasure,


 * Though the moments quickly die,


 * Greet them gaily as they fly.

[Heather – incident 23.16] (from “Climbing over rocky mountain”, recycled from Thespis, MIDI file 2:09 – 2:54)


 * Far away from toil and care,


 * Reveling in fresh sea air,


 * Here we live and reign alone


 * In a world that’s all our own.


 * Here in this, our rocky den,


 * Far away from mortal men,


 * We’ll be queens and make decrees—


 * They may honor them who please.

[ Chef Hatchet /Owen/Izzy – incident 19.08] ( recitative, from “Stop, ladies, pray”)

I had intended

Not to intrude myself upon your notice

In this effective but alarming costume;

But under these peculiar circumstances,

It is my bounden duty to inform you

That your proceeding will not be unwitnessed!

[ Cody /Bridgette – incident 07.09] (recitiative, from “Stop, ladies, pray”, MIDI file 0:36 – 1:04)

Ladies, do not shun me!

This evening I renounce my wild profession;

And, to that end, oh, pure and peerless maidens!

Oh, blushing buds of ever-blooming beauty!

I, sore at heart, implore your kind assistance.

[Bridgette/Geoff – incident 17.35] (MIDI file 1:19 – 2:30, gender roles reversed in TDI)

[Duncan/Courtney – nature and incident 21.26] (gender roles as in original)

Oh, is there not one maiden breast

Which does not feel the moral beauty

Of making worldly interest

Subordinate to sense of duty?

Who would not give up willingly

All matrimonial ambition ,

To rescue such a one as I

From his unfortunate position?

[ Beth  ] (from” Oh, is there not one maiden breast”, MIDI file 2:30 – 3:48)

Oh, is there not one maiden here

Whose homely face and bad complexion

Have caused all hopes to disappear

Of ever winning man’s affection?

To such a one, if such there be,

I swear by Heaven’s arch above you,

If you will cast your eyes on me—

However plain you be—I’ll love you!

[Courtney/Geoff – incident 12.11] (from” Oh, is there not one maiden breast”, MIDI file 4:09 – 4:43)


 * Oh, sisters deaf to pity’s name,


 * For shame!


 * It’s true that he has gone astray,


 * But pray


 * Is that a reason good and true


 * Why you


 * Should all be deaf to pity’s name!


 * The question is, had he not been


 * A thing of beauty,


 * Would she be swayed by quite as keen


 * A sense of duty?

[Courtney/Duncan – incident 12.32]

[Gwen/Trent – incident 26.47]

Poor wandering one!

Though thou hast surely strayed,

Take heart of grace,

Thy steps retrace,

Poor wandering one!

Poor wandering one!

If such poor love as mine

Can help thee find

True peace of mind—

Why, take it, it is thine!

[Heather – incident 27.35]

What ought we to do,

Gentle sisters, say?

Propriety, we know,

Says we ought to stay;

While sympathy exclaims,

“Free them from your tether—

Play at other games—

Leave them here together.”

[Geoff – incident 21.12] (chattering chorus, MIDI file 0:40 – 1:03)

[Beth/Lindsay – incidents 27.36, 27.81)]

[ Katie/Sadie  – incident 27.40]


 * How beautifully blue the sky,


 * The glass is rising very high,


 * Continue fine I hope it may,


 * And yet it rained but yesterday.


 * Tomorrow it may pour again


 * (I hear the country wants some rain),


 * Yet people say, I know not why,


 * That we shall have a warm July.

[Gwen – incident 16.11] (from “What ought we to do”, MIDI file 1:03 – 1:34)


 * Did ever maiden wake


 * From dream of homely duty,


 * To find her daylight break


 * With such exceeding, beauty?


 * Did ever maiden close


 * Her eyes on waking sadness,


 * To dream of such exceeding gladness?

[Duncan – incident 11.22] (from “What ought we to do”, MIDI file 1:56 – 2:08)


 * Did ever pirate roll


 * His soul in guilty dreaming,


 * And wake to find that soul


 * With peace and virtue beaming?

[Duncan – incident 12.36] (from “What ought we to do”, MIDI file 2:18 – 2:43)


 * Did ever pirate loathed


 * Forsake his hideous mission,


 * To find himself betrothed


 * To lady of position?

[Gwen/Heather – incident 24.21] ( recitative )

Stay, we must not lose our senses;

Men who stick at no offenses

Will anon be here.

Piracy their dreadful trade is,

Pray you, get you hence young ladies,

While the coast is clear.

[Cody – nature and incident 04.07]

I am the very model of a modern Major General,

I’ve information vegetable, animal or mineral,

I know the kings of England and I quote the fights historical,

From Marathon to Waterloo in order categorical;

I’m very well acquainted to with matters mathematical,

I understand equations, both the simple and quadratical,

About binomial theorem I am teeming with a lot of news—

With many cheerful facts about the square of the hypotenuse.

I’m very good at integral and differential calculus,

I know the scientific names of beings animalculous ;

In short, in matters vegetable, animal, and mineral,

I am the very model of a modern Major General.

[ Harold  – nature and incidents 05.32, 27.45] (verse 2 from “I am the very model of a modern Major General”), MIDI file 1:02 – 1:51)

I know our mythic history, King Arthur’s and Sir Caradoc’s,

I answer hard acrostics, I’ve a pretty taste for paradox,

I quote in elegiacs all the crimes of Heliogabalus,

In conics I can floor peculiarities parabolous.

I can tell undoubted Raphaels from Gerard Dows and Zoffanies,

I know the croaking chorus from The Frogs of Aristophanies,

Then I can hum a fugue of which I’ve heard the music’s din afore,

And whistle all the airs from that infernal nonsense Pinafore.

Then I can write a washing bill in Babylonic cuneiform,

And tell you every detail of Caractacus’ uniform;

In short, in matters, vegetable, animal, and mineral,

I am the very model of a modern Major General.

[Chef Hatchet] (verse 3 from “I am the very model of a modern Major General”), MIDI file 1:51 – 2:54)

In fact, when I know what is meant by “mamelon” and “ravelin,”

When I can tell at sight a Mauser rifle from a javelin,

When such affairs as sorties and surprises I’m more wary at,

And when I know precisely what is meant by “commissariat,”

When I have learnt what progress has been made in modern gunnery,

When I know more of tactics than a novice in a nunnery:

In short, when I’ve a smattering of elemental strategy,

You’ll say a better Major General has never sat a gee —

For my military knowledge, though I’m plucky and adventury,

Has only been brought down to the beginning of the century;

But still, in matters vegetable, animal, and mineral,

I am the very model of a modern Major General.

[Duncan/Chef Hatchet – incident 24.11] (Finale Act I)

[Heather/Duncan – incident 24.28]

Oh, men of dark and dismal fate,

Forgo your cruel employ,

Have pity on my lonely state,

I am an orphan boy!

[Duncan/girls – incident 24.32] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 1:29 – 2:05)


 * See, at our feet they kneel;


 * Our hearts we cannot steel


 * Against the sad, sad tale of the lonely orphan boy!

[Heather – incidents 16.66, 24.29] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 2:06 – 2:24)

I’m telling a terrible story,

But it doesn’t diminish my glory,

For they would have taken my daughters

Over the billowy waters;

If I hadn’t, in elegant diction,

Indulged in an innocent fiction,

Which is not in the same category

As a regular terrible story.

[Heather – incident 16.25] ( ensemble with verse below; from Finale Act I, MIDI file 2:24 – 2:53)

[Gwen – incident 24.31]


 * He’s telling a terrible story,


 * Which will tend to diminish his glory,


 * Though they would have taken his daughters


 * Over the billowy waters.


 * It’s easy, in elegant diction,


 * To call it an innocent fiction,


 * But it falls in the same category


 * As a regular terrible story.

[Trent/Cody – incident 08.27] ( ensemble with verse above; from Finale Act I, MIDI file 2:24 – 2:53)


 * If he’s telling a terrible story,


 * He shall die a death that is gory,


 * With one of the cruelest slaughters


 * That ever were known in these waters;


 * And we’ll finish his moral affliction


 * With a very complete malediction,


 * As a compliment valedictory


 * If he’s telling a terrible story.

[Duncan – incidents 11.24, 21.14] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 2:54 – 3:31)

Although our dark career

Sometimes involves the crime of stealing,

We rather think that we’re

Not altogether void of feeling.

Although we live by strife,

We’re always sorry to begin it,

For what, we ask, is life

Without a touch of Poetry in it?

[Harold/ LeShawna – incident 13.11] (hymn – from Finale Act I, MIDI file 3:32 – 4:11)


 * Hail, Poetry, thou heaven-born maid!


 * Thou gildest even the pirate’s trade;


 * Hail, flowing fount of sentiment!


 * All hail, all hail, Divine Emollient!

[Owen/Izzy – incidents 19.13, 20.04] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 5:29 – 6:11)

[Owen]


 * [Izzy]

Oh, master, hear one word, I do implore you!

Remember Ruth, your Ruth, who kneels before you!


 * Away, you did deceive me!

Oh, do not leave me!


 * Away, you grieve me!


 * I wish you’d leave me!

[Chef Hatchet – incident 12.44] (ironically in TDI)

Oh, dry the glistening tear

That dews that martial cheek;

Thy loving children hear,

In them thy comfort seek.

With sympathetic care

Their arms around thee creep,

For oh, they cannot bear

To see their father weep!

[Heather – incident 05.35] (from Opening Act II, MIDI file 1:30 – 2:15)


 * Dear father, why leave your bed


 * At this untimely hour,


 * When happy daylight is dead,


 * And darksome dangers lower ?


 * See heaven has lit her lamp,


 * The midnight hour is past,


 * The chilly night air is damp,


 * And the dews are falling fast!


 * Dear father, why leave your bed


 * When happy daylight is dead?

[ Balloonist cameraman  – incident 27.67] (MIDI file 0:20 – 1:36)

When the foeman bares his steel,

We uncomfortable feel,

And we find the wisest thing

Is to slap our chests and sing

For when threatened with emeutes,

And your heart is in your boots,

There is nothing brings it round

Like the trumpet’s martial sound.

[Boot Camp trainees – incident 12.03] (from “When the foeman bares his steel”, MIDI file 1:37 – 2:44)


 * Go ye heroes, go to glory,


 * Though ye die in combat gory,


 * Ye shall live in song and story.


 * Go to immortality!


 * Go to death, and go to slaughter;


 * Die, and every Cornish daughter


 * With her tears, your graves shall water.


 * Go ye heroes, go and die!

Though to us it’s evident,

These intentions are well meant,

Such expressions don’t appear

Calculated men to cheer,

Who are going to meet their fate

In a highly nervous state.

Still, to us it’s evident

These attentions are well meant.

[Incident 12.03 continued]

[Chef/campers – incident 24.10] (from “When the foeman bares his steel”, MIDI file 2:45 – 3:16)


 * Go and do your best endeavor,


 * And before all links we sever,


 * We will say farewell forever.


 * Go to glory and the grave!


 * For your foes are fierce and ruthless,


 * False, unmerciful, and truthless,


 * Young and tender, old and toothless,


 * All in vain their mercy crave.

[Incident 12.03 continued]

[Incident 24.10 continued]

[Gwen – incident 07.07] (from “When the foeman bares his steel”, MIDI file 3:16 – 3:42)

We observe too great a stress

On the risks that on us press,

And of reference a lack

To our chance of coming back.

Still, perhaps it would be wise

Not to carp or criticize,

For it’s very evident

These attentions are well meant.

[Chris/Lindsay – incident 18.15] (chant – from “When you had left our Pirate fold”, MIDI file 2:45 – 4:46)

For some ridiculous reason, to which, however, I’ve no desire to be disloyal,

Some person in authority, I don’t know who, very likely the Astronomer Royal,

Has decided that, although for such a beastly month as February, twenty-eight days as a rule are plenty,

One year in every four his days shall be reckoned as nine-and-twenty.

Through some singular coincidence—I shouldn’t be surprised if it were owing to the agency of an ill-natured fairy—

You are the victim of this clumsy arrangement, having been born in leap-year, on the twenty-ninth of February.

And so, by simple arithmetical process, you’ll easily discover

That though you’ve lived twenty-one years, yet, if we go by birthdays, you’re only five and a little bit over!


 * How quaint the ways of Paradox!


 * At common sense she gaily mocks!


 * Though counting in the usual way,


 * Years twenty-one I’ve been alive,


 * Yet, reckoning by my natal day,


 * I am a little boy of five!

[LeShawna – incident 16.55]

[ Eva  – incident 27.61]

[http://math.boisestate.edu/gas/pirates/web_op/pirates20.html Away, away! My heart’s on fire ];

I burn this base deception to repay!

This very night, my vengeance dire

Shall glut itself in gore. Away, away!

[Geoff – incident 17.33] (from “Away, away! My heart’s on fire”, MIDI file 0:13 – 0:25)


 * Away, away! Ere I expire—


 * I find my duty hard to do today!


 * My heart is filled with anguish dire,


 * It strikes me to the core! Away, away!

[LeShawna – incident 16.56] (from “Away, away! My heart’s on fire”, MIDI file 0:25 – 1:32, gender roles reversed in TDI)

[Gwen – incident 17.10] (gender roles reversed in TDI)

[Courtney/Harold – incident 22.14]


 * With falsehood foul


 * He tricked us of our brides.


 * Let vengeance howl;


 * The Pirate so decides.


 * Our nature stern


 * He softened with his lies,


 * And, in return,


 * Tonight the traitor dies.


 * Tonight he dies!


 * Yes, or early tomorrow.


 * His girls likewise?


 * They will welter in sorrow.


 * The one soft spot


 * In our natures we cherish,


 * And all those who plot


 * To abuse it shall perish!

[Duncan/Courtney – incident 12.51] (MIDI file 1:13 – 2:00, gender roles reversed in TDI)

Stay, Frederic, stay!

They have no legal claim,

No shadow of a shame

Will fall upon thy name.

Stay, Frederic, stay!


 * Nay, Mabel, nay!


 * Tonight I quit these walls,


 * The thought my soul appalls,


 * But when stern duty calls,


 * I must obey.

[Duncan/Courtney – incident 12.54] (from “Stay, Frederic, stay”, MIDI file 2:01 – 3:50)

[Bridgette/Geoff – incident 14.03]

[Gwen/Trent – incident 16.87]

Ah, leave me not to pine,

Alone and desolate;

No fate seemed fair as mine,

No happiness so great!

And nature, day by day,

Has sung, in accents clear,

This joyous roundelay,

“He loves thee—he is here.”


 * Ah, must I leave thee here


 * In endless night to dream,


 * Where joy is dark and drear,


 * And sorrow all supreme!


 * Where nature, day by day,


 * Will sing, in altered tone,


 * This weary roundelay,


 * “He loves thee—he is gone.”

[Gwen/Trent – incident 16.79] (from “Stay, Frederic, stay”, MIDI file 4:20 – 5:11)


 * Oh, here is love, and here is truth,


 * And here is food for joyous laughter.


 * She will be faithful to her sooth


 * Till we are wed, and even after.

[Heather – incident 17.28]


 * No, I’ll be brave! Oh, family descent,


 * How great thy charms, thy sway how excellent!


 * Come, one and all, undaunted men in blue,


 * A crisis, now, affairs are coming to!

[Beth/Harold – incident 07.04] (from “No, I’ll be brave”, MIDI file 0:21 – 1:16)

[ D.J. /Trent – incident 13.06]

Though in body and in mind,

We are timidly inclined,

And anything but blind

To the danger that’s behind,

Yet, when the danger’s near,

We manage to appear

As insensible to fear

As anybody here.

[Duncan]

When a felon’s not engaged in his employment,

Or maturing his felonious little plans,

His capacity for innocent enjoyment

Is just as great as any honest man’s.

Our feelings we with difficulty smother

When constabulary duty’s to be done.

Ah, take one consideration with another,

A policeman’s lot is not a happy one.

When the enterprising burglar’s not a-burgling,

When the cutthroat isn’t occupied in crime,

He loves to hear the little brook a-gurgling

And listen to the merry village chime.

When the coster’s finished jumping on his mother,

He loves to lie a-basking in the sun—

Ah, take one consideration with another,

A policeman’s lot is not a happy one.

[LeShawna – incident 16.95]

A rollicking band of pirates we,

Who, tired of tossing on the sea,

Are trying their hand at a burglaree

With weapons grim and gory.

We are not coming for plate or gold—

A story General Stanley told—

We seek a penalty fifty-fold,

For General Stanley’s story.

[Beth – incident 09.05]

[Duncan/Courtney – incident 12.21] (MIDI file 0:47 – 1:13)

[Heather – incident 16.09]


 * [very loud]

With cat-like tread,

Upon our prey we steal,

In silence dread

Our cautious way we feel.

No sound at all,

We never speak a word,

A fly’s footfall

Would be distinctly heard.

[Incident 16.09 continued] (MIDI file 1:13 – 3:29)

So stealthily the pirate creeps,

While all the household soundly sleeps.

Come, friends who plow the sea;

Truce to navigation

Take another station

Let’s vary piracee

With a little burglaree.


 * Here’s your crowbar, and your centerbit,


 * Your life preserver —you may want to hit;


 * Your silent matches, your dark lantern sieze—


 * Take your file and your skeletonic keys.

[Leshawna – incident 19.19] (recitative, from Finale Act II, MIDI file 0:52 – 1:09)

No, all is still

In dale, on hill;

My mind is set at ease—

So still the scene,

It must have been

The sighing of the breeze.

[ Justin  – nature and incident 27.58] (MIDI file 1:10 – 3:56)

Sighing softly to the river

Comes the loving breeze,

Setting nature all a-quiver,

Rustling through the trees.

And the brook, in rippling measure,

Laughs for very love

While the poplars, in their pleasure

Wave their arms above.


 * Yes, the trees, for very love,


 * Wave their leafy arms above.


 * River, river, little river,


 * May thy loving prosper ever.


 * Heaven speed thee, poplar tree,


 * May thy wooing happy be!

Yet, the breeze is but a rover;

When he wings away,

Brook and poplar mourn a lover,

Sighing, well-a-day!

Ah, the doing and undoing

That the rogue could tell!

When the breeze is out a-wooing,

Who can woo so well?


 * Shocking tales the rogue could tell—


 * Nobody can woo so well.


 * Pretty brook, thy dream is over,


 * For thy love is but a rover!


 * Sad the lot of poplar trees,


 * Courted by a fickle breeze!

[Owen – incident 03.22] (from Finale Act II, MIDI file 3:57 – 4:27)

Now what is this, and what is that, and why does father leave his rest

At such a time of night as this, so very incompletely dressed?

Dear father is, and always was, the most methodical of men.

It’s his invariable rule to go to bed at half past ten.

What strange occurrence can it be that calls dear father from his rest

At such a time of night as this, so very incompletely dressed?

[LeShawna/Trent – incident 16.64] (from Finale Act II, MIDI file 5:09 – 5:26)

[Chef/Izzy – incident 17.19]

[Gwen/Owen/Heather – incident 25.32]


 * With base deceit


 * You practiced on our feelings!


 * Revenge is sweet,


 * And flavors all our dealings!


 * With courage rare


 * And resolution manly,


 * For death prepare,


 * Unhappy General Stanley!

[Gwen/ EPKWACAAH – incident 19.32] (from Finale Act II, MIDI file 5:26 – 6:01)

Is he to die, unshriven — unannealed ?

Will no one in his cause a weapon wield?


 * Yes, we are here, though hitherto concealed!


 * So to Constabulary, pirates, yield!

[Owen – incident 04.20] (from Finale Act II, MIDI file 6:02 – 6:26)


 * You triumph now,


 * For well we trow,


 * Our mortal careers cut short;


 * No pirate band


 * Will take its stand


 * In the Central Criminal Court!

[Chris/Duncan/Courtney – incident 12.47] (from Finale Act II, MIDI file 7:51 – 8:23)

Away with them, and place them at the bar!


 * One moment! Let me tell you who they are.


 * They are no members of the common throng;


 * They are all noblemen who have gone wrong!

[Heather – incident 23.31] (from Finale Act II, MIDI file 8:44 – 9:00)

I pray you pardon me, Ex-Pirate King;

Peers will be peers, And youth will have its fling.

Resume your ranks And legislative duties,

And take my daughters, All of whom are beauties.

Verses from Patience
For a brief plot summary, see the “Introduction to Gilbert & Sullivan” section above. Click the links provided for a more detailed plot summary or the Short Attention Span summary.

[ Justin  – nature and incidents 01.15, 26.26]

Twenty lovesick maidens we,

Lovesick all against our will.

Twenty year hence, we shall be

Twenty lovesick maidens still.

Twenty lovesick maidens we,

And we die for love of thee.

[ Cody  – incident 22.33] (from Opening, MIDI file 1:34 – 2:19)


 * Love feeds on hope, they say, or love will die—


 * Yet my love lives, although no hope have I!


 * Alas, poor heart, go hide thyself away—


 * To weeping concords tune thy roundelay!

[ Izzy / Eva  – incident 27.59] (from Opening, MIDI file 2:20 – 2:42)

All our love is all for one,

Yet that love he heedeth not.

He is coy and cares for none,

Sad and sorry is our lot!

[ Gwen / Trent  – incidents 16.38] (from Opening, MIDI file 2:42 – 3:33)


 * Go, breaking heart,


 * Go, dream of love requited;


 * Go, foolish heart,


 * Go, dream of lovers plighted;


 * Go, madcap heart,


 * Go, dream of never waking;


 * And in thy dream


 * Forget that thou art breaking!

[ Heather  – incident 16.35] ( recitative )

Still brooding on their mad infatuation!

I thank thee, Love, thou comest not to me!

Far happier I, free from thy ministration,

Than dukes or duchesses who love can be!

[Heather – incident 16.92] (MIDI file 1:01 – 2:11, sarcastically in TDI)

I cannot tell what this love may be

That cometh to all, but not to me.

It cannot be kind as they’d imply,

Or why do these ladies sigh?

It cannot be joy and rapture deep,

Or why do these gentle ladies weep?

It cannot be blissful as ‘tis said,

Or why are their eyes so wondrous red?

Though everywhere true love I see

A-coming to all, but not to me

I cannot tell what this love may be!

For I am blithe and I am gay,

While they sit sighing night and day;

Think of the gulf ‘twixt them and me,

“Fa la la la”—and “Miserie!”

[Cody – incident 08.19] (from “I cannot tell what this love may be”, MIDI file 2:11 – 2:39)

If love is a thorn, they show no wit

Who foolishly hug and foster it.

If love is a weed, how simple they

Who gather it, day by day!

If love is a nettle that makes you smart,

Then why do you wear it next your heart?

And if it be none of these, say I,

Ah, why do you sit and sob and sigh?

[ Beth / Lindsay  – nature and incident 03.10]

The soldiers of our Queen

Are linked in friendly tether;

Upon the battle scene

We fight the foe together.

There every mother’s son

Prepared to fight and fall is;

The enemy of one

The enemy of all is!

[ Chef Hatchet, Renaissance man of Wawanakwa] (MIDI file 0:55 – 3:23)

If you want a receipt for that popular mystery,

Known to the world as a Heavy Dragoon,

Take all the remarkable people in history,

Rattle them off to a popular tune.

The pluck of Lord Nelson on board of the Victory—

Genius of Bismarck devising a plan—

The humor of Fielding (which sounds contradictory)—

Coolness of Paget about to trepan —

The science of Jullien, the eminent musico—

Wit of Macaulay, who wrote of Queen Anne—

The pathos of Paddy, as rendered by Boucicault—

Style of the Bishop of Sodor and Man—

The dash of a D’Orsay, divested of quackery—

Narrative powers of Dickens and Thackery—

Victor Emmanuel—peak-haunting Peveril—

Thomas Aquinas, and Doctor Sacheverell—

Tupper and Tennyson—Daniel Defoe—

Anthony Trollope and Mr. Guizot!

Take of these elements all that is fusible,

Melt them all down in a pipkin or crucible,

Set them to simmer and take off the scum,

And a Heavy Dragoon is the residuum!

If you want a receipt for this soldier-like paragon,

Get at the wealth of the Czar (if you can)—

The family pride of a Spaniard from Aragon—

Force of Mephisto pronouncing a ban—

A smack of Lord Waterford, reckless and rollicky—

Swagger of Roderick, heading his clan—

The keen penetration of Paddington Pollaky—

Grace of an Odalisque on a divan—

The genius strategic of Caesar or Hannibal—

Skill of Sir Garnet in thrashing a cannibal—

Flavor of Hamlet—the Stranger, a touch of him—

Little of Manfred (but not very much of him)—

Beadle of Burlington—Richardson’s show—

Mr. Micawber and Madame Tussaud!

Take of these elements all that is fusible,

Melt them all down in a pipkin or crucible,

Set them to simmer and take off the scum,

And a Heavy Dragoon is the residuum!

[ Katie/Sadie  – incident 27.39]

In a doleful train

Two and two we walk all day—

For we love in vain!

None so sorrowful as they

Who can only sigh and say,

Woe is me, alackaday!

[Chef Hatchet – incident 12.40] (partial verse from “In a doleful train”, MIDI file 0:55 – 1:35)


 * Instead of slyly peering at us,


 * Casting looks endearing at us,


 * Blushing at us, flushing at us, flirting with a fan;


 * They’re actually sneering at us, fleering at us, jeering at us!


 * Pretty sort of treatment for a military man!

[Katie/Sadie/Justin – incident 27.27] (from “In a doleful train”, MIDI file 1:35 – 2:24)

Mystic poet, hear our prayer,

Twenty lovesick maidens we—

Young and wealthy, dark and fair—

All of county family.

And we die for love of thee—

Twenty lovesick maidens we!

[Gwen/Trent – incidents 05.23, 16.01] (from “In a doleful train”, MIDI file 2:25 – 2:44, gender roles reversed in TDI)


 * Though my book I seem to scan


 * In a rapt ecstatic way


 * Like a literary man


 * Who despises female clay ,


 * I hear plainly all they say,


 * Twenty lovesick maidens they!

[Cody/Gwen – incident 05.17] (from “In a doleful train”, MIDI file 2:44 – 3:28, gender roles reversed in TDI)

Though so excellently wise,

For a moment mortal be,

Deign to raise thy purple eyes

From thy heart-drawn poesy.

Twenty lovesick maidens see—

Each is kneeling on her knee!

[Gwen/Trent – incidents 05.24, 16.02] (from “In a doleful train”, MIDI file 3:29 – 3:47, gender roles reversed in TDI)


 * Though, as I remarked before,


 * Anyone convinced would be


 * That some transcendental lore


 * Is monopolizing me,


 * Round the corner I can see


 * Each is kneeling on her knee!

[Heather – incident 26.10] [recited]

[ Owen  – nature]

What time the poet hath hymned

The writhing maid, lithe-limbed,

Quivering on amaranthine asphodel,

How can he paint her woes,

Knowing, as he well knows,

That all can be set right with calomel?

When from the poet’s plinth

The amorous colocynth

Yearns for the aloe, faint with rapturous thrills.

How can he hymn their throes

Knowing, as well he knows,

That they are only uncompounded pills?

Is it, and can it be,

Nature hath this decree,

Nothing poetic in the world shall dwell?

Or that in all her works,

Something poetic lurks,

Even in colocynth and calomel?

I cannot tell.

[Chef Hatchet – nature and incident 12.01]

[Izzy – incident 27.78]

When I first put this uniform on,

I said, as I looked in the glass,

“It’s one to a million

That any civilian

My figure and form will surpass.

Gold lace has a charm for the fair,

And I’ve plenty of that, and to spare,

While a lover’s professions,

When uttered in Hessians,

Are eloquent everywhere!”

A fact I counted upon,

When I first put this uniform on!

I said, when I first put it on,

“It is plain to the veriest dunce

That every beauty

Will feel it her duty

To yield to its glamour at once.

They will see that I’m freely gold-laced

In a uniform handsome and chaste”—

But the peripatetics

Of long-haired aesthetics

Are very much more to their taste—

Which I never counted upon,

When I first put this uniform on!

[Heather – incident 27.69] ( recitative )

[ Duncan  or Gwen – nature]

Am I alone,

And unobserved? I am!

Then let me own

I’m an aesthetic sham!

This air severe

Is but a mere

Veneer!

This cynic smile

Is but a wile

Of guile!

This costume chaste

Is but good taste

Misplaced!

[Incident 27.69 continued] ( recitative – from “Am I alone”, MIDI file 0:57 – 1:38)

Let me confess!

A languid love of lilies does not blight me!

Lank limbs and haggard cheeks do not delight me!

I do not care for dirty greens

By any means.

I do not long for all one sees

That’s Japanese.

I am not fond of uttering platitudes

In stained-glass attitudes.

In short, my mediaevalism’s affectation,

Born of a morbid love of admiration!

[ Harold  – incident 27.70] (MIDI file 1:39 – 2:37)

If you’re anxious for to shine

In the high aesthetic line

As a man of culture rare,

You must get up all the germs

Of the transcendental terms,

And plant them everywhere.

You must lie upon the daisies

And discourse in novel phrases

Of your complicated state of mind,

The meaning doesn’t matter

If it’s only idle chatter

Of a transcendental kind.

And everyone will say,

As you walk your mystic way,

“If this young man expresses himself in terms too deep for me,

Why, what a very singularly deep young man this deep young man must be!”

[Gwen – incident 26.11] (verse 2 from “If you’re anxious for to shine”, MIDI file 2:32 – 3:26)

Be eloquent in praise

Of the very dull old days

Which have long since passed away,

And convince ‘em, if you can,

That the reign of good Queen Anne

Was Culture’s palmiest day.

Of course you will pooh-pooh

Whatever’s fresh and new,

And declare it’s crude and mean,

For Art stopped short

In the cultivated court

Of the Empress Josephine.

And everyone will say

As you walk your mystic way,

“If that is not good enough for him which is good enough for me,

Why, what a very cultivated kind of youth this kind of youth must be!”

[Owen/ Mr. Coconut – incident 23.48] (verse 3 from “If you’re anxious for to shine”, MIDI file 3:22 – 4:19)

Then a sentimental passion

Of a vegetable fashion

Must excite your languid spleen,

An attachment a la Plato

For a bashful young potato

Or a not-too-French French bean!

Though the Philistines may jostle,

You will rank as an apostle

In the high aesthetic band,

If you walk down Piccadilly

With a poppy or a lily

In your mediaeval hand.

And everyone will say,

As you walk your flowery way,

“If he’s content with a vegetable love which would certainly not suit me,

Why, what a most particularly pure young man this pure young man must be!”

[Katie or Sadie]

Long years ago—fourteen, maybe—

When but a tiny babe of four,

Another baby played with me,

My elder by a year or more;

A little child of beauty rare,

With marvelous eyes and wondrous hair,

Who, in my child-eyes, seemed to me

All that a little child should be!

[Sadie – incident 07.01] (no longer performed – verse 2 from “Long years ago”)

Time fled, and one unhappy day—

The first that I had ever known—

They took my little friend away,

And left me weeping all alone!

Ah, how I sobbed, and how I cried,

Then I fell ill and nearly died,

And even now I weep apace

When I recall that baby face!

[Cody/Gwen – incident 01.25]

[Cody]

Prithee, pretty maiden— prithee, tell me true,

(Hey, but I’m doleful, willow willow waly !)

Have you e’er a lover a-dangling after you?

Hey willow waly O!

I would fain discover

If you have a lover?

Hey willow waly O!


 * [Gwen]


 * Gentle sir, my heart is frolicsome and free—


 * (Hey, but he’s doleful, willow willow waly!)


 * Nobody I care for comes a-courting me—


 * Hey willow waly O!


 * Nobody I care for


 * Comes a-courting—therefore


 * Hey willow waly O!

Prithee, pretty maiden, will you marry me?

(Hey, but I’m hopeful, willow willow waly!)

I may say, at once, I’m a man of propertee—

Hey willow waly O!

Money, I despise it;

Many people prize it,

Hey willow waly O!


 * Gentle sir, although to marry I design—


 * (Hey, but he’s hopeful, willow willow waly!)


 * As yet I do not know you, and so I must decline.


 * Hey willow waly O!


 * To other maidens go you—


 * As yet I do not know you,
 * Hey willow waly O!

[ Chris  – incident 26.62] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 2:09 – 2:49)

Now tell us, we pray you,

Why thus they array you—

Oh, poet, how say you—

What is it you’ve done?


 * Of rite sacrificial


 * By sentence judicial,


 * This seems the initial,


 * Then why don’t you run?

[Cody/Gwen – incidents 05.18, 08.08] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 4:34 – 5:15)

Your maiden hearts, ah, do not steel

To pity’s eloquent appeal,

Such conduct British soldiers feel.

To foeman’s steel we rarely see

A British soldier bend the knee,

Yet, one and all, they kneel to ye—

[Chef Hatchet – incident 12.45] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 5:16 – 6:00)

Our soldiers very seldom cry,

And yet—I need not tell you why—

A teardrop dews each martial eye!

[Cody – incidents 08.38, 22.37] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 6:44 – 7:11)

We’ve been thrown over, we’re aware,

But we don’t care—but we don’t care!

There’s fish in the sea, no doubt of it,

As good as ever came out of it,

And some day we shall get our share,

So we don’t care—so we don’t care!

[Gwen – incident 26.48] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 8:57 – 9:25)

[ Bridgette / Geoff  – incident 27.75]

If there be pardon in your breast

For this poor penitent,

Who, with remorseful thought oppressed,

Sincerely doth repent;

If you, with one so lowly, still

Desire to be allied,

Then you may take me, if you will,

For I will be your bride!

[Izzy/Owen – incident 20.03] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 9:25 – 9:42)

[Gwen/Trent – incident 26.13]


 * Oh, shameless one!


 * Oh, bold-faced thing!


 * Away you run,


 * Go take your wing,


 * You shameless one!


 * You bold-faced thing!

[Trent – incidents 16.13, 26.49] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 9:42 – 10:11)


 * How strong is love! For many and many a week


 * She’s loved me fondly and feared to speak


 * But Nature, for restraints too mighty far,


 * Has burst the bonds of Art—and here we are!

[ LeShawna /Harold – incident 13.14] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 10:24 – 11:38)

True love must single-hearted be—

From every selfish fancy free—

No idle thought of gain or joy

A maiden’s fancy should employ

True love must be without alloy.

Imposture to contempt must lead—

Blind vanity’s dissension’s seed—

It follows, then, a maiden who

Devotes herself to loving you

Is prompted by no selfish view.

[Gwen/Trent – incident 26.50] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 12:08 – 13:46)

I hear the soft note of the echoing voice

Of an old, old love, long dead—

It whispers my sorrowing heart “rejoice”—

For the last sad tear is shed—

The pain that is all but a pleasure will change

For the pleasure that’s all but pain,

And never, oh never, this heart will range

From that old, old love again!

[Justin – incident 01.13] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 14:08 – 14:42)

[Trent – incident 26.18]

But who is this, whose god-like grace

Proclaims he comes of noble race?

And who is this, whose manly face

Bears sorrow’s interesting trace?

[Katie/Sadie/Justin – incident 27.38] ( ensemble – from Finale Act I, MIDI file 15:32 – 16:44)

[Katie/Sadie]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [Justin]

Oh, list while we a love confess. . . . . . . . . . . . Again my cursed comeliness

That words imperfectly express. . . . . . . . . . . . Spreads hopeless anguish and distress!

Those shell-like ears, ah, do not close. . . . . . . Thine ears, oh Fortune, do not close

To blighted love’s distracting woes! . . . . . . . . . To my intolerable woes!

[Beth or Sadie] (verse 2 from “Silvered is the raven hair”, MIDI file 2:15 – 3:34)

Fading is the taper waist,

Shapeless grows the shapely limb,

And although severely laced,

Spreading is the figure trim!

Stouter than I used to be,

Still more corpulent grow I—

There will be too much of me

In the coming by and by!

[Justin – incidents 01.18, 26.25]

Turn, oh, turn in this direction,

Shed, oh, shed a gentle smile,

With a glance of sad perfection

Our poor fainting hearts beguile!

On such eyes as maidens cherish

Let thy fond adorers gaze,

Or incontinently perish

In their all-consuming rays!

[ Courtney  – nature and incident 01.19] [recited]

Gentle Jane was good as gold,

She always did as she was told;

She never spoke when her mouth was full,

Or caught bluebottles their legs to pull,

Or spilt plum jam on her nice new frock,

Or put white mice in the eight-day clock,

Or vivisected her last new doll,

Or fostered a passion for alcohol.

And when she grew up she was given in marriage

To a first-class earl who keeps his carriage!

[Duncan – nature and incident 12.04] [recited]

Teasing Tom was a very bad boy,

A great big squirt was his favorite toy;

He put live shrimps in his father’s boots,

And sewed up the sleeves of his Sunday suits;

He punched his poor little sisters’ heads,

And cayenne-peppered their four-post beds,

He plastered their hair with cobbler’s wax,

And dropped hot halfpennies down their backs.

The consequence was that he was lost totally,

And married a girl in the  corps de bally !

[Cody – incident 08.11]

A magnet hung in a hardware shop,

And all around was a loving crop

Of scissors and needles, nails and knives,

Offering love for all their lives;

But for iron the magnet felt no whim,

Though he charmed iron, it charmed not him;

From needles and nails and knives he’d turn,

For he’d set his love on a silver Churn!


 * A Silver Churn?

A Silver Churn!

His most aesthetic,

Very magnetic

Fancy took this turn—

“If I can wheedle

A knife or a needle,

Why not a Silver Churn?”

And Iron and Steel expressed surprise,

The needles opened their well-drilled eyes,

The penknives felt “shut up”, no doubt,

The scissors declared themselves “cut out”,

The kettles they boiled with rage, ‘tis said,

While every nail went off its head,

And hither and thither began to roam,

Till a hammer came up—and drove them home.


 * It drove them home?

It drove them home!

While this magnetic,

Peripatetic

Lover he lived to learn,

By no endeavor

Can magnet ever

Attract a Silver Churn!

[Cody – incident 05.20]

In a doleful train,

One and one I walk all day;

For I love in vain—

None so sorrowful as they

Who can only sigh and say,

Woe is me, alackaday!

[Cody – incident 22.34] (gender roles reversed in TDI)

Love is a plaintive song,

Sung by a suffering maid,

Telling a tale of wrong,

Telling of hope betrayed;

Tuned to each changing note,

Sorry when he is sad,

Blind to his every mote ,

Happy when he is glad!

Love that no wrong can cure,

Love that is always new,

That is the love that’s pure,

That is the love that’s true!

Rendering good for ill,

Smiling at every frown,

Yielding your own self-will,

Laughing your teardrops down;

Never a selfish whim,

Trouble, or pain to stir;

Everything for him,

Nothing at all for her!

Love that will aye endure,

Though the rewards be few,

That is the love that’s pure,

That is the love that’s true!

[Gwen/Geoff – incident 21.03]

So go to him and say to him, with compliment ironical—

“Your style is much to sanctified—your cut is too canonical.”

“I was the beau ideal of the morbid young aesthetical

To doubt my inspiration was regarded as heretical

Until you cut me out with your placidity emetical.”

[Duncan/Courtney – incident 12.15] (from “So go to him and say to him”, MIDI file 1:06 – 2:20, gender references reversed in TDI)

[Eva – incident 15.22]


 * I’ll tell him that unless he will consent to be more jocular—


 * To cut his curly hair, and stick an eyeglass in his ocular—


 * To stuff his conversation full of quibble and of quiddity—


 * To dine on chops and roly-poly pudding with avidity—


 * He’d better clear away with all convenient rapidity!

[Cody – incident 05.01]

It’s clear that mediaeval art alone retains its zest,

To charm and please its devotees we’ve done our little best.

We’re not quite sure if all we do has the Early English ring;

But, as far as we can judge, it’s something like this sort of thing:

You hold youself like this [attitude],

You hold yourself like that [attitude],

By hook and crook you try to look both angular and flat [attitude].

We venture to expect

That what we recollect,

Though but a part of true High Art, will have its due effect.

If this is not exactly right, we hope you won’t upbraid;

You can’t get high Aesthetic tastes, like trousers, ready made.

True views on Mediaevalism Time alone will bring,

But, as far as we can judge, it’s something like this sort of thing.

You hold youself like this [attitude],

You hold yourself like that [attitude],

By hook and crook you try to look both angular and flat [attitude].

To cultivate the trim

Rigidity of limb,

You ought to get a Marionette, and form your style on him [attitude].

[Cody – incident 08.21] (from “If Saphir I choose to marry”, MIDI file 0:18 – 1:02)

In that case unprecedented,

Single I shall live and die—

I shall have to be contented

With their heartfelt sympathy.

[Justin – nature and incident 27.57]

When I go out of door,

Of damosels a score

(All sighing and burning,

And clinging and yearning)

Will follow me as before.

I shall, with cultured taste,

Distinguish gems from paste,

And “High diddle diddle”

Will rank as an idyll,

If I pronounce it chaste!

[Harold – nature and incident 13.15] (from “When I go out of door”, MIDI file 0:17 – 0:25)


 * A most intense young man,


 * A soulful-eyed young man,


 * An ultra-poetical,


 * Super-aesthetical,


 * Out-of-the-way young man!

[Courtney – incident 12.22] (from “When I go out of door”, MIDI file 0:25 – 0:46)

[Gwen – incident 21.19]


 * Conceive me, if you can,


 * An everyday young man:


 * A commonplace type,


 * With a stick and a pipe,


 * And a half-bred black-and-tan ;


 * Who thinks suburban hops


 * More fun than Monday “Pops”,


 * Who’s fond of his dinner,


 * And doesn’t get thinner


 * On bottled beer and chops.


 * A commonplace young man,


 * A matter-of-fact young man,


 * A steady and stolid-y,


 * Jolly Bank holiday


 * Everyday young man!

[Harold – nature and incident 03.05] (from “When I go out of door”, MIDI file 1:01 – 1:08)

[Heather – incident 25.19]

A pallid and thin young man,

A haggard and lank young man,

A greenery-yallery ,

Grosvenor Gallery,

Foot-in-the-grave young man!

[Owen/Mr. Coconut – incident 23.21] (from Finale Act II, MIDI file 0:18 – 0:44)

In that case unprecedented,

Single I must live and die—

I will have to be contented

With a tulip or lily!

Verses from Iolanthe
For a brief plot summary, see the "Introduction to Gilbert & Sullivan" section above. Click the links provided for a more detailed plot summary or the Short Attention Span summary.

[ Katie / Sadie  – incident 05.11]

Tripping hither, tripping thither,

Nobody knows why or whither;

We must dance and we must sing

Round about our fairy ring.


 * We are dainty little fairies,


 * Ever singing ever dancing;


 * We indulge in our vagaries


 * In a fashion most entrancing.


 * If you ask the special function


 * Of our never-ceasing motion,


 * We reply without compunction


 * That we haven’t any notion.

[ Duncan / Bunny II  – incident 11.15] (Invocation)

[ Eva / Izzy  – incident 15.05]

Iolanthe!

From thy dark exile thou art summoned!

Come to our call—

Come, Iolanthe!

[ Lindsay / Heather  – incident 10.10] (from Invocation, MIDI file 1:18 – 1:40)


 * With humbled breast


 * And every hope laid low,


 * To thy behest,


 * Offended Queen, I bow.

[Eva – incident 15.06] (from Invocation, MIDI file 1:40 – 2:10)

For a dark sin against our fairy laws

We sent thee into lifelong banishment;

But mercy holds her sway within our hearts—

Rise—thou art pardoned!

[ D.J. /Bunny II – incident 11.21] (from Invocation, MIDI file 2:11 – 2:51)

[Eva – incident 15.08] (ironically)


 * Welcome to our house again,


 * Iolanthe! Iolanthe!


 * We have shared thy bitter pain,


 * Iolanthe! Iolanthe!


 * Every heart, and every hand


 * In our loving little band


 * Welcomes thee to Fairyland,


 * Iolanthe!

[ Tyler /Lindsay – incident 01.28] (Exit of Fairies)

Fare thee well, attractive stranger.

Shouldst thou be in doubt or danger,

Peril or perplexitee,

Call us and we’ll come to thee!

[ Gwen /Duncan – incident 23.29] (from Exit of Fairies, MIDI file 0:31 – 1:03)

[Heather – incident 27.46]


 * Tripping hither, tripping thither,


 * Nobody knows why or whither;


 * We must now be taking wing


 * To another fairy ring.

[Lindsay/Tyler – incident 05.14]

[ Geoff / Bridgette  – incident 27.33]

None shall part us from each other,

One in life and death are we:

All in all to one another—

I to thee and thou to me!


 * Thou the tree and I the flower—


 * Thou the idol, I the throng—


 * Thou the day and I the hour—


 * Thou the singer; I the song!


 * All in all since that fond meeting


 * When in joy, I woke to find


 * Mine the heart within me beating,


 * Mine the love that heart enshrined!


 * Thou the stream and I the willow—


 * Thou the sculptor, I the clay—


 * Thou the ocean, I the billow—


 * Thou the sunrise, I the day!

[Return of the Losers – incident 26.06]

Loudly let the trumpet bray!

Tantantara ! Tantantara!

Loudly bang the sounding brasses!

Tzing! Boom!

As upon its lordly way

This unique procession passes,

Tantantara! Tzing! Boom!

[ Chris  – incident 01.01]

The Law is the true embodiment

Of everything that’s excellent.

It has no kind of fault or flaw,

And I, my Lords, embody the Law.

The constitutional guardian I

Of pretty young Wards in Chancery ,

All very agreeable girls—and none

Are over the age of twenty-one.

A pleasant occupation for

A rather susceptible Chancellor!

[Lindsay – nature and incident 01.22] (from “My well-loved lord”, MIDI file 0:28 – 1:22)

Of all the young ladies I know,

This pretty young lady’s the fairest;

Her lips have the rosiest show,

Her eyes are the richest and rarest.

Her origin’s lowly, it’s true,

But of birth and position I’ve plenty;

I’ve grammar and spelling for two,

And blood and behavior for twenty!

[ Justin  – nature and incident 01.16] (from “My well-loved lord”, MIDI file 1:22 – 2:11)


 * Though the views of the House have diverged


 * On every conceivable motion,


 * All questions of party are merged


 * In a frenzy of love and devotion;


 * If you ask us distinctly to say


 * What Party we claim to belong to,


 * We reply, without doubt or delay,


 * The Party I’m singing this song to!

[ Ezekiel  – incident 02.19] (from “My well-loved lord”, MIDI file 2:12 – 3:32)


 * I’m very much pained to refuse,


 * But I’ll stick to my pipes and my tabors;


 * I can spell all the words that I use,


 * And my grammar’s as good as my neighbors’.


 * As for birth—I was born like the rest,


 * My behavior is rustic but hearty,


 * And I know where to turn for the best,


 * When I want a particular Party!

[Duncan/ Courtney – incident 12.16] (from “My well-loved lord”, MIDI file 3:32 – 5:02)


 * Nay, tempt me not.


 * To rank I’ll not be bound;


 * In lowly cot


 * Alone is virtue found!


 * No, no; indeed high rank will never hurt you,


 * The Peerage is not destitute of virtue.

Spurn not the nobly born

With love affected,

Nor treat with virtuous scorn

The well-connected.

High rank involves no shame—

We boast an equal claim

With him of humble name

To be respected.

Spare us the bitter pain

Of stern denials,

Nor with low-born disdain

Augment our trials.

Hearts just as pure and fair

May beat in Belgrave Square

As in the lowly air

Of Seven Dials!

[Courtney – incident 12.46] (partial verse from “My well-loved lord”, MIDI file 5:02 – 5:38)

[Heather – incident 25.30]

Blue blood! Blue blood!

Of what avail art thou

To serve us now?

Though dating from the Flood,

Blue blood! Ah, blue blood!

[Gwen/ Cody – incident 08.05] (from “My well-loved lord”, MIDI file 5:39 – 6:02)


 * My Lords, it may not be.


 * With grief my heart is riven!


 * You waste your time on me,


 * For ah! My heart is given!

[Cody – incident 08.39] (from “My well-loved lord”, MIDI file 7:01 – 8:31)


 * ‘Neath this blow,


 * Worse than stab of dagger—


 * Though we mo-


 * Mentarily stagger,


 * In each heart


 * Proud are we innately—


 * Let’s depart,


 * Dignified and stately!


 * Though our hearts she’s badly bruising,


 * In another suitor choosing,


 * Let’s pretend it’s most amusing.

[Gwen – incident 16.70]

When I went to the Bar as a very young man,

(Said I to myself, said I),

I’ll work on a new and original plan,

(Said I to myself, said I).

I’ll never assume that a rogue or a thief

Is a gentleman worthy implicit belief,

Because his attorney has sent me a brief,

(Said I to myself, said I).

[ Chef Hatchet  – incident 24.15] (verse 2 from “When I went to the Bar”, MIDI file 0:28 – 1:00)

Ere I go into court I will read my brief through

(Said I to myself, said I),

And I’ll never take work I’m unable to do

(Said I to myself, said I).

My learned profession I’ll never disgrace

By taking a fee with a grin on my face,

When I haven’t been there to attend to the case

(Said I to myself, said I).

[Courtney/losers – incident 22.19] (verse 3 from “When I went to the Bar”, MIDI file 0:55 – 1:28)

I’ll never throw dust in a juryman’s eyes

(Said I to myself, said I),

Or hoodwink a judge who is not over-wise

(Said I to myself, said I).

Or assume that the witnesses summoned in force

In Exchequer, Queen’s Bench, Common Pleas, or Divorce,

Have perjured themselves as a matter of course

(Said I to myself, said I).

[Courtney – incident 12.07] (verse 4 from “When I went to the Bar”, MIDI file 1:23 – 1:56)

In other professions in which men engage

(Said I to myself, said I),

The Army, the Navy, the Church and the Stage

(Said I to myself, said I),

Professional license, if carried too far,

Your chance of promotion will certainly mar—

And I fancy the rule might apply to the Bar

(Said I to myself, said I).

[anonymous love poem – incident 13.03] (Finale Act I)

[Lindsay’s note to Gwen – incident 16.22]

When darkly looms the day,

And all is dull and gray,

To chase the gloom away

On thee I’ll call!

[Incident 13.03 continued]

[Heather/ Trent – incident 16.51] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 0:38 – 0:56)


 * I think I heard him say,


 * That on a rainy day,


 * To while the time away,


 * On her he’d call.

[Incident 13.03 continued]

[Trent/Gwen – incident 16.10] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 0:57 – 1:12)

[triathlon teams – incident 21.16]


 * When tempests wreck thy bark,


 * And all is drear and dark,


 * If thou shouldst need an Ark,


 * I’ll give thee one!

[Heather/Trent – incident 16.27] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 1:13 – 1:31)

[Izzy/ Owen – incident 19.06]


 * I heard the minx remark,


 * She’d meet him after dark,


 * Inside St. James’ Park


 * And give him one!

[ LeShawna /Gwen – incidents 16.52, 17.06, 17.08] ( ensemble from Finale Act I, MIDI file 1:32 – 1:57)

[Incidents 16.52, 17.06]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [Incident 17.08]

The prospect’s very bad,. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The prospect’s not so bad,

My heart so sore and sad. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Thy heart so sore and sad

Will never more be glad. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . May very soon be glad

As summer’s sun. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . As summer’s sun.

For when the sky is dark. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . For when the sky is dark

And tempests wreck his bark,. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . And tempests wreck thy bark,

If he should need an ark,. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . If thou shouldst need an ark,

She’ll give him one. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I’ll give thee one.

[Gwen/Trent – incident 26.14] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 1:58 – 2:26)

Oh, shameless one, tremble!

Nay, do not endeavor

Thy fault to dissemble,

We part—and forever!

I worshipped him blindly,

He worships another—


 * Attend to me kindly,


 * This lady’s my mother!

[LeShawna/Chris/Chef Hatchet – incident 14.02] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 2:27 – 2:45)

[Duncan – incident 20.14]

[Gwen/Trent/LeShawna – incident 27.52]

What means this mirth unseemly,

That shakes the listening earth?


 * The joke is good extremely,


 * And justifies our mirth.

[Trent/Izzy – incident 22.23] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 2:46 – 3:17)


 * This gentleman is seen,


 * With a maid of seventeen


 * A-taking of his  dolce far niente ;


 * And wonders he’d achieve,


 * For he asks us to believe


 * She’s his mother—and he’s nearly five-and-twenty.

Recollect yourself, I pray,

And be careful what you say—

As the ancient Romans said, festina lente.

For I really do not see

How so young a girl could be

The mother of a man of five-and-twenty.

[Katie/Sadie – incident 01.12] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 6:30 – 6:57; gender roles reversed in TDI)

To you I give my heart so rich!


 * To which?

I do not care!

To you I yield—it is my doom!


 * To whom?

I’m not aware!

I’m yours for life, if you but choose.


 * She’s whose?

That’s your affair!

I’ll be a countess, shall I not?


 * Of what?

I do not care!

[Gwen/Owen – incident 25.23] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 7:22 – 8:16; gender roles reversed in TDI)]

Can I inactive see my fortunes fade?

No, no!

Mighty protectress, hasten to my aid!


 * Tripping hither, tripping thither,


 * Nobody knows why or wither;


 * Why you want us we don’t know,


 * But you summoned us, and so


 * Enter all the little fairies


 * To their usual tripping measure!


 * To oblige you all our care is—


 * Tell us, pray, what is your pleasure?

[Trent – incident 26.29] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 8:17 – 8:42)

The lady of my love has caught me talking to another—


 * Oh, fie! Our Strephon is a rogue!

I tell her very plainly that the lady is my mother—


 * Taradiddle, taradiddle, tol lol lay!

She won’t believe my statement and declares we must be parted,

Because on a career of double-dealing I have started,

Then gives her hand to one of these and leaves me broken-hearted—


 * Taradiddle, taradiddle, tol lol lay!

[Tyler/Heather – incident 04.16] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 10:06 – 10:21)

[Chris/Courtney – incident 27.64]

Go away, madam;

I should say, madam,

You display, madam,

Shocking taste.

It is rude, madam,

To intrude, madam,

With your brood, madam,

Brazen-faced!

You come here, madam,

Interfere, madam,

With a peer, madam,

(I am one.)

You’re aware, madam,

What you dare, madam,

So take care, madam,

And be gone!

[Courtney – incident 27.85] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 10:21 – 10:37)


 * Let us stay, madam;


 * We should say, madam,


 * They display, madam,


 * Shocking taste.


 * It is rude, madam,


 * To allude, madam,


 * To your brood, madam,


 * Brazen-faced!


 * We don’t fear, madam,


 * Any peer, madam,


 * (Though my dear, madam,


 * This is one.)


 * They will stare, madam,


 * When aware, madam,


 * What they dare, madam,


 * What they’ve done!

[Heather – incidents 11.05, 25.41] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 10:38 – 11:01)

[Courtney – incidents 12.49, 27.66]


 * Bearded by these puny mortals!


 * I shall launch from fairy portals


 * All the most terrific thunders


 * In my armory of wonders!


 * Should they launch terrific thunders,


 * All would then repent their blunders.

[Heather/Leshawna – incident 02.04] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 11:41 – 12:14)

[Heather/Tyler – incident 04.17]

[LeShawna/Chris – incident 21.27]


 * Oh! Chancellor unwary,


 * It’s highly necessary


 * Your tongue to teach


 * Respectful speech—


 * Your attitude to vary!


 * Your badinage so airy,


 * Your manner arbitrary,


 * Are out of place


 * When face to face


 * With an influential Fairy.

[Incident 02.04 continued] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 12:14 – 12:45)

A plague on this vagary,

I’m in a nice quandary!

Of hasty tone

With dames unknown

I ought to be more chary;

It seems that she’s a fairy

From Andersen’s library,

And I took her for

The proprietor

Of a Ladies’ Seminary!

[Heather – incident 06.01] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 12:46 – 13:20)

When next your Houses do assemble,

You may tremble!


 * Our wrath, when gentlemen offend us,


 * Is tremendous!


 * They meet, who underrate our calling,


 * Doom appalling!

[Geoff – incidents 10.01, 14.12] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 13:33 – 13:45)

Henceforth, Strephon, cast away

Crooks and pipes and ribbons so gay—

Flocks and herds that bleat and low;

Into Parliament you shall go!

[ Beth /Lindsay – nature and incident 05.07] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 13:45 – 14:08)


 * Into Parliament he shall go!


 * Backed by our supreme authority,


 * He’ll command a large majority!


 * Into Parliament he shall go!

[Geoff – incident 20.06] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 14:08 – 14:20)

In the Parliamentary hive,

Liberal or Conservative—

Whig or Tory—I don’t know—

But into Parliament you shall go!

[Chris – incident 22.40] [spoken through music]

Every bill and every measure

That may gratify his pleasure,

Though your fury it arouses,

Shall be passed by both your Houses!

[Gwen – incident 25.16] [spoken through music]

Titles shall ennoble, then,

All the Common Councilmen!

Peers shall teem in Christendom,

And a Duke’s exalted station

Be attainable by Com-

Petitive Examination!

[Heather – incident 20.11] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 15:10 – 15:20)

[Heather/Owen – incident 21.15]

[spectators – incident 26.27]

Their horror

They can’t dissemble

Nor hide the fear

That makes them tremble!

[Heather/Gwen – incident 25.06] ( ensemble from Finale Act I, MIDI file 15:21 – 17:07)

[Heather]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [Gwen]

Young Strephon is the kind of lout. . . . . . . . With Strephon as your foe, no doubt,

We do not care a fig about! . . . . . . . . . . . . . A fearful prospect opens out,

We cannot say. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . And who shall say

What evils may. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . What evils may

Result in consequence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Result in consequence?

But lordly vengeance will pursue. . . . . . . . . A hideous vengeance will pursue

All kinds of common people who. . . . . . . . . All noblemen who venture to

Oppose our views. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oppose his views

Or boldly choose. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Or boldly choose

To offer us offense. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . To offer him offense.

He’d better fly at humbler game,. . . . . . . . . ‘Twill plunge them into grief and shame;

Or our forbearance he must claim,. . . . . . . His kind forbearance they must claim

If he’d escape. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . If they’d escape

In any shape. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . In any shape

A very painful wrench! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A very painful wrench.

Your powers we dauntlessly pooh-pooh:. . . Although our powers you now pooh-pooh,

A dire revenge will fall on you. . . . . . . . . . . A dire revenge will fall on you,

If you besiege. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Should he besiege

Our high prestige—. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Your high prestige

(The word “prestige” is French.). . . . . . . . . (The word “prestige” is French.)

Our lordly style

You shall not quench

With base canaille!


 * (That word is French.)

Distinction ebbs

Before a herd

Of vulgar plebs.


 * (A Latin word.)

‘Twould fill with joy

And madness stark

The  hoi polloi !


 * {A Greek remark.)

One Latin word, one Greek remark,

And one that’s French.


 * Your lordly style


 * We’ll quickly quench


 * With base canaille!

(That word is French.)


 * Distinction ebbs


 * Before a herd


 * Of vulgar plebs.

(A Latin word.)


 * ‘Twill fill with joy


 * And madness stark


 * The hoi polloi!

{A Greek remark.)


 * One Latin word, one Greek remark,


 * And one that’s French.

[Heather – incident 25.13]. . . . . . . . . . . . . [Courtney – incident 27.74]


 * ( ensemble from Finale Act I, MIDI file 17:07 – 17:56)

You needn’t wait:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . We will not wait:

Away you fly! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . We go sky-high!

Your threatened hate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Our threatened hate

We thus defy! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . You won’t defy!

[Beth/Lindsay – nature and incident 05.08] (verse 2 from “When all night long a chap remains”)

When in that House M.P. s divide,

If they’ve a brain and cerebellum, too,

They’ve got to leave that brain outside,

And vote just as their leaders tell ‘em to.

But then, the prospect of a lot

Of dull M.P.s in close proximity,

All thinking for themselves, is what

No man can face with equanimity.

[Heather, unloved but uncontested team leader – nature and incident 05.34] (verse 2)

[http://math.boisestate.edu/gas/iolanthe/web_op/iol15.html Strephon’s a Member of Parliament! ]

Running a-muck of all abuses.

His unqualified assent

Somehow nobody now refuses.

Whigs and Tories

Dim their glories,

Giving an ear to all his stories

Carrying every bill he may wish;

Here’s a pretty kettle of fish!

[Owen – incident 27.01]

When Britain really ruled the waves—

(In good Queen Bess’ time)

The House of Peers made no pretense

To intellectual eminence,

Or scholarship sublime;

Yet Britain won her proudest bays

In good Queen Bess’ glorious days!

[ Noah  – incident 04.08] (verses 2&3 from “When Britain really ruled the waves”)

When Wellington thrashed Bonaparte,

As every child can tell,

The House of Peers, throughout the war,

Did nothing in particular,

And did it very well:

Yet Britain set the world ablaze

In good King George’s glorious days!

And while the House of Peers withholds

Its legislative hand,

And noble statesmen do not itch

To interfere with matters which

They do not understand,

As bright will shine Great Britain’s rays

As in King George’s glorious days!

[Gwen/Trent – incident 26.21]

In vain to us you plead—

Don’t go!

Your prayers we do not heed—

Don’t go!

It’s true we sigh,

But don’t suppose

A tearful eye

Forgiveness shows.

Oh, no!

We’re very cross indeed—

Don’t go!

[Gwen – incidents 16.03, 26.19]

Oh, foolish fay,

Think you, because

His brave array

My bosom thaws,

I’d disobey

Our fairy laws?

Because I fly

In realms above,

In tendency

To fall in love

Resemble I

The amorous dove?

O, amorous dove!

Type of Ovidius Naso!

This heart of mine

Is soft as thine,

Although I dare not say so!

On fire that glows

With heat intense

I turn the hose

Of common sense,

And out it goes

At small expense.

We must maintain

Our fairy law;

That is the main

On which to draw—

In that we gain

A Captain Shaw !

Oh, Captain Shaw!

Type of true love kept under!

Could thy brigade

With cold cascade

Quench my great love, I wonder!

[Katie/Sadie (with Justin in absentia) – incident 27.80]

Though p’r’aps I may incur your blame,

The things are few

I would not do

In Friendship’s name!


 * And I may say I think the same;


 * Not even love


 * Should rank above


 * True Friendship’s name!


 * Then free me pray; be mine the blame;


 * Forget your craze


 * And go your ways


 * In Friendship’s name!


 * Oh, many a man, in Friendship’s name,


 * Has yielded fortune, rank, and fame!


 * But no one yet, in the world so wide,


 * Has yielded up a promised bride!


 * Accept, O Friendship, all the same,


 * This sacrifice to thy dear name!

[Killer Bass – incident 06.07] (“The Nightmare Song”, MIDI file 0:42 – 1:44)

When you’re lying awake

With a dismal headache,

And repose is tabooed by anxiety,

I conceive you may use

Any language you choose

To indulge in, without impropriety;

For your brain is on fire—

The bedclothes conspire

Of usual slumber to plunder you:

First the counterpane goes,

And uncovers your toes,

And your sheet slips demurely from under you;

Then the blanketing tickles—

You feel like mixed pickles—

So terribly sharp is the pricking,

And you’re hot, and you’re cross,

And you tumble and toss

Till there’s nothing twixt you and the ticking.

Then the bedclothes all creep

To the ground in a heap,

And you pick ‘em all up in a tangle;

Next your pillow resigns

And politely declines

To remain at its usual angle!

Well, you get some repose

In the form of a doze,

With hot eyeballs and head ever aching,

But your slumbering teems

With such horrible dreams

That you’d very much better be waking;

[Owen – incident 21.01] (from The Nightmare Song, MIDI file 1:44 – 3:24)

For you dream you are crossing

The Channel, and tossing

About on a steamer from Harwich—

Which is something between

A large bathing machine

And a very small second-class carriage—

And you’re give a treat

(Penny ice and cold meat)

To a party of friends and relations—

They’re a ravenous horde—

And they all came on board

At Sloane Square and South Kensington stations.

And bound on that journey

You find your attorney

(Who started that morning from Devon);

He’s a bit undersized,

And you don’t feel surprised

When he tells you he’s only eleven.

Well, you’re driving like mad

With this singular lad

(By the by, the ship’s now a four-wheeler),

And you’re playing round games,

And he calls you bad names

When you tell him that “ties pay the dealer”;

But this you can’t stand,

So you throw up your hand,

And you find you’re as cold as an icicle,

In your shirt and your socks

(The black silk with gold clocks),

Crossing Salisbury Plain on a bicycle:

And he and the crew

Are on bicycles, too—

Which they’ve somehow or other invested in—

And he’s telling the tar s

All the particulars

Of a company he’s interested in—

It’s a scheme of devices,

To get at low prices

All goods from cough mixtures to cables

(Which tickled the sailors)

By treating retailers

As though they were all vegetables—

You get a good spadesman

To plant a small tradesman

(First take off his boots with a boot tree),

And his legs will take root,

And his fingers will shoot,

And they’ll blossom and bud like a fruit tree—

From the greengrocer tree

You get grapes and green pea,

Cauliflower, pineapple, and cranberries,

While the pastrycook plant

Cherry brandy will grant,

Apple puffs, and three-corners, and Banburys—

The shares are a penny,

And ever so many

Are taken by Rothschild and Baring,

And just as a few

Are allotted to you,

You awake with a shudder despairing—

[Screaming Gophers – incident 06.08] (from The Nightmare Song, MIDI file 3:24 – 4:08)

You’re a regular wreck,

With a crick in your neck,

And no wonder you snore,

For your head’s on the floor,

And you’ve needles and pins

From your soles to your shins,

And your flesh is a-creep,

For your left leg’s asleep,

And you’ve cramp in your toes,

And a fly on your nose,

And some fluff in your lung,

And a feverish tongue,

And a thirst that’s intense,

And a general sense

That you haven’t been sleeping in clover;

But the darkness is past,

And it’s daylight at last,

And the night has been long—

Ditto ditto my song—

And thank goodness they’re both of them over!

[Cody/Trent – incident 08.28]

If you go in,

You’re sure to win—

Yours will be the charming maidie;

Be your law

The ancient saw—

“Faint heart never won fair lady!”


 * Every journey has an end—


 * When at the worst, affairs will mend—


 * Dark the dawn when day is nigh—


 * Hustle your horse and don’t say die!


 * He who shies


 * At such a prize


 * Is not worth a maravedi ,


 * Be so kind


 * To bear in mind—


 * Faint heart never won fair lady!


 * While the sun shines, make your hay—


 * Where a will is, there’s a way—


 * Beard the lion in his lair—


 * None but the brave deserve the fair!


 * I’ll take heart,


 * And make a start—


 * Though I fear the prospect’s shady—


 * Much I’d spend


 * To gain my end—


 * Faint heart never won fair lady!


 * Nothing venture, nothing win—


 * Blood is thick, but water’s thin—


 * In for a penny, in for a pound—


 * It’s love that makes the world go round!

[Heather – incident 05.05] ( recitative – no longer performed)

My bill has now been read a second time:

His ready vote no member now refuses;

In verity I wield a power sublime,

And one that I can turn to mighty uses!

What joy to carry, in the very teeth

Of ministry, cross-bench and opposition,

Some rather urgent measures quite beneath

The ken of Patriot and Politician!

[Gwen – incident 02.22] (no longer performed – MIDI file 0:45 – 1:20)

Fold your flapping wings,

Soaring legislature!

Stoop to little things,

Stoop to human nature!

Never need to roam,

Members patriotic,

Let’s begin at home—

Crime is no exotic!

Bitter is your bane,

Terrible your trials,

Dingy Drury Lane!

Soapless Seven Dials!

[Heather – incident 20.17] (no longer performed – verse 2 from “Fold your flapping wings”, MIDI file 1:21 – 2:03)

Take a tipsy lout

Gathered from the gutter—

Hustle him about—

Strap him to a shutter:

What am I but he,

Washed at hours stated—

Fed on filigree—

Clothed and educated?

He’s a mark of scorn—

I might be another,

If I had been born

Of a tipsy mother!

[Gwen – incident 24.36] (no longer performed – verse 3 from “Fold your flapping wings”, MIDI file 2:03 – 2:54)

[Duncan - nature]

Take a wretched thief

Through the city sneaking,

Pocket handkerchief

Ever, ever seeking:

What is he but I

Robbed of all my chances—

Picking pockets by

Force of circumstances?

I might be as bad—

As unlucky, rather—

If I’d only had

Fagin for a father!

[Trent/Gwen – incident 26.55]

If we’re weak enough to tarry

Ere we marry,

You and I,

Of the feelings I inspire

You may tire

By and by,

For peers with flowing coffers

Press their offers—

That is why

I am sure we should not tarry

Ere we marry,

You and I!


 * If we’re weak enough to tarry


 * Ere we marry,


 * You and I,


 * With a more attractive maiden,


 * Jewel-laden,


 * You may fly.


 * If by chance we should be parted,


 * Broken-hearted


 * I should die—


 * So I think we will not tarry


 * Ere we marry,


 * You and I.

[Cody/Trent – incident 08.25] ( recitative )

[Duncan/Chef Hatchet – incident 24.12]

My lord, a suppliant at your feet I kneel,

Oh, listen to a mother’s fond appeal!

Hear me tonight! I come in urgent need—

‘Tis for my son, young Strephon, that I plead!

[Geoff – incident 18.04] (MIDI file 0:35 – 1:53)

[Owen – incident 21.30]

He loves! If in the bygone years

Thine eyes have ever shed

Tears—bitter, unavailing tears,

For one untimely dead—

If, in the eventide of life,

Sad thoughts of her arise,

Then let the memory of thy wife

Plead for my boy—he dies!

He dies! If fondly laid aside

In some old cabinet,

Memorials of thy long-dead bride

Lie, dearly treasured yet,

Then, let her hallowed bridal dress—

Her little dainty gloves—

Her withered flower—her faded tress—

Plead for my boy—he loves!

[Heather – incident 25.33] (from “It may not be”, MIDI file 3:23 – 4:22)

Once again thy vows are broken:

Thou thyself thy doom has spoken!

Bow thy head to Destiny:

Death thy doom, and thou shalt die!

[Cody/Gwen/Trent – incident 08.40] (from Finale, MIDI file 0:29 – 0:56)

[Gwen/Trent/Heather – incident 16.80]

Though as a general rule we know

Two strings go to every bow,

Make up your minds that grief ‘twill bring,

If you’ve two beaux to every string.

[Katie/Sadie – incident 11.27] (from Finale, MIDI file 0:56 – 1:24)


 * Up in the sky,


 * Ever so high


 * Pleasures come in endless series;


 * We will arrange


 * Happy exchange:


 * House of Peers for house of Peris.

Verses from Princess Ida
For a brief plot summary, see the "Introduction to Gilbert & Sullivan" section above. Click the links provided for a more detailed plot summary or the Short Attention Span summary.

[ Eva  – incident 15.07]

Search throughout the panorama

For a sign of royal Gama,

Who today should cross the water

With his fascinating daughter—

Ida is her name.

[ Harold / LeShawna  – incident 27.09] (from Opening, MIDI file 1:23 – 1:49)

Will Prince Hilarion’s hopes be sadly blighted?

Will Ida break the vows that she has plighted?

Will she back out, and say she did not mean them?

If so, there’ll be the deuce to pay between them!

[ Heather / Bridgette  – incident 14.05]

Now hearken to my strict command

On every hand, on every hand—


 * To your command,


 * On every hand,


 * We dutifully bow!

If Gama bring the Princess here,

Give him good cheer, give him good cheer,


 * If she come here,


 * Will give him a cheer,


 * And we will show you how!


 * We’ll shout and sing


 * “Long live the King”,


 * And his daughter, too, I trow!


 * Then shout ha! Ha! Hip, hip hurrah!


 * For the fair Princess and her good papa!

[Heather/Bridgette – incident 14.10] (verse 2 from “Now hearken to my strict command”, MIDI file 0:53 – 1:52)

But if he fail to keep his troth,

Upon our oath, we’ll trounce them both!


 * He’ll trounce them both


 * Upon his oath,


 * As sure as a quarter-day !

We’ll shut him up in a dungeon cell,

And toll his knell on a funeral bell.


 * From his dungeon cell,


 * His funeral knell


 * Shall strike him with dismay!


 * As up we string


 * The faithless King


 * In the old familiar way!


 * We’ll shout ha! Ha! Hip, hip, hurrah!


 * As we make an end of her false papa!

[Screaming Gophers – incident 07.02]

From the distant panorama

Come the sons of royal Gama

They are heralds evidently

And are sacred consequently,

Sons of Gama, hail! Oh, hail!

[ Duncan / Geoff / Owen  – incident 18.03] (MIDI file 0:57 – 1:45)

We are warriors three,

Sons of Gama Rex.

Like most sons are we,

Masculine in sex.

[ Beth / Lindsay  ] (verse 2 from “We are warriors three”, MIDI file 1:46 – 2:21)

Politics we bar,

They are not our bent;

On the whole, we are

Not intelligent.

[ EPKWACAAH  – incident 19.03] (verse 3 from “We are warriors three”, MIDI file 2:22 – 2:57)

But with doughty heart,

And with trusty blade,

We can play our part—

Fighting is our trade.

[Hunters – incident 09.02] (MIDI file 2:58 – 3:49)

[Owen – nature and incident 15.15]

[ Courtney  – incident 27.25]

Bold, and fierce, and strong, ha, ha!

For a war we burn,

With its right or wrong, ha, ha!

We have no concern.

Order comes to fight, ha, ha!

Order is obeyed,

We are men of might, ha, ha!

Fighting is our trade!

[ Noah  ]

If you give me your attention, I will tell you what I am;

I’m a genuine philanthropist—all other kinds are sham.

Each little fault of temper and each social defect

In my erring fellow creatures I endeavor to correct.

To all their little weaknesses I open people’s eyes;

And little plans to snub the self-sufficient I devise;

I love my fellow-creatures—I do all the good I can—

Yet everybody says I’m such a disagreeable man!

And I can’t think why!

To compliments inflated I’ve a withering reply;

And vanity I always do my best to mortify;

A charitable action I can skillfully dissect;

And interested motives I’m delighted to detect;

I know everybody’s income and what everybody earns;

And I carefully compare it with the income tax returns;

But to benefit humanity however much I plan,

Yet everybody says I’m such a disagreeable man!

And I can’t think why!

I’m sure I’m no ascetic; I’m as pleasant as can be;

You’ll always find me ready with a crushing repartee,

I’ve an irritating chuckle, I’ve a celebrated sneer,

I’ve an entertaining snigger, I’ve a fascinating leer.

To everybody’s prejudice I know a thing or two;

I can tell a woman’s age in half a minute—and I do.

But although I try to make myself as pleasant as I can,

Yet everybody says I am a disagreeable man!

And I can’t think why!


 * {Gilbert openly admitted that he was describing his own reputation in this song}

[ D.J. /Geoff – incident 08.14] (Finale Act I)

P’r’aps if you address the lady

Most politely, most politely—

Flatter and impress the lady,

Most politely, most politely—

Humbly beg and humbly sue—

She may deign to look on you,

But your doing you must do

Most politely, most politely!

[Duncan/Noah – incident 27.50] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 0:39 – 1:16)

Go you, and inform the lady,

Most politely, most politely,

If she don’t, we’ll storm the lady,

Most politely, most politely!

[To Gama] You’ll remain as hostage here;

Should Hilarion disappear,

We will hang you, never fear,

Most politely, most politely!

[ Cody / Trent  – incident 08.29] (with opening recitative – from Finale Act I, MIDI file 1:17 – 4:14)

Come, Cyril, Florian, our course is plain,

Tomorrow morn fair Ida we’ll engage;

But we will use no force her love to gain,

Nature has armed us for the war we wage!

Expressive glances

Shall be our lances

And pops of Sillery

Our light artillery.

We’ll storm their bowers

With scented showers

Of fairest flowers

That we can buy!


 * Oh, dainty triolet!


 * Oh, fragrant violet!


 * Oh, gentle heigho -let


 * (Or little sigh).


 * On sweet urbanity,


 * Though mere inanity,


 * To touch their vanity


 * We will rely!


 * When day is fading,


 * With serenading


 * And such frivolity


 * We’ll prove our quality.


 * A sweet profusion


 * Of soft allusion


 * This bold intrusion


 * Shall justify.


 * Oh, dainty triolet, etc.


 * We’ll charm their senses


 * With verbal fences ,


 * With ballads amatory


 * And declamatory.


 * Little heeding


 * Their pretty pleading,


 * Our love exceeding


 * We’ll justify!


 * Oh, dainty triolet, etc.

[Duncan – incident 12.09] (recitative – from Finale Act I, MIDI file 4:15 – 4:31)

‘Till then, must we in prison cell be thrust?


 * You must!

This seems unnecessarily severe!


 * Hear, hear!

[Incident 12.09 continued]

[Owen – incident 23.19] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 4:32 – 5:01)


 * For a month to dwell


 * In a dungeon cell;


 * Growing thin and wizen


 * In a solitary prison,


 * Is a poor look-out


 * For a soldier stout


 * Who is longing for the rattle


 * Of a complicated battle—


 * For the rum-tum-tum


 * Of the military drum


 * And the guns that go Boom! Boom!

[Trent/ Gwen – incident 26.45] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 5:02 – 6:17)


 * When Hilarion’s bride


 * Has at length complied


 * With the just conditions


 * Of our requisitions,


 * You may go in haste


 * And indulge your taste


 * For the fascinating rattle


 * Of a complicated battle—


 * For the rum-tum-tum


 * Of the military drum


 * And the guns that go Boom! Boom!


 * But till that time you’ll here remain,


 * And bail we will not entertain,


 * Should she our mandate disobey,


 * Your lives the penalty will pay!

[Beth – incident 03.14] (Opening Act II)

Towards the empyrean heights

Of every kind of lore,

We’ve taken several easy flights,

And mean to take some more.

In trying to achieve success,

No envy wracks our heart,

And all the knowledge we possess,

We mutually impart.

[Noah – nature and incident 04.09] (from Opening Act II, MIDI file 1:00 – 1:43)


 * Pray, what authors should she read,


 * Who in Classics would succeed?

If you’d climb the Helicon,

You should read Anacreon,

Ovid’s Metamorphoses,

Likewise Aristophanes,

And the works of Juvenal:

These are worth attention, all;

But, if you will be advised,

You will get them bowdlerized !

[Gwen – incident 26.02] (from Opening Act II, MIDI file 1:01 – 2:23)


 * Pray you, tell us, if you can,


 * What’s the thing that’s known as Man?

Man will swear and man will storm—

Man is not at all good form—

Man is of no kind of use—

Man’s a donkey—Man’s a goose—

Man is coarse and Man is plain—

Man is more or less insane—

Man’s a ribald—Man’s a rake —

Man is Nature’s sole mistake!


 * We’ll a memorandum make;


 * Man is Nature’s sole mistake!

[Heather/Beth/Lindsay – incident 03.11] (2 MIDI files)

Mighty maiden with a mission,

Paragon of common sense,

Running fount of erudition,

Miracle of eloquence,

We are blind, and we would see;

We are bound, and would be free;

We are dumb, and we would talk;

We are lame, and we would walk.


 * Oh, goddess wise


 * That lovest light


 * Endow with sight


 * Their unillumined eyes


 * At this my call,


 * A fervent few


 * Have come to woo


 * The rays that from thee fall.


 * Let fervent words and fervent thoughts be mine,


 * That I may lead them to thy sacred shrine!

[Harold – incident 27.15]

And thus to empyrean height

Of every kind of lore

In search of wisdom’s pure delight,

Ambitiously we soar.

In trying to achieve success

No envy racks our heart,

For all we know and all we guess,

We mutually impart!

[Heather – incident 25.11]

[http://math.boisestate.edu/gas/princess_ida/webop/pi_11.html Come, mighty Must! ]

Inevitable Shall!

In thee I trust.

Time weaves my coronal!

Go, mocking Is!

Go, disappointing Was!

That I am this

Ye are the cursed cause!

Yet humble second shall be first,

I ween;

And dead and buried be the curst

Has Been!

Oh, weak Might Be!

Oh, May, Might, Could, Would, Should!

How powerless ye

For evil or for good!

In every sense

Your moods I cheerless call,

Whate’er your tense

Ye are Imperfect all!

Ye have deceived the trust I’ve shown

In ye!

Away! The mighty Must alone

Shall be!

[Courtney – incident 27.65]

Gently, gently,

Evidently

We are safe so far,

After scaling

Fence and paling,

Here, at last, we are!


 * In this college


 * Useful knowledge


 * Everywhere one finds,


 * And already,


 * Growing steady,


 * We’ve enlarged our minds.


 * We’ve learnt that prickly cactus


 * Has the power to attract us


 * When we fall!


 * That nothing man unsettles


 * Like a bed of stinging nettles


 * Short or tall!


 * That bulldogs feed on throttles —


 * That we don’t like broken bottles


 * On a wall!


 * That spring guns breathe defiance,


 * And that burglary’s a science


 * After all!

[Heather/boys – incident 24.23] (partial verse from “Gently, gently”, MIDI file 2:41 – 2:56; earnestly in TDI)


 * And weasels at their slumbers


 * They trepan—they trepan ;


 * To get sunbeams from cucumbers


 * They’ve a plan—they’ve a plan.


 * They’ve a firmly rooted notion


 * They can cross the Polar Ocean,


 * And they’ll find Perpetual Motion,


 * If they can—if they can.

[Girls – incident 13.02] (from “Gently, gently”, MIDI file 2:57 – 3:16)

These are the phenomena

That every pretty domina

Is hoping we shall see

At her Universitee.

[Lindsay/Heather – incident 03.15] (partial verse – from “Gently, gently”, MIDI file 3:32 – 3:48)


 * Each newly joined aspirant


 * To the clan—to the clan


 * Must repudiate the tyrant


 * Known as Man—known as Man.


 * They mock at him and flout him,


 * For they do not care about him,


 * And they’re “going to do without him”


 * If they can—if they can!

[original “Haute Camp-ture” synopsis – incident 22.43]

[Heather/Lindsay/Beth - nature]

I am a maiden, cold and stately,

Heartless I, with a face divine.

What do I want with a heart, innately?

Every heart I meet is mine!


 * Haughty, humble, coy or free,


 * Little care I what maid may be.


 * So that a maid is fair to see,


 * Every maid is the maid for me!


 * I am a maiden frank and simple,


 * Brimming with joyous roguery;


 * Merriment lurks in every dimple,


 * Nobody breaks more hearts than I!


 * Haughty, humble, coy or free, etc.


 * I am a maiden coyly blushing,


 * Timid am I as a startled hind ;


 * Every suitor sends me flushing:


 * I am the maid that wins mankind!

[hooked-up boys] (refrain from “I am a maiden, cold and stately”, MIDI file 1:52 – 2:29)


 * Haughty, humble, coy or free,


 * Little care I what maid may be.


 * So that a maid is fair to see,


 * Every maid is the maid for me!

[Heather – incidents 16.24, 26.64]

The world is but a broken toy,

Its pleasure hollow—false its joy,

Unreal its loveliest hue,

Alas!

Its pains alone are true.

Alas!

Its pains alone are true.


 * The world is everything you say,


 * The world, we think, has had its day.


 * Its merriment is slow,


 * Alas!


 * We’ve tried it, and we know.


 * Alas!


 * We’ve tried it and we know.

[Gwen/Cody – incident 05.19]

A Lady fair, of lineage high,

Was loved by an Ape, in the days gone by,

The Maid was radiant as the sun,

The Ape was a most unsightly one—

So it would not do—

His scheme fell through,

For the Maid, when his love took formal shape,

Expressed such terror

At his monstrous error,

That he stammered an apology and made his ‘scape,

The picture of a disconcerted Ape.


 * {and yes, this is being a bit hard on poor Cody}

[Geoff – incident 08.12] (verse 2 from “A Lady fair, of lineage high”, MIDI file 0:43 – 1:30)

With a view to rise in the social scale,

He shaved his bristles, and he docked his tail,

He grew mustachios, and he took his tub ,

And he paid a guinea to a toilet club —

But it would not do—

The scheme fell through,

For the Maid was Beauty’s fairest Queen,

With golden tresses,

Like a real princess’s,

While the Ape, despite his razor keen,

Was the apiest Ape that ever was seen!

[ Sasquatchanakwa  – incident 15.24] (verse 3 from “A Lady fair, of lineage high”, MIDI file 1:26 – 2:31)

He bought white ties, and he bought dress suits,

He crammed his feet into bright tight boots—

And to start in life on a brand-new plan,

He christened himself Darwinian Man!

But it would not do,

The scheme fell through—

For the Maiden fair, whom the monkey craved,

Was a radiant being,

With a brain far-seeing—

While a Darwinian Man, though well-behaved,

At best is only a monkey shaved!

[Lindsay – incident 17.31]

The woman of the wisest wit

May sometimes be mistaken, O!

In Ida’s views, I must admit,

My faith is somewhat shaken, O!

[ Ezekiel  – incident 02.13] (from “The woman of the wisest wit”, MIDI file 0:19 – 0:35, gender roles reversed in TDI)

[Lindsay – incident 03.17] (gender roles as in original)


 * On every other point than this,


 * Her learning is untainted, O!


 * But man’s a theme with which she is


 * Entirely unacquainted, O!


 * —acquainted, O!


 * —acquainted, O!


 * Entirely unacquainted, O!

[Lindsay/ Tyler – incident 01.33] (from “The woman of the wisest wit”, MIDI file 1:05 – 1:38)

My natural instinct teaches me

(And instinct is important, O!)

You’re everything you ought to be,

And nothing that you oughtn’t, O!


 * That fact was seen at once by you


 * In casual conversation, O!


 * Which is most creditable to


 * Your powers of observation, O!


 * —servation, O!


 * —servation, O!


 * Your powers of observation, O!

[Incident 01.33 continued]

[Harold/LeShawna – incident (13.10] (refrain from “The woman of the wisest wit”, MIDI file 1:38 – 2:25)


 * Then jump for joy and gaily bound,


 * The truth is found—the truth is found!


 * Set bells a-ringing through the air—


 * Ring here and there and everywhere—


 * And echo forth the joyous sound,


 * The truth is found—the truth is found!

[Gwen/Owen – incident 25.24]

[Gwen] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [Owen]

Now wouldn’t you like to rule the roast,

And guide this University?


 * I must agree,


 * ‘Twould pleasant be.


 * (Sing hey, a Proper Pride!)

And wouldn’t you like to clear the coast

Of malice and perversity?


 * Without a doubt,


 * I’ll bundle ‘em out,


 * Sing hey, when I preside

Sing hoity, toity! Sorry for some! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sing hoity, toity! Sorry for some!

Sing, marry come up and my day will come! . . . . . . . Sing, marry come up and her day will come!

Sing, Proper Pride. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sing, Proper Pride

Is the horse to ride,. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Is the horse to ride,

And Happy-go-lucky,. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . And Happy-go-lucky,


 * my Lady, O!

For years I’ve writhed beneath her sneers,

Although a born Plantaganet !


 * You’re much too meek,


 * Or you would speak.


 * (Sing hey, I’ll say no more!)

Her elder I by several years,

Although you’d ne’er imagine it.


 * Sing, so I’ve heard


 * But never a word


 * Have I e’er believed before!

Sing hoity, toity! Sorry for some! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sing hoity, toity! Sorry for some!

Sing, marry come up and my day will come! . . . . . . Sing, marry come up and her day will come!

Sing, she shall learn. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sing, she shall learn

That a worm will turn. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . That a worm will turn.

Sing Happy-go-lucky,. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sing Happy-go-lucky,


 * my Lady, O!

[Gwen – incident 20.15]

[ Chris / Chef Hatchet – incident 23.27]

Merrily ring the luncheon bell!

Here in meadow of asphodel ,

Feast we body and mind as well,

So merrily ring the luncheon bell!

[Chef Hatchet – nature and incident 01.35] (from “Merrily ring the luncheon bell”, MIDI file 0:45 – 1:06)


 * Hunger, I beg to state,


 * Is highly indelicate,


 * This is a fact profoundly true,


 * So learn your appetites to subdue.

[LeShawna – incident 19.18] (from “Merrily ring the luncheon bell”, MIDI file 1:06 – 1:31)


 * Madame, your words so wise,


 * Nobody should despise,


 * Cursed with an appetite keen I am


 * And I’ll subdue it with cold roast lamb!

[Tyler – incident 01.29]

Would you know the kind of maid

Sets my heart aflame-a?

Eyes must be downcast and staid,

Cheeks must flush for shame-a!

She may neither dance nor sing,

But, demure in everything,

Hang her head in modest way,

With pouting lips that seem to say,

“Oh, kiss me, kiss me, kiss me, kiss me,

Though I die of shame-a!”

Please you, that’s the kind of maid

Sets my heart aflame-a!

When a maid is bold and gay

With a tongue goes clang-a,

Flaunting it in brave array,

Maiden may go hang-a!

Sunflower gay and hollyhock

Never shall my garden stock;

Mine the blushing rose of May,

With pouting lips that seem to say,

“Oh, kiss me, kiss me, kiss me, kiss me,

Though I die of shame-a!”

Please you, that’s the kind of maid

Sets my heart aflame-a!

[Cody/Trent – incident 08.24] (Finale Act II)

[http://math.boisestate.edu/gas/princess_ida/webop/pi_20.html Oh, joy! Our chief is saved ],

And by Hilarion’s hand,

The torrent fierce he braved,

And brought her safe to land!

For his intrusion, we must own,

This doughty deed may well atone!

[Courtney/Cody & co. – incident 27.77] (from Finale Act II, MIDI file 0:27 – 1.18)

Stand forth ye three,

Whoe’er ye be,

And hearken to our stern decree!


 * Have mercy, lady—disregard your oaths!

I know no mercy, men in women’s clothes!

The man whose sacreligious eyes

Invade our strict seclusion, dies.

Arrest these coarse intruding spies!

[Trent/Gwen – incident 26.32] (from Finale Act II, MIDI file 1:18 – 3:16)


 * Whom thou hast chained must wear his chain,


 * Thou canst not set him free,


 * He wrestles with his bonds in vain


 * Who lives by loving thee!


 * If heart of stone for heart of fire,


 * Be all thou hast to give,


 * If dead to me my heart’s desire,


 * Why should I wish to live?


 * No word of thine—no stern command


 * Can teach my heart to rove,


 * Then rather perish by thy hand,


 * Than live without thy love!


 * A loveless life apart from thee


 * Were hopeless slavery.


 * If kindly death will set me free,


 * Why should I fear to die?

[Heather/Owen – incident 23.34] (from Finale Act II, MIDI file 3:16 – 5:03)


 * Madam, without the castle walls


 * An armed band


 * Demand admittance to our halls


 * For Hildebrand!

Deny them!

We will defy them!


 * Too late—too late!


 * The castle gate


 * Is battered by them!

[Heather]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [Owen]


 * Walls and fences scaling,


 * Promptly we appear;


 * Walls are unavailing,


 * We have entered here.


 * Female execration


 * Stifle if you’re wise;


 * Stop your lamentation,


 * Dry you pretty eyes!

Rend the air with wailing,

Shed the shameful tear!

Walls are unavailing,

Man has entered here!

Shame and desecration

Are his staunch allies,

Let your lamentation

Echo to the skies!

Audacious tyrant, do you dare

To beard a maiden in her lair?


 * Since you inquire,


 * We’ve no desire


 * To beard a maiden here, or anywhere!

[Chris/Gwen – incident 01.07] (from Finale Act II, MIDI file 5:03 – 5:59)

[Chris/Season 2 contestants – incident 27.84]


 * Some years ago


 * No doubt you know


 * (And if you don’t, I’ll tell you so)


 * You gave your troth


 * Upon your oath


 * To Hilarion my son.


 * A vow you make


 * You must not break,


 * (If you think you may, it’s a great mistake),


 * For a bride’s a bride


 * Though the knot were tied


 * At the early age of one!


 * And I’m a peppery kind of king


 * Who’s indisposed to parleying


 * To fit the wit of a bit of a chit ,


 * And that’s the long and the short of it!

[Trent/Gwen – incident 26.46] (from Finale Act II, MIDI file 5:53 – 6:50)


 * If you decide


 * To pocket your pride


 * And let Hilarion claim his bride,


 * Why well and good,


 * It’s understood


 * We’ll let bygones go by—


 * But if you choose


 * To sulk in the blues


 * I’ll make the whole of you shake in your shoes.


 * I’ll storm your walls


 * And level your halls


 * In the twinkling of an eye


 * For I’m a peppery potentate


 * Who’s little inclined his claim to bate


 * To fit the wit of a bit of a chit,


 * And that’s the long and the short of it!

[Chef Hatchet – incident 01.36] (from Finale Act II, MIDI file 6:50 – 8:46)


 * We may remark, though nothing can


 * Dismay us,


 * That if you offend this gentleman,


 * He’ll slay us.


 * We don’t fear death, of course—we’re taught


 * To shame it;


 * But still upon the whole we thought


 * We’d name it.


 * Our interests we would not press


 * With chatter,


 * Three hulking brothers more or less


 * Don’t matter;


 * If you would pooh-pooh this monarch’s plan,


 * Pooh-pooh it,


 * But when he says he’ll hang a man,


 * He’ll do it.

Be reassured, nor fear his anger blind,

His menaces are idle as the wind,

He dares not kill you—vengeance lurks behind!


 * We rather think he dares, but never mind!

[Gwen/Trent – incident 26.30] (from Finale Act II, MIDI file 9:15 – 10:01)

[Gwen]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [Trent]

To yield at once to such a foe. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oh, yield at once, ‘twere better so

With shame were rife;. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Than risk a strife!

So, quick! Away with him, although. . . . . . . . . . And let the Prince Hilarion go—

He saved my life! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . He saved thy life!

That he is fair, and strong, and tall. . . . . . . . . . . Hilarion’s fair and strong, and tall—

Is very evident to all,. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A worse misfortune might befall—

Yet I will die before I call. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . It’s not so dreadful, after all,

Myself his wife! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . To be his wife!

[Courtney – incidents 12.50, 22.18, 27.53] (from Finale Act II, MIDI file 10:02 – 10:36)

Though I am but a girl,

Defiance thus I hurl,

Our banners all

On outer wall

We fearlessly unfurl.

[Castaways – incident 23.44]

Death to the invader!

Strike a deadly blow,

As an old Crusader

Struck his Paynim foe!

Let our martial thunder

Fill his soul with wonder,

Tear his ranks asunder,

Lay the tyrant low!

[Incident 23.44 continued]

[Heather – incident 07.06] (from “Death to the invader”, MIDI file 1:09 – 2:07)

[Bridgette – incident 07.10]


 * Thus our courage, all untarnished


 * We’re instructed to display:


 * But to tell the truth unvarnished,


 * We are more inclined to say,


 * “Please you, do not hurt us.


 * “Please you let us be.


 * “Soldiers disconcert us.


 * “Frightened maids are we!”

[Incident 23.44 continued]


 * But ‘twould be an error


 * To confess our terror,


 * So, in Ida’s name,


 * Boldly we exclaim:

Death to the invader!

Strike a deadly blow,

As an old Crusader

Struck his Paynim foe!

[Duncan – incident 24.39]

[Eva – incident 27.60]

I built upon a rock,

But ere Destruction’s hand

Dealt equal lot

To Court and cot ,

My rock had turned to sand!

I leant upon an oak,

But in the hour of need,

Alack-a-day,

My trusted stay

Was but a bruised reed!

Ah, faithless rock,

My simple faith to mock!

Ah, trait’rous oak,

Thy worthlessness to cloak.

I drew a sword of steel,

But when to home and hearth

The battle’s breath

Bore fire and death,

My sword was but a lath!

I lit a beacon fire,

But on a stormy day

Of frost and rime,

In wintertime,

My fire had died away!

Ah, coward steel,

That fear can unanneal!

False fire indeed,

To fail me in my need!

[Noah – incident 04.05]

[Chef Hatchet – incident 25.03]

Whene’er I spoke

Sarcastic joke

Replete with malice spiteful,

This people mild

Politely smiled,

And voted me delightful!

Now when a wight

Sits up all night

Ill-natured jokes devising,

And all his wiles

Are met with smiles

It’s hard, there’s no disguising!

[Gwen – incident 26.01] (from “Whene’er I spoke”, MIDI file 0:28 – 0:42)

O, don’t the days seem lank and long

When all goes right and nothing goes wrong,

And isn’t your life extremely flat

With nothing whatever to grumble at!

[Courtney/Harold – incident 05.09] (from “Whene’er I spoke”, MIDI file 0:42 – 1:01)

When German bands

From music stands

Played Wagner imperfectly,

I bade them go—

They didn’t say no,

But off they went directly!

The organ boys

They stopped their noise

With readiness surprising,

And grinning herds

Of hurdy-gurds

Retired apologizing!

[Gwen/Geoff – incident 21.07] (from “Whene’er I spoke”, MIDI file 1:16 – 1:55)

I offered gold

In sums untold

To all who’d contradict me—

I said I’d pay

A pound a day

To anyone who kicked me—

I bribed with toys

Great vulgar boys

To utter something spiteful,

But bless, you, no!

They would be so

Confoundedly politeful!

In short, these aggravating lads,

They tickle my tastes, they feed my fads,

They give me this and they give me that,

And I’ve nothing whatever to grumble at!

[Duncan – incidents 19.22, 20.12]

[Gwen – incident 25.17]

When anger spreads his wing,

And all seems dark as night for it,

There’s nothing but to fight for it,

But ere you pitch your ring,

Select a pretty site for it,

(This spot is suited quite for it),

And then you gaily sing,

“Oh, I love the jolly rattle

Of an ordeal by battle,

There’s an end of tittle-tattle

When your enemy is dead.

It’s an arrant molly-coddle

Fears a crack upon his noddle

And he’s only fit to swaddle

In a downy feather-bed!”

[Izzy – incident 19.29] (from “When anger spreads his wing”, MIDI file 0:42 – 1:09)

For a fight’s a kind of thing

That I love to look upon,

So let us sing,

“Long live the King,

And his son Hilarion!”

[Owen – incident 02.11]

This helmet, I suppose,

Was meant to ward off blows,

It’s very hot

And weighs a lot,

As many a guardsman knows,

So off that helmet goes. . . . . . . . [giving their helmets to attendants]

This tight-fitting cuirass

Is but a useless mass,

It’s made of steel,

And weighs a deal,

A man is but an ass

Who fights in a cuirass,

So off goes that cuirass. . . . . . . . [removing cuirasses]

These brassets, truth to tell,

May look uncommon well,

But in a fight

They’re much too tight,

They’re like a lobster shell! . . . . . . [removing their brassets]

These things I treat the same. . . . [indicating leg pieces]

(I quite forget their name)

They turn one’s legs

To cribbage pegs—

Their aid I thus disclaim,

Though I forget their name! . . . . . . [They remove their leg pieces and wear close-fitting shape suits]

[Heather/Beth/LeShawna – incident 09.14]

This is our duty plain towards

Our Princess all immaculate,

We ought to bless her brothers’ swords

And piously ejaculate:

Oh, Hungary!

Oh, Hungary!

Oh, doughty sons of Hungary!

May all success

Attend and bless

Your warlike ironmongery!

[Gwen/Trent – incident 26.56]

With joy abiding,

Together gliding

Through life’s variety,

In sweet society,

And thus enthroning

The love I’m owning,

On this atoning

I will rely!


 * It were profanity


 * For poor humanity


 * To treat as vanity


 * The sway of love.


 * In no locality


 * Or principality


 * Is our mortality


 * Its sway above.


 * When day is fading,


 * With serenading


 * And such frivolity


 * Of tender quality—


 * With scented showers


 * Of fairest flowers


 * The happy hours


 * Will gaily fly!


 * It were profanity, etc.

Verses from The Mikado
Gilbert and Sullivan's greatest hit. For a brief plot summary, see the "Introduction to Gilbert & Sullivan" section above. Click the links provided for a more detailed plot summary; the Short Attention Span summary; or a children's book adaptation of the Mikado story, written by Gilbert himself.

[ Beth / Lindsay  – nature and incidents 04.02, 17.03] (verse 2 from opening chorus)

If you think we are worked by strings,

Like a Japanese marionette,

You don’t understand these things:

It is simply Court etiquette.

Perhaps you suppose this throng

Can’t keep it up all day long?

If that’s your idea, you’re wrong, oh!

[ Trent  – nature and incident 01.09]

A wandering minstrel I—

A thing of shreds and patches,

Of ballads, songs and snatches,

And dreamy lullaby!

My catalogue is long,

Through every passion ranging,

And to your humors changing

I tune my supple song!

[ Owen /Trent – incident 26.34] (verse 2 from “A wandering minstrel I”, MIDI file 0:38 – 1:25)

[ Cody  – nature]

Are you in sentimental mood?

I’ll sigh with you—

On maiden’s coldness do you brood?

I’ll do so, too—

I’ll charm your willing ears

With songs of lovers’ fears,

While sympathetic tears

My cheeks bedew—

[ Chef Hatchet  – nature and incident 12.05] (verse 3 from “A wandering minstrel I”, MIDI file 1:26 – 2:01)

But if patriotic sentiment is wanted,

I’ve patriotic ballads cut and dried;

For where’er our country’s banner may be planted,

All other local banners are defied!

Our warriors, in serried ranks assembled,

Never quail—or they conceal it if they do—

And I shouldn’t be surprised if nations trembled

Before the mighty troops of Titipu!

[ Bridgette  – nature and incident 01.11] (verse 4 from “A wandering minstrel I”, MIDI file 2:02 – 3:02)

[ D.J.  – incident 08.43]

And if you call for a song of the sea,

We’ll heave the capstan round,

With a yeo heave ho, for the wind is free,

The anchor’s a-trip and her helm’s a-lee,

Hurrah for the homeward bound!


 * Then man the capstan—off we go,


 * As the fiddler swings us round,


 * With a yeo heave ho,


 * And a rumbelow,


 * Hurrah for the homeward bound!

[ Heather /Lindsay – incident 03.16]

Our great Mikado, virtuous man,

When he to rule our land began,

Resolved to try

A plan whereby

Young men might best be steadied.

So he decreed in words succinct,

That all who flirted, leered or winked

(Unless connubially linked),

Should forthwith be beheaded.

And I expect you’ll all agree

That he was right to so decree.

This stern decree, you’ll understand,

Caused great dismay throughout the land!

For young and old

And shy and bold

Were equally affected.

The youth who winked a roving eye,

Or breathed a nonconnubial sigh,

Was thereupon condemned to die—

He usually objected.

And you’ll allow, as I expect,

That he was right to so object.

[Lindsay – incident 03.18] (verse 3 from “Our great Mikado, virtuous man”, MIDI file 1:52 – 2:50)

And so we straight let out on bail,

A convict from the county jail,

Whose head was next

On some pretext

Condemned to be mown off,

And made him Headsman, for we said,

“Who’s next to be decapited

Cannot cut off another’s head

Until he’s cut his own off.”

And we are right, I think you’ll say

To argue in this kind of way.

[ Gwen /Cody – incidents 05.16, 08.06]

Young man, despair,

Likewise go to,

Yum-Yum the fair

You must not woo.

It will not do:

I’m sorry for you,

You very imperfect ablutioner !

[Incident 08.06 continued]

It’s a hopeless case,

As you may see,

And in your place

Away I’d flee;

But don’t blame me—

I’m sorry to be

Of your pleasure a diminutioner.

[ Chris  ]

Behold the Lord High Executioner

A personage of noble rank and title—

A dignified and potent officer,

Whose functions are particularly vital!

Defer, defer

To the Lord High Executioner!

[ Duncan  ] (from “Behold the Lord High Executioner”, MIDI file 0:53 – 1:47)

Taken from the county jail

By a set of curious chances;

Liberated then on bail,

On my own recognizances;

Wafted by a favoring gale

As one sometimes is in trances,

To a height that few can scale,

Save by long and weary dances;

Surely never had a male

Under such like circumstances

So adventurous a tale

Which may rank with most romances.

[Heather – nature and incident 10.09] (“Little list” Song)

As someday it may happen that a victim must be found,

I’ve got a little list—I’ve got a little list

Of society offenders who might well be underground,

And who never would be missed—who never would be missed!

There’s the pestilential nuisances who write for autographs—

All people who have flabby hands and irritating laughs—

All children who are up in dates, and floor you with ‘em flat—

All people who, when shaking hands, shake hands with you like that—

And all third persons who on spoiling tété-a-tétés insist—

They’d none of them be missed—they’d none of them be missed.

There’s the banjo serenader, and the others of his race,

And the piano-organist—I’ve got him on the list!

And the people who eat peppermint and puff it in your face,

They never would be missed—they never would be missed!

Then the idiot who praises, with enthusiastic tone,

All centuries but this and every country but his own;

And the lady from the provinces, who dresses like a guy ,

And who “doesn’t think she dances, but would rather like to try”;

And that singular anomaly, the lady novelist —

I don’t think she’d be missed—I’m sure she’ll not be missed!

And that Nisi Prius nuisance who just now is rather rife,

The Judicial humorist—I’ve got him on the list!

All funny fellows, comic men, and clowns of private life—

They’d none of them be missed—they’d none of them be missed.

And apologetic statesmen of a compromising kind,

Such as—What do you call him—Thing’em-bob—and likewise—Nevermind,

And ‘St—‘st—‘st—and What’s-his-name, and also You-know-who—

The task of filling up the blanks I’d rather leave to you.

But it really doesn’t matter whom you put upon the list,

For they’d none of them be missed—they’d none of them be missed!

[Parade of Contestants – incident 01.06]

Comes a train of little ladies

From scholastic trammels free,

Each a little bit afraid is,

Wondering what the world can be!

Is it but a world of trouble—

Sadness set to song?

Is its beauty but a bubble

Bound to break ere long?

Are its palaces and pleasures

Fantasies that fade?

And the glory of its treasures

Shadow of a shade?

Schoolgirls we, eighteen and under,

From scholastic trammels free,

And we wonder—how we wonder!—

What on earth the world can be!

[Heather/Beth/Lindsay]

Three little maids from school are we,

Pert as a school-girl well can be,

Filled to the brim with girlish glee,

Three little maids from school!

Everything is a source of fun.

Nobody’s safe, for we care for none.

Life is a joke that’s just begun.

Three little maids from school!

[ Courtney  – incident 12.41]

So please you, Sir, we much regret

If we have failed in etiquette

Towards a man of rank so high—

We shall know better by and by,

But youth, of course, must have its fling

So pardon us,

So pardon us,

And don’t, in girlhood’s happy spring,

Be hard on us,

Be hard on us,

If we’re inclined to dance and sing.

[Chef Hatchet – incident 26.63] (verse 2 from “So please you, Sir, we much regret”, MIDI file 0:53 – 1:59)

I think you ought to recollect

You cannot show too much respect

Towards the highly titled few;

But nobody does, so why should you?

That youth at us should have its fling

Is hard on us,

Is hard on us,

To our prerogative we cling—

So pardon us,

So pardon us,

If we decline to dance and sing.

[Heather/Trent – incident 16.28] (gender roles reversed in TDI)

Were you not to Ko-Ko plighted,

I would say in tender tone,

“Loved one, let us be united—

Let us be each other’s own!”

I would merge all rank and station,

Worldly sneers are naught to us,

And, to mark my admiration,

I would kiss you fondly thus—[kiss]

[Incident 16.28 continued]

[Courtney/Duncan – incident 26.23] (from “Were you not to Ko-Ko plighted”, MIDI file 0:53 – 1:55)

So, in spite of all temptation,

Such a theme I’ll not discuss,

And on no consideration

Will I kiss you fondly thus—[kiss]

Let me make it clear to you,

This is what I’ll never do!

This, [kiss] oh, this, [kiss] oh, this—[kiss]

Is what I’ll never do!

[Courtney – incidents 02.02, 07.11] (“Chippy chopper” trio)

I am so proud,

If I allowed

My family pride

To be my guide,

I’d volunteer

To quit this sphere

Instead of you

In a minute or two.

But family pride

Must be denied,

And set aside,

And mortified.

[Heather – nature and incident 18.02] (from “Chippy chopper” trio, MIDI file 0:32 – 0:47)


 * My brain, it teems


 * With endless schemes


 * Both good and new


 * For Titipu;


 * But if I flit,


 * The benefit


 * That I’d diffuse


 * The town would lose!


 * Now every man


 * To aid his clan


 * Should plot and plan


 * As best he can.

[Duncan – incident 19.23] (from “Chippy chopper” trio, MIDI file 0:48 – 1:03)


 * I heard one day


 * A gentleman say


 * That criminals who


 * Are cut in two


 * Can hardly feel


 * The fatal steel,


 * And so are slain


 * Without much pain.


 * If this is true,


 * It’s jolly for you;


 * Your courage screw


 * To bid us adieu.

[Heather – incident 18.11] (from “Chippy chopper” trio, MIDI file 1:24 – 1:37)


 * And so,


 * Although


 * I’m ready to go,


 * Yet recollect


 * ‘Twere disrespect


 * Did I neglect


 * To thus effect


 * This aim direct,


 * So I object—

[ Geoff  – incident 15.20] (from “Chippy chopper” trio, MIDI file 1:37 – 1:49)

And so,

Although

I wish to go,

And greatly pine

To brightly shine

And take the line

Of a hero fine,

With grief condign,

I must decline—

[Owen – incident 02.05] (from “Chippy chopper” trio, MIDI file 1:49 – 1:58)


 * And go


 * And show


 * Both friend and foe


 * How much you dare.


 * I’m quite aware


 * It’s your affair,


 * Yet I declare


 * I’d take your share,


 * But I don’t much care—

[Duncan – incident 12.10] (from “Chippy chopper” trio, MIDI file 2:09 – 2:56)

[ Mr. Coconut  – incident 24.07]


 * To sit in solemn silence in a dull, dark dock,


 * In a pestilential prison with a life-long lock,


 * Awaiting the sensation of a short, sharp shock,


 * From a cheap and chippy chopper on a big black block!

[Screaming Gophers – incident 05.33] (Finale Act I)

With aspect stern

And gloomy stride,

We come to learn

How you decide.

Don’t hesitate

Your choice to name,

A dreadful fate

You’ll suffer all the same.

[Bridgette – incidents 02.01] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 1:06 – 1:17)

To ask you what you mean to do we punctually appear.


 * Congratulate me, gentlemen, I’ve found a Volunteer!


 * The Japanese equivalent for “Hear, Hear, Hear!”

[Heather – incident 16.63] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 1:59 – 2:47)

[elimination ceremony survivors – nature]

The threatened cloud has passed away,


 * And brightly shines the dawning day;

What though the night may come too soon,


 * There’s yet a month of afternoon!


 * Then let the throng


 * Our joy advance,


 * With laughing song


 * And merry dance


 * With joyous shout and ringing cheer,


 * Inaugurate our brief career!

[Owen/ Izzy – incident 20.05] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 5:27 – 6:15)

[Trent/Gwen – incident 26.16]


 * (gender roles reversed in TDI for both)

Oh fool, that fleest

My hallowed joys!

Oh blind, that seest

No equipoise !

Oh rash, that judgest

From half the whole!

Oh base, that grudgest

Love’s lightest dole!

Thy heart unbind,

Oh fool, oh blind!

Give me my place,

Oh rash, oh base!


 * If she’s thy bride, restore her place,


 * Oh fool, oh blind, oh rash, oh base!

[Izzy – incident 17.22] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 6:15 – 7:13)

Pink cheek, that rulest

Where wisdom serves!

Bright eye, that foolest

Heroic nerves!

Rose lip, that scornest

Lore-laden years!

Smooth tongue, that warnest

Who rightly hears!

Thy doom is nigh,

Pink cheek, bright eye!

Thy knell is rung,

Rose lips, smooth tongue!


 * If true her tale, thy knell is rung,


 * Pink cheek, bright eye, rose lip, smooth tongue!

[Heather/Gwen – incident 16.67] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 7:13 – 7:33)

Away, nor prosecute your quest—

From our intention well expressed,

You cannot turn us!

The state of your connubial views

Toward the person you accuse

Does not concern us!

[Cody/Trent/Gwen – incident 08.35] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 7:33 – 8:23)

For he’s going to marry Yum-Yum—

Your anger pray bury

For all will be merry,

I think you had better succumb—

And join our expressions of glee.

On this subject I pray you be dumb—

You’ll find there are many

Who’ll wed for a penny—

The word for your guidance is “Mum”—

There’s lots of good fish in the sea!

[Cody – incident 08.20] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 8:24 – 9:15)

[Gwen/Trent – incident 16.34]

The hour of gladness

Is dead and gone,

In silent sadness

I live alone!

The hope I cherished

All lifeless lies,

And all has perished

Save love, which never dies!

[ Eva /surviving campers – incident 15.23] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 10:33 – 13:01)

[Eva]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [The others]

Ye torrents roar!

Ye tempests howl!

Your wrath outpour

With angry growl!

Do ye your worst, my vengeance call

Shall rise triumphant over all!


 * We’ll hear no more,


 * Ill-omened owl;

With joy we soar,


 * Despite your scowl!


 * The echoes of our festival


 * Shall rise triumphant over all!

Prepare for woe,

Ye haughty lords,

At once I go

Mikado-wards,


 * Away you go,


 * Collect your hordes;


 * Proclaim your woe


 * In dismal chords;


 * We do not heed their dismal sound,


 * For joy reigns everywhere around.

My wrongs with vengeance shall be crowned!

My wrongs with vengeance shall be crowned!

[Heather/Bridgette – incident 14.06]

[various girls - nature]

Braid the raven hair—

Weave the supple tress—

Deck the maiden fair,

In her loveliness—

Paint the pretty face—

Dye the coral lip—

Emphasize the grace

Of her ladyship!

Art and nature thus allied,

Go to make a pretty bride.

[Heather – nature and incidents 20.08, 25.04]

The sun, whose rays

Are all ablaze

With ever-living glory,

Does not deny

His majesty—

He scorns to tell a story!

He don’t exclaim,

“I blush for shame,

So kindly be indulgent.”

But, fierce and bold,

In fiery gold,

He glories all effulgent!

I mean to rule the earth,

As he the sky—

We really know our worth,

The sun and I!

Observe his flame,

That placid dame,

The moon’s Celestial Highness;

There’s not a trace

Upon her face

Of diffidence or shyness:

She borrows light

That, through the night,

Mankind may all acclaim her!

And, truth to tell,

She lights up well,

So I, for one, don’t blame her!

Ah, pray make no mistake,

We are not shy;

We’re very wide awake,

The moon and I!

[ Harold / LeShawna  – incident 13.12] (madrigal)

Brightly dawns our wedding day;

Joyous hour, we give thee greeting!

Whither, whither art thou fleeting?

Fickle moment, prithee stay!

What though mortal joys be hollow?

Pleasures come, if sorrows follow:

Though the tocsin sound, ere long,

Ding dong! Ding dong!

Yet until the shadows fall

Over one and over all,

Sing a merry madrigal—

A madrigal!

[ Noah /Courtney – incident 22.30] (verse 2 from “Brightly dawns our wedding day”, MIDI file 1:39 – 3:18)

[the team facing an elimination – nature]

Let us dry the ready tear,

Though the hours are surely creeping

Little need for woeful weeping,

Till the sad sundown is near.

All must sip the cup of sorrow—

I today and thou tomorrow;

This the close of every song—

Ding, dong! Ding, dong!

What, though solemn shadows fall,

Sooner, later, over all?

Sing a merry madrigal—

A madrigal!

[Gwen – incident 11.04] (verse 3 from “Here’s a how-de-do!”, MIDI file 0:26 – 0:37)

Here’s a state of things!

To her life she clings!

Matrimonial devotion

Doesn’t seem to suit her notion—

Burial it brings!

Here’s a state of things!

[Chris – incident 11.03]

A more humane Mikado

Never did in Japan exist,

To nobody second

I’m certainly reckoned

A true philanthropist.

It is my very humane endeavor

To make, to some extent,

Each evil liver

A running river

Of harmless merriment.

[Heather – incident 25.29] (MIDI file 0:22 – 3:12)

My object all sublime

I shall achieve in time—

To let the punishment fit the crime—

The punishment fit the crime;

And make each prisoner pent

Unwillingly represent

A source of innocent merriment—

Of innocent merriment!

All prosy dull society sinners,

Who chatter and bleat and bore,

Are sent to hear sermons

From mystical Germans

Who preach from ten till four.

The amateur tenor, whose vocal villainies

All desire to shirk,

Shall, during off-hours

Exhibit his powers

To Madame Tussaud’s waxwork.

The lady who dyes a chemical yellow

Or stains her grey hair puce,

Or pinches her figger,

Is painted with vigor

With permanent walnut juice.

The idiot who, in railway carriages,

Scribbles on window panes,

We only suffer

To ride on a buffer

In Parliamentary trains.

My object all sublime, etc.

The advertising quack who wearies

With tales of countless cures,

His teeth, I’ve enacted,

Shall all be extracted

By terrified amateurs.

The music hall singer attends a series

Of masses and fugues and “ops”

By Bach, interwoven

With Spohr and Beethoven,

At classical Monday Pops.

The billiard sharp whom anyone catches,

His doom’s extremely hard—

He’s made to dwell

In a dungeon cell

On a spot that’s always barred.

And there he plays extravagant matches

In fitless finger-stalls

On a cloth untrue,

With a twisted cue

And elliptical billiard balls!

My object all sublime, etc.

[Chef Hatchet/Duncan – incident 19.24]

The criminal cried, as he dropped him down,

In a state of wild alarm—

With a frightful, frantic, fearful frown,

I bared my big right arm.

I seized him by his little pigtail

And on his knees fell he,

As he squirmed and struggled,

And gurgled and guggled,

I drew my snickersnee!

Oh, never shall I

Forget the cry,

Or the shriek that shrieked he!

As I gnashed my teeth,

When from its sheath

I drew my snickersnee!

[Owen – incident 17.24] (chorus verse 1 from “The criminal cried”, MIDI file 0:48 – 1:00)


 * We know him well,


 * He cannot tell


 * Untrue or groundless tales—


 * He always tries


 * To utter lies,


 * And every time he fails.

[LeShawna/Harold – incident 13.16] (soloist verse 2 from “The criminal cried”, MIDI file 1:00 – 1:42)


 * He shivered and shook as he gave the sign


 * For the stroke he didn’t deserve;


 * When all of a sudden his eye met mine,


 * And it seemed to brace his nerve;


 * For he nodded his head and kissed his hand,


 * And he whistled an air, did he,


 * As the saber true


 * Cut cleanly through


 * His cervical vertebrae.


 * When a man’s afraid,


 * A beautiful maid


 * Is a cheering sight to see;


 * And it’s oh, I’m glad


 * That moment sad


 * Was soothed by sight of me!

[Izzy – incident 08.45] (chorus verse 2 from “The criminal cried”, MIDI file 1:42 – 1:54)


 * Her terrible tale


 * You can’t assail,


 * With truth it quite agrees:


 * Her taste exact


 * For faultless fact


 * Amounts to a disease!

[Owen/ Mr. Coconut – incident 23.20] (soloist verse 3 from “The criminal cried”, MIDI file 1:54 – 2:38)


 * Now, though you’d have said that head was dead


 * (For its owner, dead was he),


 * It stood on its neck with a smile well-bred,


 * And bowed three times to me!


 * It was none of your impudent off-hand nods,


 * But as humble as could be;


 * For it clearly knew


 * The deference due


 * To a man of pedigree!


 * And it’s oh, I vow,


 * This deathly bow


 * Was a touching sight to see;


 * Though trunkless, yet


 * It couldn’t forget


 * The deference due to me!

[Heather – nature and incident 16.68] (chorus verse 3 from “The criminal cried”, MIDI file 2:38 – 3:03)

[Chris – nature]


 * This haughty youth,


 * He speaks the truth


 * Whenever he finds it pays:


 * And in this case


 * It all took place


 * Exactly as he says!

[Heather/Trent – incident 16.93]

[Heather/Lindsay – incident 18.29]

[ Sadie  – incident 22.29]

See how the Fates their gifts allot,

For A is happy—B is not.

Yet B is worthy, I dare say,

Of more prosperity than A!


 * Is B more worthy?


 * I should say


 * He’s worth a great deal more than A.


 * Yet A is happy!


 * Oh, so happy!


 * Laughing, ha, ha!


 * Chaffing, ha, ha!


 * Nectar quaffing, ha, ha, ha!


 * Ever joyous, ever gay,


 * Happy, undeserving A!


 * If I were Fortune—which I’m not—


 * B should enjoy A’s happy lot,


 * And A should die in miserie—


 * That is, assuming I am B.


 * But should A perish?


 * That should he.


 * (Of course, assuming I am B.)


 * B should be happy!


 * Oh, so happy!


 * Laughing, ha, ha!


 * Chaffing, ha, ha!


 * Nectar quaffing, ha, ha, ha!


 * But condemned to die is he,


 * Wretched, meritorious B!

[Gwen – incident 24.30] (verse 2, MIDI file 0:40 – 1:32)

The flowers that bloom in the spring, tra la,

Have nothing to do with the case.

I’ve got to take under my wing, tra la,

A most unattractive old thing, tra la,

With a caricature of a face.

And that’s what I mean when I say or I sing,

“Oh, bother the flowers that bloom in the spring.”

[Gwen – incident 16.40] (with opening recitative )

Alone, and yet alive! Oh, sepulcher!

My soul is still my body’s prisoner!

Remote, the peace that Death alone can give—

My doom, to wait! My punishment, to live!

Hearts do not break!

They sting and ache,

For old love’s sake,

But do not die,

Though with each breath

They long for death

As witnesseth

The living I!

Oh, living I!

Come, tell me why,

When hope is gone,

Dost thou stay on?

Why linger here,

When all is drear?

Oh, living I!

Come, tell me why,

When hope is gone,

Dost thou stay on?

May not a cheated maiden die?

[Trent/Gwen – incident 26.33]

On a tree by a river, a little tom-tit

Sang “Willow, titwillow, titwillow!”

And I said to him, “Dicky-bird, why do you sit

Singing ‘Willow, titwillow, titwillow’?”

“Is it weakness of intellect, birdie?” I cried,

“Or a rather tough worm in your little inside?”

With a shake of his poor little head, he replied,

“Oh, willow, titwillow, titwillow!”

He slapped at his chest, as he sat on that bough,

Singing, “Willow, titwillow, titwillow!”

And a cold perspiration bespangled his brow,

Oh, willow, titwillow, titwillow!

He sobbed and he sighed, and a gurgle he gave,

Then he plunged himself into the billowy wave,

And an echo arose from the suicide’s grave—

“Oh, willow, titwillow, titwillow!”

Now I feel just as sure as I’m sure that my name

Isn’t Willow, titwillow, titwillow,

That ‘twas blighted affection that made him exclaim,

“Oh, willow, titwillow, titwillow!”

And if you remain callous and obdurate, I

Shall perish as he did, and you will know why,

Though I probably shall not exclaim, as I die,

“Oh, willow, titwillow, titwillow!”

[Geoff – incident 14.11]

[Izzy – incident 27.06]

[Eva – nature, in a different sense]

There is beauty in the bellow of the blast,

There is grandeur in the growling of the gale,

There is eloquence outpouring

When the lion is a-roaring,

And the tiger is a-lashing of his tail!


 * Yes, I love to see a tiger


 * From the Congo or the Niger,


 * And especially when lashing of his tail!

Volcanoes have a splendor that is grim,

And earthquakes only terrify the dolts,

But to him who’s scientific

There is nothing that’s terrific

In the falling of a flight of thunderbolts!


 * Yes, in spite of all my meekness,


 * If I have a little weakness,


 * It’s a passion for a flight of thunderbolts!

Verses from Ruddigore
For a brief plot summary, see the "Introduction to Gilbert & Sullivan" section above. Click the links provided for a more detailed plot summary or the Short Attention Span summary.

[ Lindsay  – incident 01.23]

Fair is Rose as the bright May-day;

Soft is Rose as the warm west wind;

Sweet is Rose as the new-mown hay—

Rose is the queen of maiden-kind!

[ Izzy  – incident 19.01]

[ Heather /Lindsay/ Beth  – nature]

[ Chris  – nature]

Sir Rupert Murgatroyd

His leisure and his riches

He ruthlessly employed

In persecuting witches.

With fear he’d make them quake—

He’d duck them in his lake—

He’d break their bones

With sticks and stones,

And burn them at the stake!


 * This sport he much enjoyed,


 * Did Rupert Murgatroyd—


 * No sense of shame


 * Or pity came


 * To Rupert Murgatroyd!

[Heather/Lindsay – incident 18.31] (from “Sir Rupert Murgatroyd”, MIDI file 0:55 – 1:22)

Once, on the village green,

A palsied hag he roasted,

And what took place, I ween,

Shook his composure boasted;

For, as the torture grim

Seized on each withered limb,

The writhing dame

‘Mid fire and flame

Yelled forth this curse on him:

[Incident 18.31 continued]

[ Courtney  – incident 12.29] (from “Sir Rupert Murgatroyd”, MIDI file 1:23 – 1:51)

[ Duncan  – nature]

“Each lord of Ruddigore,

Despite his best endeavor,

Shall do one crime, or more,

Once, every day, forever!

This doom he can’t defy,

However he may try,

For should he stay

His hand that day,

In torture he shall die!”

[Incident 12.29 continued]

[Duncan – nature] (from “Sir Rupert Murgatroyd”, MIDI file 1:51 – 2:27)

The prophecy came true:

Each heir who held the title

Had, every day, to do

Some crime of import vital;

Until, with guilt o’erplied,

“I’ll sin no more!” he cried,

And on the day

He said that say,

In agony he died!

[ Gwen / Cody  – incident 08.22]

If somebody there chanced to be

Who loved me in a manner true,

My heart would point him out to me,

And I would point him out to you.

But here it says of those who point—. . . . . . . [referring to book of etiquette]

Their manners must be out of joint—

You may not point—

You must not point—

It’s manners out of joint, to point!

Had I the love of such as he,

Some quiet spot he’d take me to,

Then he could whisper it to me,

And I could whisper it to you.

But whispering, I’ve somewhere met,. . . . . . . [referring to book]

Is contrary to etiquette:

Where can it be? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [searching book]

Now let me see—. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [finding reference]

Yes, yes!

It’s contrary to etiquette!

If any well-bred youth I knew,

Polite and gentle, neat and trim

Then I would hint as much to you,

And you could hint as much to him.

But here it says, in plainest print,. . . . . . . . . . [referring to book]

“It’s most unladylike to hint”—

You may not hint,

You must not hint—

It says you mustn’t hint, in print!

And if I loved him through and through—

(True love and not a passing whim),

Then I could speak of it to you,

And you could speak of it to him.

But here I find it doesn’t do. . . . . . . . . . . . . . [referring to book]

To speak until you’re spoken to.

Where can it be? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [searching book]

Now let me see—. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [finding reference]

Yes, yes!

“Don’t speak until you’re spoken to!”

[Gwen/ Trent – incidents 05.31, 08.01]

[Trent]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [Gwen]

I know a youth who loves a little maid—

(Hey, but his face is a sight for to see!)

Silent is he, for he’s modest and afraid—

(Hey, but he’s timid as a youth can be!)


 * I know a maid who loves a gallant youth,


 * (Hey, but she sickens as the days go by!)


 * She cannot tell him all the sad, sad truth—


 * (Hey, but I think that little maid will die!)

Poor little man!


 * Poor little maid!

Poor little man!


 * Poor little maid!

Now tell me pray, and tell me true,. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Now tell me pray, and tell me true,

What in the world should the young man do? . . . . . . . . . What in the world should the maiden do?

He cannot eat and he cannot sleep—

(Hey, but his face is a sight for to see!)

Daily he goes for to wail—for to weep

(Hey, but he’s wretched as a youth can be!)


 * She’s very thin and she’s very pale—


 * (Hey, but she sickens as the days go by!)


 * Daily she goes for to weep—for to wail—


 * (Hey, but I think that little maid will die!)

Poor little maid!


 * Poor little man!

Poor little maid!


 * Poor little man!

Now tell me pray, and tell me true,. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Now tell me pray, and tell me true,

What in the world should the young man do? . . . . . . . . . What in the world should the maiden do?


 * If I were the youth, I should offer her my name—


 * (Hey, but her face is a sight for to see!)

If I were the maid, I should fan his honest flame—

(Hey, but he’s bashful as a youth can be!)


 * If I were the youth, I should speak to her today—


 * (Hey, but she sickens as the days go by!)

If I were the maid, I should meet the lad halfway—

(For I really do believe that timid youth will die!)


 * Poor little man!

Poor little maid!


 * Poor little man!

Poor little maid!

I thank you, miss, for your counsel true;. . . . . . . . . . . . . I thank you, sir, for your counsel true;

I’ll tell that youth what he ought to do! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I’ll tell that maid what she ought to do!

[Trent – incident 16.08]

From the briny sea

Comes young Richard, all victorious!

Valorous is he—

His achievements all are glorious.

Let the welkin ring

With the news we bring

Sing it—shout it—

Tell about it—

Safe and sound returneth he,

All victorious from the sea!

[Bass/Cody – incident 04.06] (MIDI file 0:52 – 3:40)

[ Bridgette / Killer Bunny  – incident 16.61]

I shipped, d’ye see, in a Revenue sloop,

And, off Cape Finistere,

A merchantman we see,

A Frenchman, going free ,

So we made for the bold Mounseer ,

D’ye see?

We made for the bold Mounseer.

But she proved to be a Frigate—and she up with her ports,

And fires with a thirty-two !

It come uncommon near,

But we answered with a cheer,

Which paralyzed the Parley-voo ,

D’ye see?

Which paralyzed the Parley-voo!

Then our Captain he up and he says, says he,

“That chap we need not fear—

We can take her, if we like,

She is sartin for to strike ,

For she’s only a darned Mounseer,

D’ye see?

She’s only a darned Mounseer!

But to fight a French fal-lal—it’s like hittin’ of a gal!

It’s a lubberly thing for to do;

For we, with our faults,

Why, we’re sturdy British salts,

While she’s only a Parley-voo,

D’ye see?

While she’s only a Parley-voo!”

So we up with our helm, and we scuds before the breeze

As we gives a compassionating cheer;

Froggee answers with a shout

As he sees us go about,

Which was grateful of the poor Mounseer,

D’ye see?

Which was grateful of the poor Mounseer!

And I’ll wager in their joy they kissed each other’s cheek

(Which is what them furriners do),

And they blessed their lucky stars

We were sturdy British tar s

Who had pity on a poor Parley-voo,

D’ye see?

Who had pity on a poor Parley-voo!

[ Ezekiel  – incident 27.37]

My boy, you may take it from me,

That of all the afflictions accursed

With which a man’s saddled

And hampered and addled,

A diffident nature’s the worst.

Though clever as clever can be—

A Crichton of early romance—

You must stir it and stump it,

And blow your own trumpet,

Or, trust me, you haven’t a chance!

If you wish in the world to advance,

Your merits you’re bound to enhance,

You must stir it and stump it,

And blow your own trumpet,

Or, trust me, you haven’t a chance!

Now take, for example, my case:

I’ve a bright intellectual brain—

In all London city

There’s no one so witty—

I’ve thought so again and again.

I’ve a highly intelligent face—

My features cannot be denied—

But, whatever I try, sir,

I fail in, and why, sir?

I’m modesty personified!

If you wish in the world to advance, etc.

As a poet, I’m tender and quaint—

I’ve passion and fervor and grace—

From Ovid and Horace

To Swinburne and Morris,

They all of them take a back place.

Then I sing and I play and I paint:

Though none are accomplished as I,

To say so were treason:

You ask me the reason?

I’m diffident, modest, and shy!

[Incident 27.37 continued]

[Courtney – nature and incident 02.08] (refrain from “My boy, you may take it from me”, MIDI file 1:49 – 2:10)

If you wish in the world to advance,

Your merits you’re bound to enhance,

You must stir it and stump it,

And blow your own trumpet,

Or, trust me, you haven’t a chance!

[ Owen /Izzy – incident 26.41]

The battle’s roar is over,

O my love!

Embrace thy tender lover,

O my love!

From tempests’ welter,

From war’s alarms,

O give me shelter

Within those arms!

Thy smile alluring,

All heart-ache curing,

Gives peace enduring,

O my love!


 * If heart both true and tender,


 * O my love!


 * A life-love can engender,


 * O my love!


 * A truce to sighing


 * And tears of brine,


 * For joy undying


 * Shall aye be mine,


 * And thou and I, love,


 * Shall live and die, love,


 * Without a sigh, love—


 * My own, my love!

[various lovebirds]

In sailing o’er life’s ocean wide

Your heart should be your only guide;

With summer sea and favoring wind,

Yourself in port you’ll surely find.

[Cody – incident 08.17] (from “In sailing o’er life’s ocean wide”, MIDI file 0:13 – 0:32)


 * My heart says, “To this maiden strike—


 * She’s captured you.


 * She’s just the sort of girl you like—


 * You know you do.


 * If other man her heart should gain,


 * I shall resign.”


 * That’s what it says to me quite plain,


 * This heart of mine.

[Gwen/Trent – incident 15.25] (from “In sailing o’er life’s ocean wide”, MIDI file 0:51 – 1:47)

[Courtney/Duncan – nature]


 * Ten minutes since my heart said “white”—


 * It now says “black.”


 * It then said “left”—it now says “right”—


 * Hearts often tack.


 * I must obey its latest strain—


 * You tell me so.


 * But should it change its mind again,


 * I’ll let you know.

In sailing o’er life’s ocean wide

No doubt the heart should be your guide;

But it is awkward when you find

A heart that does not know its mind!

[Izzy – nature and incident 01.20]

Cheerily carols the lark

Over the cot.

Merrily whistles the clerk

Scratching a blot.

But the lark

And the clerk,

I remark,

Comfort me not.

Over the ripening peach

Buzzes the bee.

Splash on the billowy beach

Tumbles the sea.

But the peach

And the beach

They are each

Nothing to me.

And why?

Who am I?

Daft Madge! Crazy Meg!

Mad Margaret! Poor Peg!

He! he! he! he! he! . . . . . . . . [chuckling]

[Owen – incident 23.47] (from “Cheerily carols the lark”, MIDI file 1:13 – 1:31)

Mad, I?

Yes, very!

But why?

Mystery!

Don’t call!

No crime—

‘Tis only

That I’m

Love-lonely!

That’s all!

[Cody/Gwen/Trent – incident 05.03] (MIDI file 1:32 – 3:35, gender roles reversed in TDI)

To a garden full of posies

Cometh one to gather flowers,

And he wanders through its bowers

Toying with the wanton roses,

Who, uprising from their beds,

Hold on high their pretty heads

With their pretty lips a-pouting,

Never doubting—never doubting

That for Cytherean posies

He would gather aught but roses!

In a nest of weeds and nettles

Lay a violet, half-hidden,

Hoping that his glance unbidden

Yet might fall upon her petals.

Though she lived alone, apart,

Hope lay nestling at her heart,

But, alas, the cruel awaking

Set her little heart a-breaking,

For he gathered for his posies

Only roses—only roses!

[Owen/Gwen/Duncan – incident 23.36]

[Owen/ Return of the Losers – incident 26.07]

Welcome, gentry,

For your entry

Sets our tender hearts a-beating.

Men of station,

Admiration

Prompts this unaffected greeting.

Hearty greetings offer we!

[ Justin  – incident 27.42] (from “Welcome, gentry”, MIDI file 0:49 – 1:14)

When thoroughly tired

Of being admired

By ladies of gentle degree—degree,

With flattery sated,

High-flown and inflated,

Away from the city we flee—we flee!

From charms intramural

To prettiness rural

The sudden transition

Is simply Elysian,

So come, Amaryllis ,

Come, Chloe and Phyllis,

Your slaves, for the moment, are we!

[Bridgette/Ezekiel – incident 22.10] (from “Welcome, gentry”, MIDI file 1:14 – 1:46)

The sons of the tillage

Who dwell in this village

Are people of lowly degree—degree.

Though honest and active,

They’re most unattractive,

And awkward as awkward can be—can be.

They’re clumsy clodhoppers,

With axes and choppers,

And shepherds and ploughmen

And drovers and cowmen

And hedgers and reapers

And carters and keepers,

But never a lover for me!

[ EPKWACAAH  – nature and incident 19.26] (MIDI file 2:25 – 4:38)

[Duncan – nature]

[EPKWACAAH]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [Gwen]

[http://math.boisestate.edu/gas/ruddigore/web_opera/rudd12.html Oh, why am I moody and sad? ]


 * Can’t guess!

And why am I guiltily mad?


 * Confess!

Because I am thoroughly bad!


 * Oh, yes—

You’ll see it at once in my face,

Oh, why am I husky and hoarse?


 * Ah, why?

It’s the workings of conscience, of course.


 * Fie, fie!

And huskiness stands for remorse,


 * Oh, my!

At least it does so in my case.

When in crime one is fully employed—


 * Like you—

Your expression gets warped and destroyed:


 * It do.

It’s a penalty none can avoid;


 * How true!

I once was a nice-looking youth;

But like stone from a strong catapult—


 * A trice—

I rushed at my terrible cult—


 * That’s vice—

Observe the unpleasant result!


 * Not nice.

Indeed I am telling the truth!

Oh, innocent, happy though poor!


 * That’s we—

If I had been virtuous, I’m sure—


 * Like me—

I should be as nice-looking as you’re!


 * May be,

You are very nice looking indeed!

Oh, innocents, listen in time—


 * We doe,

Avoid an existence of crime—


 * Just so—

Or you’ll be as ugly as I’m—


 * No! No!

And now, if you please, we’ll proceed.

[Duncan/ Geoff – incident 17.17]

[http://math.boisestate.edu/gas/ruddigore/web_opera/rudd14.html You understand? ]


 * I think I do;


 * With vigor unshaken


 * This step shall be taken.


 * It’s neatly planned.

I think so too;

I’ll readily bet it

You’ll never regret it!


 * For duty, duty must be done;


 * The rule applies to everyone,


 * And painful though that duty be,


 * To shirk the task were fiddle-de-dee!

[Gwen/Cody (as described by Heather ) – incident 05.21] (Finale Act I)

Hail the bride of seventeen summers:

In fair phrases

Hymn her praises;

Lift your song on high, all comers.

She rejoices

In your voices.

Smiling summer beams upon her,

Shedding every blessing on her:

Maidens greet her—

Kindly treat her—

You may all be brides someday!

Hail the bridegroom who advances,

Agitated,

Yet elated.

He’s in easy circumstances,

Young and lusty,

True and trusty.

[Geoff/Owen – nature and incident 21.04] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 3:32 – 4:37)

Spring is hope—

Summer’s joy—


 * Spring and summer never cloy.


 * Autumn, toil—


 * Winter, rest—


 * Winter, after all, is best.


 * Spring and summer pleasure you,


 * Autumn, aye, and winter too—


 * Every season has its cheer,


 * Life is lovely all the year!

[Courtney] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 6:33 – 7:05)

As pure and blameless peasant,

I cannot, I regret,

Deny a truth unpleasant,

I am that Baronet!

But when completely rated

Bad Baronet am I,

That I am what he’s stated

I’ll recklessly deny!

[Courtney] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 7:05 – 8:04)

When I’m a bad Bart, I will tell taradiddle s!


 * He’ll tell taradiddles when he’s a bad Bart.

I’ll play a bad part on the falsest of fiddles,


 * On very false fiddles he’ll play a bad part!

But until that takes place I must be conscientious—


 * He’ll be conscientious until that takes place.

Then adieu with good grace to my morals sententious!


 * To morals sententious adieu with good grace!

[Heather/Gwen – incident 16.69] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 8:27 – 9:14)

Within this breast there beats a heart

Whose voice can’t be gainsaid.

It bade me thy true rank impart,

And I at once obeyed.

I knew ‘twould blight thy budding fate—

I knew ‘twould cause thee anguish great—

But did I therefore hesitate?

No! I at once obeyed!

[Gwen/Trent – incidents 16.49, 26.15] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 9:14 – 9:52)

Farewell!

Thou hadst my heart—

‘Twas quickly won!

But now we part—

Thy face I shun!

Farewell!

Go bend the knee

At Vice’s shrine,

Of life with me

All hope resign.

Farewell!

[Duncan/Courtney – incident 12.35] ( recitative – from Finale Act I, MIDI file 10:27 – 10:43)

Oh, joy! With newly kindled rapture warmed,

I kneel before you!


 * I once disliked you; now that I’ve reformed,


 * How I adore you!

[hooked-up boys] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 11:19 – 11:33)

For happy the lily

That’s kissed by the bee;

And, sipping, tranquilly,

Quite happy is he;

And happy the filly

That neighs in her pride;

But happier than any,

A pound to a penny,

A lover is, when he

Embraces his bride!

[Courtney – incident 27.18] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 11:34 – 11:47)


 * Oh, happy the flowers


 * That blossom in June,


 * And happy the bowers


 * That gain by the boon,


 * But happier by hours


 * The man of descent,


 * Who, folly regretting,


 * Is bent on forgetting


 * His bad baronetting,


 * And means to repent!

[Gwen/Trent – incident 26.57] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 11:47 – 12:01)


 * Oh, happy the blossom


 * That blooms on the lea,


 * Likewise the opossum


 * That sits on a tree,


 * But when you come across ‘em,


 * They cannot compare


 * With those who are treading


 * The dance at a wedding,


 * While people are spreading


 * The best of good fare!

[ Harold  – incident 22.15] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 12:02 – 12:14)

[Owen – incident 23.37]


 * Oh, wretched the debtor


 * Who’s signing a deed!


 * And wretched the letter


 * That no one can read!


 * But very much better


 * Their lot it must be


 * Than that of the person


 * I’m making this verse on,


 * Whose head there’s a curse on—


 * Alluding to me!

[Compiler’s signature] (no longer performed – from Opening Act II)

How providential when you find

The face an index to the mind,

And evil men compelled to call

Themselves by names like Gideon Crawle !

[Trent/Gwen – incident 26.58]

Happily coupled are we,

You see—

I am a jolly Jack Tar,

My star,

And you are the fairest,

The richest and rarest

Of innocent lasses you are,

By far,

Of innocent lasses you are!

Fanned by a favoring gale,

You’ll sail

Over life’s treacherous sea

With me,

And as for bad weather,

We’ll brave it together,

And you shall creep under my lee,

My wee!

And you shall creep under my lee!

For you are such a smart little craft—

Such a neat little, sweet little craft,

Such a bright little, tight little,

Slight little, light little,

Trim little, prim little craft!


 * My hopes will be blighted, I fear,


 * My dear!


 * In a month you’ll be going to sea,


 * Quite free,


 * And all of my wishes


 * You’ll throw to the fishes


 * As though they were never to be,


 * Poor me!


 * As though they were never to be.


 * And I shall be left all alone


 * To moan,


 * And weep at your cruel deceit,


 * Complete;


 * While you’ll be asserting


 * Your freedom by flirting


 * With every woman you meet,


 * You cheat—


 * With every woman you meet!


 * Though I am such a smart little craft, etc.

[Trent/Gwen – incident 16.82]

In bygone days I had thy love—

Thou hadst my heart.

But Fate, all human vows above,

Our lives did part!

By the old love thou hadst for me—

By the fond heart that beat for thee—

By joys that never now can be,

Grant thou my prayer!

[Heather – incident 23.18]

[Return of the Losers – incident 26.03]

Painted emblems of a race

All accurst in days of yore,

Each from his accustomed place

Steps into the world once more.

[castaways – incident 23.39] (from “Painted emblems of a race”, MIDI file 1:33 – 1:46)

[Heather – incident 25.28]

Baronet of Ruddigore,

Last of our accursed line,

Down upon the oaken floor—

Down upon those knees of thine.

[ D.J. /Owen – incident 18.01] (from “Painted emblems of a race”, MIDI file 1:47 – 2:42)

[D.J. – incident 19.16]

Coward, poltroon, shaker, squeamer ,

Blockhead, sluggard, dullard, dreamer,

Shirker, shuffler, crawler, creeper,

Sniffler, snuffler, wailer, weeper,

Earthworm, maggot, tadpole, weevil!

Set upon thy course of evil,

Lest the King of Specter-Land

Set on thee his grisly hand!

[Heather/ Chef Hatchet – incident 19.17] (from “Painted emblems of a race”, MIDI file 2:26 – 3:11)

Beware! Beware! Beware!


 * Gaunt vision, who art thou


 * That thus, with icy glare


 * And stern relentless brow,


 * Appearest, who knows how?

I am the specter of the late

Sir Roderic Murgatroyd,

Who comes to warn thee that thy fate

Thou canst not now avoid.

[Gwen and her hometown buddies  – nature and incident 27.12] (with opening recitative, MIDI file 3:12 – 5:55)


 * Alas, poor ghost!

The pity you

Express for nothing goes:

We specters are a jollier crew

Than you, perhaps, suppose!

When the night wind howls

In the chimney cowls,

And the bat in the moonlight flies,

And inky clouds,

Like funeral shrouds,

Sail over the midnight skies—

When the footpads quail

At the night-bird’s wail,

And black dogs bay at the moon,

Then is the specter’s holiday—then is the ghosts’ high noon!

As the sob of the breeze

Sweeps over the trees,

And the mists lie low on the fen,

From gray tombstones

Are gathered the bones

That once were women and men,

And away they go,

With a mop and a mow ,

To the revel that ends too soon,

For cock-crow limits our holiday—the dead of the night’s high noon!

And then each ghost

With his lady-toast

To their churchyard beds takes flight,

With a kiss, perhaps,

On her lantern chaps,

And a grisly grim “good night”;

Till the welcome knell

Of the midnight bell

Rings forth its jolliest tune,

And ushers in our next high holiday—the dead of the night’s high noon!

[ Eva /Lindsay – incident 15.19]

[Duncan/Owen – incident 17.16]

[http://math.boisestate.edu/gas/ruddigore/web_opera/rudd21.html He yields! ] He answers to our call!

We do not ask for more.

A sturdy fellow, after all,

This latest Ruddigore!

All perish in unheard-of woe

Who dare our wills defy:

We want your pardon, ere we go.

For having agonized you so—

So pardon us—

So pardon us—

So pardon us—

Or die!

[Heather – incident 23.22] (from “He yields!”, MIDI file 1:15 – 2:08)

Painted emblems of a race,

All accurst in days of yore,

Each to his accustomed place

Steps unwillingly once more!

[Courtney – incident 12.34] (with opening recitative )

[http://math.boisestate.edu/gas/ruddigore/web_opera/rudd22.html Away, Remorse! ]

Compunction, hence!

Go, Moral Force!

Go, Penitence!

To Virtue’s plea

A long farewell—

Propriety,

I ring your knell!

Come, guiltiness of deadliest hue!

Come, desperate deeds of derring-do!

Henceforth all the crimes

That I find in the Times,

I’ve promised to perpetrate daily;

Tomorrow I start,

With a petrified heart,

On a regular course of Old Bailey.

There’s confidence tricking,

Bad coin, pocket picking,

And several other disgraces—

There’s postage stamp prigging,

And then, thimble-rigging,

The three-card delusion at races!

Oh! A baronet’s rank is exceedingly nice,

But the title’s uncommonly dear at the price!

[Cody, self-styled “cool kid”] (verse 2 from “Henceforth all the crimes”, MIDI file 1:09 – 1:43)

Ye well-to-do squires,

Who live in the shires,

Where petty distinctions are vital,

Who found Athenaeums

And local museums,

With views to a baronet’s title—

Ye butchers and bakers

And candlestick makers

Who sneer at all things that are tradey—

Whose middle-class lives

Are embarrassed by wives

Who long to parade as “My Lady”,

Oh! Allow me to offer a word of advice,

The title’s uncommonly dear at the price!

[Lindsay – incident 22.11] (verse 3 from “Henceforth all the crimes”, MIDI file 1:39 – 2:15)

Ye supple M.P .s

Who go down on your knees,

Your precious identity sinking,

And vote black or white

As your leaders indite

(Which saves you the trouble of thinking),

For your country’s good fame,

Her repute, or her shame,

You don’t care the snuff of a candle—

But you’re paid for your game

When you’re told that your name

Will be graced by a baronet’s handle—

Oh! Allow me to give you a word of advice—

The title’s uncommonly dear at the price!

[Gwen – incident 23.40]

I once was a very abandoned person—


 * Making the most of evil chances,

Nobody could conceive a worse ‘un—


 * Even in all the old romances.

I blush for my wild extravagances,

But be so kind

To bear in mind,


 * We were the victims of circumstances!

[Izzy] (verse 2 from “I once was a very abandoned person”, MIDI file 1:13 – 1:57)


 * I was once an exceedingly odd young lady—

Suffering much from spleen and vapors.


 * Clergymen thought my conduct shady—

She didn’t spend much on linen-drapers.


 * It certainly entertained all the gapers.


 * My ways were strange


 * Beyond all range—

Paragraphs got in all the papers.

[Courtney – incident 27.21] (verse 3 from “I once was a very abandoned person”, MIDI file 1:58 – 2:44)

I’ve given up all my wild proceedings.


 * My taste for a wandering life is waning.

Now I’m a dab at penny readings.


 * They are not remarkably entertaining.

A moderate livelihood we’re gaining.


 * In fact, we rule


 * A National School.

The duties are dull, but I’m not complaining.

[Lindsay – incident 18.23]

My eyes are fully open to my awful situation—

I shall go at once to Roderic and make him an oration.

I shall tell him I’ve recovered my forgotten moral senses,

And I don’t care twopence-halfpenny for any consequences.

Now I do not want to perish by the sword or by the dagger,

But a martyr may indulge a little pardonable swagger,

And a word or two of compliment my vanity would flatter,

But I’ve got to die tomorrow, so it really doesn’t matter!

[Izzy – nature and incident 08.42] (verse 2 from “My eyes are fully open”, MIDI file 0:40 – 1:11)

If I were not a little mad and generally silly

I should give you my advice upon the subject, willy-nilly;

I should show you in a moment how to grapple with the question,

And you’d really be astonished at the force of my suggestion.

On the subject I shall write you a most valuable letter,

Full of excellent suggestions when I feel a little better,

But at present I’m afraid I am as mad as any hatter,

So I’ll keep ‘em to myself, for my opinion doesn’t matter!

[ Sadie  – incident 06.04] (verse 3 from “My eyes are fully open”, MIDI file 1:12 – 1:54)

If I had been so lucky as to have a steady brother

Who could talk to me as we are talking now to one another—

Who could give me good advice when he discovered I was erring

(Which is just the very favor which on you I’m now conferring),

My story might have made a rather interesting idyll

And I might have lived and died a very decent indiwiddle.

This particularly rapid, unintelligible patter

Isn’t generally heard, and if it is it doesn’t matter!

[Gwen/Trent – incident 16.88]

There grew a little flower

‘Neath a great oak tree:

When the tempest ‘gan to lower

Little heeded she:

No need had she to cower,

For she dreaded not its power—

She was happy in the bower

Of her great oak tree!


 * Sing hey,


 * Lackaday!


 * Let the tears fall free


 * For the pretty little flower and her great oak tree!

When she found that he was fickle,

Was that great oak tree,

She was in a pretty pickle,

As she well might be—

But his gallantries were mickle ,

For Death followed with his sickle,

And her tears began to trickle

For her great oak tree!


 * Sing hey, etc.

Said she, “He loved me never,

Did that great oak tree,

But I’m neither rich nor clever,

And so why should he?

But though fate our fortunes sever,

To be constant I’ll endeavor,

Aye, forever and forever,

To my great oak tree!”


 * Sing hey, etc.

[Gwen/Trent – incident 26.51] (Finale Act II)

When a man has been a naughty baronet,

And expresses his repentance and regret,

You should help him, if you’re able,

Like the mousie in the fable—

That’s the teaching of my Book of Etiquette!

[Ezekiel – incident 02.20] (from Finale Act II, MIDI file 0:18 – 0:31)


 * Having been a wicked baronet a week,


 * Once again a modest livelihood I seek,


 * Agricultural employment


 * Is to me a keen enjoyment,


 * For I’m naturally diffident and meek!

[Geoff – incidents 21.33, 22.04] (from Finale Act II, MIDI file 0:31 – 0:45)


 * If you ask me why I do not pipe my eye ,


 * Like an honest British sailor, I reply,


 * That with Zorah for my missus,


 * There’ll be bread and cheese and kisses,


 * Which is just the sort of ration I enjye!

[Courtney – incident 27.19] (from Finale Act II, MIDI file 0:45 – 1:23)


 * Prompted by a keen desire to evoke


 * All the blessed calm of matrimony’s yoke,


 * We shall toddle off tomorrow


 * From this scene of sin and sorrow,


 * For to settle in the town of Basingstoke!

Verses from The Yeomen of the Guard
The only tragedy in the series. For a brief plot summary, see the "Introduction to Gilbert & Sullivan" section above. Click the links provided for a more detailed plot summary or the Short Attention Span summary.

[ Gwen  – incident 16.54]

When maiden loves, she sits and sighs,

She wanders to and fro;

Unbidden tear-drops fill her eyes,

And to all questions she replies

With a sad “ heigho !”

‘Tis but a little word—“heigho!”

So soft, ‘tis scarcely heard-“heigho!”

An idle breath—

Yet life and death

May hang upon a maid’s “heigho!”

[ Chef Hatchet  – incident 12.06]

Tower Warders,

Under orders,

Gallant pikemen, valiant sworders!

Brave in bearing,

Foemen scaring,

In their bygone days of daring!

Ne’er a stranger

There to danger

Each was o’er the world a ranger;

To the story

Of our glory

Each a bold contributory!


 * In the autumn of our life,


 * Here at rest in ample clover,


 * We rejoice in telling over


 * Our impetuous May and June.


 * In the evening of our day,


 * With the sun of life declining,


 * We recall without repining


 * All the heat of bygone noon.


 * This the autumn of our life,


 * This the evening of our day;


 * Weary we of battle strife,


 * Weary we of mortal fray.


 * But our year is not so spent,


 * And our days are not so faded,


 * But that we with one consent,


 * Were our loved land invaded,


 * Still would face a foreign foe,


 * As in days of long ago.

[Gwen – incident 25.10]

When our gallant Norman foes

Made our merry land their own,

And the Saxons from the Conqueror were flying,

At his bidding it arose,

In its panoply of stone,

A sentinel unliving and undying.

Insensible, I trow,

As a sentinel should be,

Though a Queen to save her head should come a-suing.

But there’s a legend on its brow

Which is eloquent to me,

And it talks of duty done and duty doing:

[ Chris  – incident 21.02] (from “When our gallant Norman foes”, MIDI file 1:49 – 2:44)

[Elimination ceremony - nature]

Within its wall of rock

The flower of the brave

Have perished with a constancy unshaken.

From the dungeon to the block,

From the scaffold to the grave,

Is a journey many gallant hearts have taken.

And the wicked flames may hiss

Round the heroes who have fought

For conscience and for home in all its beauty,

But the grim old fortalice

Takes little heed of aught

That comes not in the measure of his duty.

[Dare/punishment challenges – incidents 15.18, 25.14] (refrain from “When our gallant Norman foes”, MIDI file 2:44 – 3:55)

“The screw may twist and the rack may turn,

And men may bleed and men may burn,

O’er London town and its golden hoard

I keep my silent watch and ward!”

[ Beth  – incident 09.06]

[ Duncan / Courtney  – incident 12.19]

Alas, I waver to and fro!

Dark danger hangs upon the deed!


 * The scheme is rash and well may fail,


 * But ours are not the hearts that quail,


 * The hands that shrink, the cheeks that pale


 * In hours of need!

[Gwen – incident 19.30] (from “Alas, I waver to and fro”, MIDI file 0:52 – 2:11)


 * And shall I reckon risks I run


 * When services are to be done


 * To save the life of such a one?


 * Unworthy thought!


 * We may succeed—who can foretell?


 * May heaven help our hope—farewell!

[ LeShawna  – incident 19.21]

[various eliminated campers]

[http://math.boisestate.edu/gas/yeomen/web_opera/yeomen_05.html Is life a boon? ]

If so, it must befall,

That Death, whene’er he call

Must call too soon.

Though fourscore years he give,

Yet one would pray to live

Another moon!

What kind of plaint have I,

Who perish in July?

I might have had to die,

Perchance, in June!

Is life a thorn?

Then count it not a whit !

Man is well done with it;

Soon as he’s born

He should all means essay

To put the plague away;

And I, war-worn,

Poor, captured fugitive,

My life most gladly give—

I might have had to live

Another morn!

[ Owen  – nature and incident 23.02]

[ Geoff  – nature]

Here’s a man of jollity,

Jibe, joke, jollify!

Give us of your quality,

Come, fool, follify!

Banish your timidity,

And with all rapidity,

Give us quip and quiddity —

Willy-nilly, O!

[Owen – incident 23.09] (from “Here’s a man of jollity”, MIDI file 0:43 – 0:48)

[Duncan/Owen – incident 24.19]

River none can mollify—

Into it we throw

Fool who doesn’t follify,

Cock who doesn’t crow!

[ Cody /Gwen – nature and incident 08.09]

[Cody]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [Gwen]

I have a song to sing, O!


 * Sing me your song, O!

It is sung to the moon

By a lovelorn loon

Who fled from the mocking throng, O!

It’s the song of the merryman, moping mum,

Whose soul was sad and whose glance was glum,

Who sipped no sup and who craved no crumb,

As he sighed for the love of a lady!


 * I have a song to sing, O!

What is your song, O?


 * It is sung with the ring


 * Of the songs maids sing


 * Who love with a love life-long, O!


 * It’s the song of a merrymaid, peerly proud,


 * Who loved a lord and who laughed aloud


 * At the moan of the merryman, moping mum,


 * Whose soul was sad and whose glance was glum,


 * Who sipped no sup and who craved no crumb


 * As he sighed for the love of a lady!

[LeShawna/ Harold – incident 13.09]

How say you, maiden, will you wed

A man about to lose his head?

For half an hour

You’ll be a wife,

And then the dower

Is yours for life.

A headless bridegroom why refuse?

If truth the poets tell,

Most bridegrooms, ere they marry, lose

Both head and heart as well!

[Gwen – incidents 20.07, 25.20] (from “How say you, maiden”, MIDI file 0:35 – 1:07)


 * A strange proposal you reveal,


 * It almost makes my senses reel.


 * Alas! I’m very poor indeed,


 * And such a sum I sorely need.


 * My mother, sir, is like to die,


 * This money life may bring.


 * Bear this in mind, I pray, if I


 * Consent to do this thing!

[Owen – incident 10.06] (from “How say you, maiden”, MIDI file 1:36 – 2:53)

[Courtney – incident 12.18]


 * Temptation, oh, temptation,


 * Were we, I pray, intended


 * To shun, whate’er our station,


 * Your fascinations splendid;


 * Or fall, whene’er we view you,


 * Head over heels into you?

[ Noah  – nature and incident 27.49]

I’ve jibe and joke

And quip and crank

For lowly folk

And men of rank

I ply my craft

And know no fear,

But aim my shaft

At prince or peer.

[Noah – nature and incident 22.06] (from “I’ve jibe and joke”, MIDI file 0:39 – 1:42)

I’ve wisdom from the East and from the West,

That’s subject to no academic rule;

You may find it in the jeering of a jest,

Or distill it from the folly of a fool.

I can teach you with a quip if I’ve a mind;

I can trick you into learning with a laugh;

Oh, winnow all my folly, and you’ll find

A grain or two of truth among the chaff!

I can set a braggart quailing with a quip,

The upstart I can wither with a whim;

He may wear a merry laugh upon his lip,

But his laughter has an echo that is grim!

When they’re offered to the world in merry guise,

Unpleasant truths are swallowed with a will—

For he who’d make his fellow creatures wise

Should always gild the philosophic pill!

[Gwen/ Trent – incident 16.89] (from “Tis done! I am a bride”, MIDI file 0:48 – 3:06)

Though tear and long-drawn sigh

Ill fit a bride,

No sadder wife than I

The whole world wide!

Ah me! Ah me!

Yet maids there be

Who would consent to lose

The very rose of youth,

The flower of life,

To be, in honest truth,

A wedded wife,

No matter whose!

[Incident 16.89 continued]

[LeShawna/Harold – incident 13.17] (from “Tis done! I am a bride”, MIDI file 1:42 – 3:06)

Ere half an hour has rung,

A widow I!

Ah, heaven, he is too young,

Too brave to die!

Ah me! Ah me!

Yet wives there be

So weary worn, I trow,

That they would scarce complain,

So that they could

In half an hour attain

To widowhood,

No matter how!

[ Heather /Duncan – incident 24.34]

Were I thy bride,

Then all the world beside

Were not too wide

To hold thy wealth of love—

Were I thy bride!

Upon thy breast

My loving head would rest,

As on her nest

The tender turtle dove—

Were I thy bride!

This heart of mine

Would be one heart with thine,

And in that shrine

Our happiness would dwell—

Were I thy bride!

And all day long

Our lives should be a song:

No grief, no wrong

Should make my heart rebel—

Were I thy bride!

The silvery flute,

The melancholy lute,

Were night-owl’s hoot

To my low-whispered coo—

Were I thy bride!

The skylark’s trill

Were but discordance shrill

To the soft thrill

Of wooing as I’d woo—

Were I thy bride!

The rose’s sigh

Were as a carrion’s cry

To lullaby

Such as I’d sing to thee,

Were I thy bride!

A feather’s press

Were leaden heaviness

To my caress.

But then, of course, you see,

I’m not thy bride!

[ Eva  – incident 15.09] (Finale Act I – ironically in TDI)

Oh, Sergeant Meryll, is it true—

The welcome news we read in orders?

Thy son, whose deeds of derring-do

Are echoed all the country through,

Has come to join the Tower Warders?

If so, we come to meet him,

That we may fitly greet him,

And welcome his arrival here

With shout on shout and cheer on cheer.

Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah!

[Chef Hatchet/Gwen – incident 12.42] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 1:04 – 1:37)


 * Ye Tower Warders, nursed in war’s alarms,


 * Suckled on gunpowder, and weaned on glory,


 * Behold my son, whose all-subduing arms


 * Have formed the theme of many a song and story


 * Forgive his aged father’s pride; nor jeer


 * His aged father’s sympathetic tear!

[Eva – incident 15.16] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 1:38 – 2:33)

Leonard Meryll!

Leonard Meryll!

Dauntless he in time of peril!

Man of power,

Knighthood’s flower

Welcome to the grim old Tower,

To the Tower, welcome thou!

[ Mr. Coconut, war hero – incident 23.45]


 * Forbear, my friends, and spare me this ovation,


 * I have small claim to such consideration;


 * The tales that of my prowess are narrated


 * Have been prodigiously exaggerated!

[Beth – incident 09.07] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 2:50 – 3:10)

[Geoff – incident 21.21]

Didst thou not, oh, Leonard Meryll,

Standard lost in last campaign,

Rescue it at deadly peril—

Bear it safely back again?

[ Izzy  – incident 17.20] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 3:10 – 3:28)

[LeShawna – incident 19.20]


 * Didst thou not, when prisoner taken,


 * And debarred from all escape,


 * Face with gallant heart unshaken,


 * Death in most appalling shape?

[Harold – incident 04.18]

[Izzy – incident 17.21] (no longer performed – verse 3 of “Didst thou not, oh, Leonard Meryll” from Finale Act I)


 * You, when brought to execution


 * Like a demigod of yore,


 * With heroic resolution


 * Snatched a sword and killed a score.

[Gwen – incident 19.33] (no longer performed – verse 4 of “Didst thou not, oh, Leonard Meryll” from Finale Act I)


 * Then, escaping from the foemen


 * Boltered with the blood you shed,


 * You, defiant, fearing no men,


 * Saved your honor and your head!

[Izzy – incident 15.12] (no longer performed – verse 5 of “Didst thou not, oh, Leonard Meryll” from Finale Act I)


 * True, my course with judgement shaping,


 * Favored, too, by lucky star,


 * I succeeded in escaping


 * Prison bolt and prison bar!

[Cody/Trent/Gwen – incident 08.31] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 6:46 – 9:10)

To thy fraternal care

Thy sister I commend;

From every lurking snare

Thy lovely charge defend:

And to achieve this end,

Oh, grant, I pray, this boon—

She shall not quit thy sight:

From morn to afternoon—

From afternoon to night—

From seven o’clock to two—

From two to eventide—

From dim twilight to ‘lev’n at night

She shall not quit thy side!


 * So amiable I’ve grown,


 * So innocent as well,


 * That if I’m left alone


 * The consequences fell


 * No mortal can foretell.


 * So grant, I pray, this boon—


 * I shall not quit thy sight:


 * From morn to afternoon—


 * From afternoon to night—


 * From seven o’clock to two—


 * From two to eventide—


 * From dim twilight to ‘lev’n at night


 * I shall not quit thy side.


 * With brotherly readiness,


 * For my fair sister’s sake,


 * At once I answer “Yes”—


 * That task I undertake—


 * My word I never break.


 * I freely grant that boon,


 * And I’ll repeat my plight.


 * From morn to afternoon— . . . . . . . . . . . [kiss]


 * From afternoon to night— . . . . . . . . . . . [kiss]


 * From seven o’clock to two— . . . . . . . . . [kiss]


 * From two to evening meal— . . . . . . . . . [kiss]


 * From dim twilight to ‘lev’n at night


 * That compact I will seal. . . . . . . . . . . . . [kiss]

[Elimination Ceremony – nature and incident 02.18] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 9:24 – 11:00)

The prisoner comes to meet his doom;

The block, the headsman, and the tomb.

The funeral bell begins to toll—

May Heaven have mercy on his soul!

[ Bridgette  – incident 17.34] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 11:01 – 12:11)

[Geoff – incident 21.31]

Oh, Mercy, thou whose smile has shone

So many a captive heart upon;

Of all immured within these walls,

Today the very worthiest falls!

[ RCMP  – incident 15.13] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 12:46 – 12:53)

[Chef Hatchet – incident 17.25]

[Chris – incident 18.06]

We hunted high, we hunted low,

We hunted here, we hunted there—

The man we sought with anxious care

Had vanished into empty air!

[Heather/Beth – incident 09.15] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 13:12 – 13:37)

Astounding news! The prisoner fled!

Thy life shall forfeit be instead!


 * My lord, I did not set him free,


 * I hate the man—my rival he!

[Chris – incident 08.46] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 14:02 – 14:14)

All frenzied with despair I rave,

The grave is cheated of its due.

Who is the misbegotten knave

Who hath contrived this deed to do?

[Chris – incident 17.11] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 14:15 – 15:24)

Let search be made throughout the land,

Or his vindictive anger dread—

A thousand marks to him he’ll hand

Who brings him here, alive or dead.

[Duncan/Chef Hatchet – incident 12.38] (MIDI file 0:57 – 1:39)

[Izzy/RCMP – incident 15.11]

Night has spread her pall once more,

And the prisoner still is free:

Open is his dungeon door,

Useless now his dungeon key!

He has shaken off his yoke—

How, no mortal man can tell!

Shame on loutish jailer folk—

Shame on sleepy sentinel!

[Chef Hatchet – incident 12.20] (from “Night has spread her pall once more”, MIDI file 1:40 – 2:20)

Warders are ye?

Whom do ye ward?

Bolt, bar, and key,

Shackle and cord,

Fetter and chain,

Dungeon of stone,

All are in vain—

Prisoner’s flown!

Spite of ye all, he is free—he is free!

Whom do ye ward? Pretty warders are ye!

[RCMP – incident 15.14] (from “Night has spread her pall once more”, MIDI file 2:21 – 2:39)

[Chef Hatchet – incident 17.26]

Up and down, and in and out,

Here and there, and round about;

Every chamber, every house,

Every chink that holds a mouse,

Every crevice in the keep,

Where a beetle black could creep,

Every outlet, every drain,

Have we searched, but all in vain.

[Geoff or Owen]

Oh, a private buffoon

Is a light-hearted loon,

If you listen to popular rumor;

From the morn to the night

He’s so joyous and bright,

And he bubbles with wit and good humor!

He’s so quaint and so terse,

Both in prose and in verse;

Yet though people forgive his transgression,

There are one or two rules

That all family fools

Must observe if they love their profession.

[ Critics and Broadcast Standards  ] (verse 2 from “A private buffoon”, MIDI file 0:35 – 1:05)

If you wish to succeed

As a jester, you’ll need

To consider each person’s auricular :

What is all right for B

Would quite scandalize C

(For C is so very particular);

And D may be dull,

And E’s very thick skull

Is as empty of brains as a ladle;

While F is F sharp,

And will cry with a carp

That he’s known your best joke from his cradle!

When your humor they flout,

You can’t let yourself go;

And it does put you out

When a person says, “Oh,

I have known that old joke from my cradle!”

[Heather/Izzy/Owen – incident 06.09] (verse 3 from “A private buffoon”, MIDI file 1:05 – 1:15)

If your master is surly,

From getting up early

(And tempers are short in the morning),

An inopportune joke

Is enough to provoke

Him to give you, at once, a month’s warning.

[Courtney/Duncan – incident 06.06] (verse 4 from “A private buffoon”, MIDI file 1:32 – 2:02)

Comes a Bishop, maybe,

Or a solemn D.D. —

Oh, beware of his anger provoking!

Better not pull his hair—

Don’t stick pins in his chair;

He don’t understand practical joking.

If the jests that you crack

Have an orthodox smack,

You may get a bland smile from these sages;

But should they, by chance,

Be imported from France ,

Half a crown is stopped out of your wages!

[Harold/Heather – incident 27.68] (verse 5 from “A private buffoon”, MIDI file 2:00 – 2:39)

Though your head it may rack

With a bilious attack,

And your senses with toothache you’re losing,

Don’t be mopy and flat—

They don’t fine you for that,

If you’re properly quaint and amusing!

Though your wife ran away

With a soldier that day,

And took with her your trifle of money;

Bless your heart, they don’t mind—

They’re exceedingly kind—

They don’t blame you—as long as you’re funny!

It’s a comfort to feel,

If your partner should flit,

Though you suffer a deal,

They don’t mind a bit—

They don’t blame you—as long as you’re funny!

[Heather/ Lindsay – incident 16.19]


 * Hereupon we’re both agreed,


 * All that we two


 * Do agree to


 * We’ll secure by solemn deed,


 * To prevent all


 * Error mental.

[Courtney/Duncan – incident 06.14] (from “Hereupon we’re both agreed”, MIDI file 0:12 – 0:43)

You on Elsie are to call

With a story

Grim and gory


 * How this Fairfax died, and all


 * I declare to,


 * You will swear to.


 * Tell a tale of cock and bull,


 * Of convincing detail full


 * Tale tremendous,


 * Heaven defend us!


 * What a tale of cock and bull!

[Geoff/Gwen – incidents 21.20, 21.22] (from “Hereupon we’re both agreed”, MIDI file 0:43 – 1:04)

[Geoff – incident 21.20]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [Gwen – incident 21.22]

In return for my own part. . . . . . . . . . . . . . In return for your own part

I am making. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . You are making

Undertaking. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Undertaking

To instruct you in the art. . . . . . . . . . . . . . To instruct me in the art

(Art amazing, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (Art amazing,

Wonder raising) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Wonder raising)

Of a jester, jesting free.

Proud position—

High ambition!


 * And a lively one I’ll be,


 * Wag-a-wagging,


 * Never flagging.

[Heather/Lindsay – incident 16.20] (refrain from “Hereupon we’re both agreed”, MIDI file 1:05 – 1:40)

[Chris – nature]


 * Tell a tale of cock and bull,


 * Of convincing detail full


 * Tale tremendous,


 * Heaven defend us!


 * What a tale of cock and bull!

[Duncan – incident 12.52]

Free from his fetters grim—

Free to depart;

Free both in life and limb—

In all but heart!

Bound to an unknown bride

For good or ill;

Ah, is not one so tied

A prisoner still?

Free, yet in fetters held

Till his last hour,

Gyves that no smith can weld,

No rust devour!

Although a monarch’s hand

Had set him free,

Of all the captive band

The saddest he!

[LeShawna/Harold – incident 13.13] (verse 2 from “Strange adventure”, MIDI file 0:58 – 2:17)

Strange adventure that we’re trolling :

Modest maid and gallant groom—

While the funeral bell is tolling,

Tolling, tolling, Bim-a-boom!

Modest maiden will not tarry;

Though but sixteen years she carry,

She must marry, she must marry,

Though the altar be a tomb!

[LeShawna – incident 16.06] (from scene: “Hark! What was that, Sir?”, MIDI file 0:19 – 0:46)

[Owen – incident 23.25]

Now what can that have been—

A shot so late at night,

Enough to cause a fright!

What can the portent mean?

Are foemen in the land?

Is London to be wrecked?

What are we to expect?

What danger is at hand?

Let us understand

What danger is at hand!

[Gwen/ Sasquatchanakwa – incident 24.24] (from scene: “Hark! What was that, Sir?”, MIDI file 1:01 – 1:36)

Like a ghost his vigil keeping—


 * Or a specter all-appalling—

I beheld a figure creeping—


 * I should rather call it crawling—

He was creeping—


 * He was crawling—

He was creeping, creeping—


 * Crawling—

He was creeping—


 * He was crawling—

He was creeping, creeping—


 * Crawling—

Not a moment’s hesitation—

I myself upon him flung,

With a hurried exclamation

To his draperies I hung;

Then we closed with one another

In a rough-and-tumble smother;

Colonel Fairfax and no other

Was the man to whom I clung!

[Gwen/Sasquatchanakwa – incident 24.25] (from scene: “Hark! What was that, Sir?”, MIDI file 1:37 – 1:54)

After mighty tug and tussle—


 * It resembled more a struggle—

He by dint of stronger muscle—


 * Or by some infernal juggle—

From my clutches quickly sliding—


 * I should rather call it slipping—

With a view, no doubt, of hiding—


 * Or escaping to the shipping—

With a gasp, and with a quiver—


 * I’d describe it as a shiver—

Down he dived into the river,

And, alas, I cannot swim.

[Duncan/Owen – incident 24.20] (from scene: “Hark! What was that, Sir?”, MIDI file 1:54 – 2:00)


 * It’s enough to make one shiver—


 * With a gasp and with a quiver,


 * Down he dived into the river;


 * It was very brave of him!

[Owen – incident 06.05] (from scene: “Hark! What was that, Sir?”, MIDI file 2:01 – 2:49)

Ingenuity is catching;

With the view my King of pleasing,

Arquebus from sentry snatching—


 * I should rather call it seizing—

With an ounce or two of lead

I dispatched him through the head!

I discharged it without winking,

Little time I lost in thinking,

Like a stone I saw him sinking—


 * I should say a lump of lead!

Like a stone, my boy, I said—


 * Like a heavy lump of lead.

Like a stone, my boy, I said—


 * Like a heavy lump of lead.

Anyhow, the man is dead,

Whether stone or lump of lead!


 * Anyhow, the man is dead,


 * Whether stone or lump of lead!


 * Arquebus from sentry seizing,


 * With the view his king of pleasing,


 * Wilfred shot him through the head,


 * And he’s very, very dead.


 * And it matters very little whether stone or lump of lead;


 * It is very, very certain that he’s very, very dead!

[Harold – incident 04.19] (from scene: “Hark! What was that, Sir?”, MIDI file 3:10 – 3:52)

[Duncan – incident 19.25]

[Gwen – incident 19.35]

Hail the valiant fellow who

Did this deed of derring-do!

Honors wait on such a one;

By my head, ‘twas bravely done!

Now, by my head, ‘twas bravely done!

[ D.J. /Geoff – incident 08.15]

A man who would woo a fair maid

Should ‘prentice himself to the trade,

And study all day,

In methodical way,

How to flatter, cajole, and persuade;

He should ‘prentice himself at fourteen,

And study from morning to e’en;

And when he’s of age,

If he will, I’ll engage,

He may capture the heart of a queen!


 * It is purely a matter of skill,


 * Which all may attain if they will:


 * But every Jack,


 * He must study the knack


 * If he wants to make sure of his Jill!


 * If he’s made the best use of his time,


 * His twig he’ll so carefully lime


 * That every bird


 * Will come down at his word,


 * Whatever its plumage or clime.


 * He must learn that the thrill of a touch


 * May mean little, or nothing, or much:


 * It’s an instrument rare,


 * To be handled with care,


 * And ought to be treated as such.


 * It is purely a matter of skill, etc.


 * Then a glance may be timid or free,


 * It will vary in mighty degree,


 * From an impudent stare


 * To a look of despair


 * That no maid without pity can see!


 * And a glance of despair is no guide—


 * It may have its ridiculous side;


 * It may draw you a tear


 * Or a box on the ear;


 * You can never be sure till you’ve tried!


 * It is purely a matter of skill, etc.

[hooked-up boys]

When a wooer

Goes a-wooing,

Naught is truer

Than his joy.


 * Maiden hushing


 * All his suing—


 * Boldly blushing—


 * Brave ly coy!


 * Oh, the happy days of doing!


 * Oh, the sighing and the suing!


 * When a wooer goes a-wooing,


 * Oh, the sweets that never cloy!

[Gwen – incident 16.41] (from “When a wooer goes a-wooing”, MIDI file 0:47 – 1:31)


 * When a brother


 * Leaves his sister


 * For another,


 * Sister weeps.


 * Tears that trickle,


 * Tears that blister—


 * ‘Tis but mickle


 * Sister reaps!


 * Oh, the doing and undoing ,


 * Oh, the sighing and the suing,


 * When a brother goes a-wooing,


 * And a sobbing sister weeps!

[Owen – incident 04.21] (from “When a wooer goes a-wooing”, MIDI file 1:32 – 1:56)


 * When a jester


 * Is outwitted,


 * Feelings fester,


 * Heart is lead!


 * Food for fishes


 * Only fitted,


 * Jester wishes


 * He was dead!

[Heather/Trent – incident 16.36]

[Heather] (sarcastically in TDI). . . . . . . . . . . . [Trent] (in earnest)

Rapture, rapture

When love’s votary,

Flushed with capture,

Seeks the notary,

Joy and jollity

Then is polity;

Reigns frivolity!

Rapture, rapture!


 * Doleful, doleful!


 * When humanity


 * With its soul full


 * Of satanity,


 * Courting privity,


 * Down declivity


 * Seeks captivity!


 * Doleful, doleful!

Joyful, joyful,

When virginity

Seeks, all coyful,

Man’s affinity;

Fate all flowery,

Bright and bowery,

Is her dowery!

Joyful, joyful!


 * Ghastly, ghastly!


 * When man, sorrowful,


 * Firstly, lastly,


 * Of tomorrow full,


 * After tarrying,


 * Yields to harrying—


 * Goes a-marrying.


 * Ghastly, ghastly!

[Bridgette/Geoff – incident 27.29] (Elegiacs – Finale Act II)

Comes the pretty young bride, a-blushing, timidly shrinking—

Set all thy fears aside—cheerily, pretty young bride!

Brave is the youth to whom thy lot thou art willingly linking!

Flower of valor is he—loving as loving can be!

Brightly thy summer is shining,

Fair as the dawn of the day;

Take him, be true to him—

Tender his due to him—

Honor him, love and obey!

[Gwen – incident 16.14] (from Finale Act II, MIDI file 1:09 – 2:11)

‘Tis said that joy in full perfection

Comes only once to womankind—

That, other times, on close inspection,

Some lurking bitter we shall find.

If this be so, and men say truly,

My day of joy has broken duly.

With happiness my soul is cloyed—

This is my joy-day unalloyed!

[Courtney – incident 12.55] (from Finale Act II, MIDI file 4:13 – 5:08)

Leonard, my loved one—come to me.

They bear me hence away!

But though they take me far from thee,

My heart is thine for aye!

My bruised heart,

My broken heart,

Is thine, my own, for aye!

[Gwen/Cody – incident 08.36] (from Finale Act II, MIDI file 7:23 – 9:12)

I have a song to sing, O!


 * What is your song, O?

It is sung with the ring

Of the songs maids sing

Who love with a love life-long, O!

It’s the song of a merrymaid, nestling near,

Who loved her lord—but who dropped a tear

At the moan of the merryman, moping mum,

Whose soul was sad and whose glance was glum,

Who sipped no sup and who craved no crumb

As he sighed for the love of a lady!

Verses from The Gondoliers
Gilbert and Sullivan's last hit. For a brief plot summary, see the "Introduction to Gilbert & Sullivan" section above. Click the links provided for a more detailed plot summary or the Short Attention Span summary.

[ Gwen  – nature and incident 08.23]

[ Owen  – incident 20.01]

List and learn, ye dainty roses,

Roses white and roses red,

Why we bind you into posies

Ere your morning bloom has fled.

By a law of maiden’s making,

Accents of a heart that’s aching,

Even though that heart be breaking,

Should by maiden be unsaid:

Though they love with love exceeding,

They must seem to be unheeding—

Go ye then and do their pleading,

Roses white and roses red!

[Boys – incident 15.03] (from Opening, MIDI file 4:30 – 6:07)

[ Duncan /Owen – incident 24.22]

For the merriest fellows are we,

That ply on the emerald sea;

With loving and laughing

And quipping and quaffing,

We’re happy as happy can be—

As happy as happy can be!

With sorrow we’ve nothing to do,

And care is a thing to pooh-pooh;

And Jealousy yellow,

Unfortunate fellow,

We drown in the shimmering blue—

We drown in the shimmering blue!

[ Trent  ] (from Opening, MIDI file 8:45 – 10:56)

We’re called gondolieri,

But that’s a vagary,

It’s quite honorary

The trade that we ply.

For gallantry noted

Since we were short-coated,

To beauty devoted,

Are Marco and I;

When morning is breaking,

Our couches forsaking,

To greet their awaking

With carols we come,

At summer day’s nooning,

When weary lagooning,

Our mandolins tuning,

We lazily thrum.

When vespers are ringing,

To hope ever clinging,

With songs of our singing

A vigil we keep,

When daylight is fading,

Enwrapt in night’s shading,

With soft serenading

We sing them to sleep.

[campers/ Sasquatchanakwa – incident 24.26] (from Opening, MIDI file 12:04 – 12:20)

Are you peeping?

Can you see me?


 * Dark I’m keeping,


 * Dark and dreamy!


 * If you’re blinded


 * Truly, say so.


 * All right-minded


 * Players play so!

[ Justin  – incident 03.20] (from Opening, MIDI file 12:21 – 12:27)

[original “Haute Camp-ture” synopsis – incident 22.44]

[Gwen – incident 24.37]

Conduct shady!

They are cheating!

Surely they de-

Serve a beating!


 * This too much is;


 * Maidens mocking


 * Conduct such is


 * Truly shocking!

[ Harold  – incident 13.07] (from Opening, MIDI file 12:27 – 12:40)

[Owen – incident 24.13]


 * You can spy, sir!


 * Shut your eye, sir!


 * You may use it by and by, sir!


 * You can see, sir!


 * Don’t tell me, sir!


 * That will do—now let it be, sir!

[hooked-up boys] (from Opening, MIDI file 12:41 – 13:07)

My papa, he keeps three horses,

Black and white and dapple-gray, sir;

Turn three times then take your courses;

Catch whichever girl you may, sir!

[ Izzy / Katie/Sadie / Chris  – incident 02.03] (from Opening, MIDI file 13:35 – 13:51)

If you’d rather change—


 * My goodness!


 * This indeed is simple rudeness.


 * I’ve no preference whatever—


 * Listen to him! Well, I never!

[Gwen/Trent – incident 16.15] (from Opening, MIDI file 13:52 – 14:28)

Thank you, gallant gondolieri,

In a set and formal measure

It is scarcely necessary

To express our pleasure.

Each of us to prove a treasure,

Conjugal and monetary

Gladly will devote our leisure,

Gay and gallant gondolieri.

[ Lindsay / Tyler  – incident 01.34] (from Opening, MIDI file 15:34 – 16:05)


 * Fate in this has put his finger—


 * Let us bow to Fate’s decree,


 * Then no longer let us linger,


 * To the altar hurry we!

[Castaways – incident 23.10]

From the sunny Spanish shore,

The Duke of Plaza-Tor’—


 * And His Grace’s Duchess true—


 * And His Grace’s daughter, too—


 * And His Grace’s private drum


 * To Venetia’s shores have come:


 * If ever, ever, ever


 * They get back to Spain,


 * They will never, never, never


 * Cross the sea again!

[ Heather  – incident 23.11] (from “From the sunny Spanish shore”, MIDI file 0:58 – 1:38)

Neither that Grandee from the Spanish shore,

The noble Duke of Plaza-Tor’—


 * Nor his Grace’s Duchess, staunch and true—


 * You may add, His Grace’s daughter, too—


 * Nor His Grace’s own particular drum


 * To Venetia’s shores will come:


 * If ever, ever, ever


 * They get back to Spain,


 * They will never, never, never


 * Cross the sea again!

[ D.J.  ]

In enterprise of martial kind,

When there was any fighting,

He led his regiment from behind—

He found it less exciting.

But when away his regiment ran,

His place was at the fore, O—

That celebrated,

Cultivated,

Underrated

Nobleman,

The Duke of Plaza-Toro!


 * In first and foremost flight, ha, ha!


 * You always found that knight, ha, ha!


 * That celebrated,


 * Cultivated,


 * Underrated


 * Nobleman,


 * The Duke of Plaza-Toro!

[ LeShawna  – incident 17.27] (verse 2 from “In enterprise of martial kind”, MIDI file 0:31 – 1:01)

When, to evade Destruction’s hand,

To hide they all proceeded,

No soldier in the gallant band

Hid half as well as he did.

He lay concealed throughout the war,

And so preserved his gore, O!

That unaffected,

Undetected,

Well-connected

Warrior,

The Duke of Plaza-Toro!


 * In every doughty deed, ha, ha!


 * He always took the lead, ha, ha!


 * That unaffected,


 * Undetected,


 * Well-connected


 * Warrior,


 * The Duke of Plaza-Toro!

[ Ezekiel  – incident 02.16] (verse 3 from “In enterprise of martial kind”, MIDI file 1:01 – 1:46)

[Lindsay – incident 22.07]

When told that they would all be shot

Unless they left the service,

That hero hesitated not,

So marvelous his nerve is.

He sent his resignation in,

The first of all his corps, O!

That very knowing,

Overflowing,

Easy-going

Paladin,

The Duke of Plaza-Toro!


 * To men of grosser clay, ha, ha!


 * He always showed the way, ha, ha!


 * That very knowing,


 * Overflowing,


 * Easy-going


 * Paladin,


 * The Duke of Plaza-Toro!

[Gwen/Trent – incident 16.17]


 * O rapture, when alone together


 * Two loving hearts and those that bear them


 * May join in temporary tether,


 * Though Fate apart should rudely tear them.

Necessity, invention’s mother,

Compelled me to a course of feigning—

But, left alone with one another,

I will atone for my disdaining!

Ah, well-beloved,

Mine angry frown

Is but a gown

That serves to dress

My gentleness!


 * Ah, well-beloved,


 * Thy cold disdain,


 * It gives no pain—


 * ‘Tis mercy, played


 * In masquerade!

[Gwen/Trent – incident 16.39]

There was a time—

A time forever gone—ah, woe is me!

It was no crime

To love but thee alone—ah, woe is me!

One heart, one life, one soul,

One aim, one goal—

Each in the other’s thrall,

Each all in all, ah, woe is me!


 * Oh, bury, bury—let the grave close o’er


 * The days that were—that never will be more!


 * Oh, bury, bury love that all condemn,


 * And let the whirlwind mourn its requiem!


 * Dead as the last year’s leaves—


 * As gathered flowers—ah, woe is me!


 * Dead as the garnered sheaves,


 * That love of ours—ah, woe is me!


 * Born but to fade and die


 * When hope was high,


 * Dead and as far away


 * As yesterday—ah, woe is me!


 * Oh, bury, bury—let the grave close o’er, etc.

[Duncan/ Bunny II – incident 11.25]

I stole the Prince, and I brought him here,

And left him gaily prattling

With a highly respectable gondolier,

Who promised the Royal babe to rear

And teach him the trade of a timoneer

With his own beloved bratling.

Both the babes were strong and stout

And, considering all things, clever.

Of that there is no manner of doubt—

No probable, possible shadow of doubt—

No possible doubt whatever.

[ Bunny/Bunny II  – incident 11.19] (verse 2 from “I stole the Prince”, MIDI file 0:39 – 1:12)

[Katie/Sadie – nature and incident 21.24]

But owing, I’m much disposed to fear,

To his terrible taste for tippling,

That highly respectable gondolier

Could never declare with a mind sincere

Which of the two was his offspring dear,

And which the Royal stripling!

Which was which he could never make out

Despite his best endeavor.

Of that there is no manner of doubt—

No probable, possible shadow of doubt—

No possible doubt whatever.

[ Geoff /Bunny – incident 11.12] (verse 3 from “I stole the Prince”, MIDI file 1:12 – 1:44)

Time sped, and when at the end of a year,

I sought that infant cherished,

That highly respectable gondolier

Was lying a corpse on his humble bier—

I dropped a Grand Inquisitor’s tear—

That gondolier had perished!

A taste for drink, combined with gout,

Had doubled him up forever.

Of that there is no manner of doubt—

No probable, possible shadow of doubt—

No possible doubt whatever.

[Bunny/Bunny II – incident 11.20] (verse 4 from “I stole the Prince”, MIDI file 1:45 – 2:26)

[Katie/Sadie – nature and incident 21.25]

The children followed the old career—

(This statement can’t be parried)

Of a highly respectable gondolier:

Well, one of the two (who will soon be here)—

But which of the two it is not quite clear—

Is the Royal Prince you married!

Search in and out and round about,

And you’ll discover never

A tale so free from every doubt—

All probable, possible shadow of doubt—

All possible doubt whatever!

[Lindsay – incident 18.19] ( recitative, MIDI file 0:26 – 0:48)

[Heather – incident 25.40]

Submit to Fate without unseemly wrangle:

Such complications frequently occur—

Life is one closely complicated tangle;

Death is the only true unraveller!

[Lindsay – incident 18.18] (MIDI file 0:49 – 1:04)

[Geoff/Gwen – incident 21.32]


 * Try we life-long, we can never


 * Straighten out life’s tangled skein,


 * Why should we, in vain endeavor,


 * Guess and guess and guess again?

[Geoff/Owen – nature and incident 21.05] (from “Try we life-long”, MIDI file 1:05 – 1:41)


 * Life’s a pudding full of plums,


 * Care’s a canker that benumbs.


 * Wherefore waste our elocution


 * On impossible solution?


 * Life’s a pleasant institution,


 * Let us take it as it comes.

[Lindsay – incident 18.30] (from “Try we life-long”, MIDI file 1:42 – 2:03)

[Izzy – incident 20.19]


 * Set aside the dull enigma,


 * We shall guess it all too soon,


 * Failure brings no kind of stigma—


 * Dance we to another tune!

[Incident 20.19 continued] (from “Try we life-long”, MIDI file 2:04 – 3:01)

[Geoff/Owen – nature and incident 21.06]


 * String the lyre and fill the cup,


 * Lest on sorrow we should sup.


 * Hop and skip to Fancy’s fiddle,


 * Hands across and down the middle—


 * Life’s perhaps the only riddle


 * That we shrink from giving up!

[hooked-up girls] (MIDI file 0:43 – 3:25)

When a merry maiden marries,

Sorrow goes and pleasure tarries;

Every sound becomes a song,

All is right, and nothing’s wrong!

From today and ever after

Let our tears be tears of laughter.

Every sigh that finds a vent

Be a sigh of sweet content!

When you marry, merry maiden,

Then the air with love is laden;

Every flower is a rose,

Every goose becomes a swan,

Every kind of trouble goes

Where last year’s snows have gone!


 * Sunlight takes the place of shade


 * When you marry, merry maid!

When a merry maiden marries,

Sorrow goes and pleasure tarries;

Every sound becomes a song,

All is right and nothing’s wrong.

Gnawing Care and aching Sorrow,

Get ye gone until tomorrow!

Jealousies in grim array,

Ye are things of yesterday!

When you marry, merry maiden,

Then the air with joy is laden;

All the corners of the earth

Ring with music sweetly played,

Worry is melodious mirth,

Grief is joy in masquerade.


 * Sullen night is laughing day—


 * All the year is merry May!

[Gwen – incident 16.75] (Finale Act I)

Kind sir, you cannot have the heart

Our lives to part

From those to whom an hour ago

We were united!

Before our flowing hopes you stem,

Ah, look at them,

And pause before you deal this blow,

All uninvited!

You men can never understand

That heart and hand

Cannot be separated when

We go a-yearning;

You see, you’ve only women’s eyes

To idolize

And only women’s hearts, poor men,

To set you burning!

Ah me, you men will never understand

That woman’s heart is one with woman’s hand!

Some kind of charm you seem to find

In womankind—

Some source of unexplained delight

(Unless you’re jesting),

But what attracts you, I confess,

I cannot guess,

To me a woman’s face is quite

Uninteresting!

If from my sister I were torn

It could be borne—

I should, no doubt, be horrified,

But I could bear it;

But Marco’s quite another thing—

He is my King,

He has my heart and none beside

Shall ever share it!

Ah me, you men will never understand

That woman’s heart is one with woman’s hand!

[ Beth /Lindsay – incident 03.12] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 2:55 – 5:28)

[Lindsay – incident 27.48]

Then one of us will be a Queen,

And sit on a golden throne,

With a crown instead

Of a hat on her head,

And diamonds all her own!

With a beautiful robe of gold and green,

I’ve always understood;

I wonder whether

She’d wear a feather?

I rather think she should!


 * Oh, ‘tis a glorious thing, I ween,


 * To be a regular Royal Queen!


 * No half-and-half affair, I mean,


 * But a right-down regular Royal Queen!


 * She’ll drive about in a carriage and pair,


 * With the King on her left-hand side,


 * And a milk-white horse,


 * As a matter of course,


 * Whenever she wants to ride.


 * With beautiful silver shoes to wear


 * Upon her dainty feet;


 * With endless stocks


 * Of beautiful frocks


 * And as much as she wants to eat!


 * Oh, ‘tis a glorious thing, I ween, etc.


 * Whenever she condescends to walk,


 * Be sure she’ll shine at that.


 * With her haughty stare


 * And her nose in the air,


 * Like a well-born aristocrat!


 * At elegant high society talk


 * She’ll bear away the bell,


 * With her “How de do?”


 * And her “How are you?”


 * And “I trust I see you well?”


 * Oh, ‘tis a glorious thing, I ween, etc.


 * And noble lords will scrape and bow,


 * And double themselves in two,


 * And open their eyes


 * In blank surprise


 * At whatever she likes to do.


 * And everybody will roundly vow


 * She’s fair as flowers in May,


 * And say, “How clever!”


 * At whatsoever


 * She condescends to say!


 * Oh, ‘tis a glorious thing, I ween, etc.

[ Chef Hatchet / Courtney  – incident 12.39] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 5:29 – 5:45)

[Heather – incident 26.39]

Now, pray, what is the cause of this remarkable hilarity?

This sudden ebullition of unmitigated jollity?

Has anybody blessed you with a sample of his charity?

Or have you been adopted by a gentleman of quality?

[Katie/Sadie – incident 22.39] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 5:46 – 6:19)

Replying, we


 * sing,


 * As

one indi-


 * vidual,


 * As

I find I’m a


 * king,


 * To my

kingdom I


 * bid you all.


 * I’m a-

ware you ob-


 * ject


 * To pa-

villions and


 * palaces,


 * But you’ll

find I re-


 * spect


 * Your Re-

publican


 * fallacies.

[Beth – incident 27.24] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 6:35 – 8:10)

For every one who feels inclined,

Some post we’ll undertake to find

Congenial with his frame of mind—

And all shall equal be.


 * The Chancellor in his peruke—


 * The Earl, the Marquis, and the Dook,


 * The Groom, the Butler, and the Cook—


 * They all shall equal be.

The Aristocrat who banks with Couts—

The Aristocrat who hunts and shoots—

The Aristocrat who cleans our boots—

They all shall equal be!


 * The Noble Lord who rules the State—


 * The Noble Lord who cleans the plate—

The Noble Lord who scrubs the grate—

They all shall equal be!


 * The Lord High Bishop orthodox—


 * The Lord High Coachman on the box—

The Lord High Vagabond in the stocks—

They all shall equal be!


 * Sing high, sing low,


 * Wherever they go,


 * They all shall equal be!

[Return of the losers – incident 26.05] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 8:11 – 8:45)


 * Then hail! O King,


 * Whichever you may be,


 * To you we sing,


 * But do not bend the knee.


 * Then hail! O King.

[Owen – incident 27.22] ( recitative from Finale Act I, MIDI file 8:45 – 9:09)

Come, let’s away—our island crown awaits me—

Conflicting feelings rend my soul apart!

The thought of Royal dignity elates me,

But leaving thee behind me breaks my heart!

[Gwen/Trent – incident 16.85] ( recitative from Finale Act I, MIDI file 9:10 – 9:32)


 * Farewell, my love; on board you must be getting;


 * But while upon the sea you gaily roam,


 * Remember that a heart for thee is fretting—


 * The tender little heart you’ve left at home!

[Lindsay or Gwen, the girls who survived their boyfriends] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 9:33 – 11:59)

Now, Marco dear,

My wishes hear:

While you’re away

It’s understood

You will be good

And not too gay.

To every trace

Of maiden grace

You will be blind,

And will not glance

By any chance

On womankind!

If you are wise,

You’ll shut your eyes

Till we arrive,

And not address

A lady less

Than forty-five.

You’ll please to frown

On every gown

That you may see;

And, O my pet

You won’t forget

You’ve married me!

And O my darling, O my pet,

Whatever else you may forget

In yonder isle beyond the sea,

Do not forget you’ve married me!


 * You’ll lay your head


 * Upon your bed


 * At set of sun.


 * You will not sing


 * Of anything


 * To anyone.


 * You’ll sit and mope


 * All day, I hope,


 * And shed a tear


 * Upon the life


 * Your little wife


 * Is passing here.


 * And if so be


 * You think of me,


 * Please tell the moon!


 * I’ll read it all


 * In rays that fall


 * On the lagoon.


 * You’ll be so kind


 * As tell the wind


 * How you may be,


 * And send me words


 * By little birds


 * To comfort me!


 * And O my darling, etc.

[Gwen – incident 23.28] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 12:00 – 12:18)

[eliminated campers]

Then away we go to an island fair

That lies in a Southern sea:

We know not where, and we don’t much care

Wherever that isle may be.

[Incident 23.28 continued]

[Heather – incident 18.07] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 12:18 – 12:41)


 * One, two, three,


 * Haul!


 * One, two, three,


 * Haul!


 * One, two, three,


 * Haul!


 * With a will!


 * When the breezes are blowing,


 * The ship will be going,


 * When they don’t, we shall all stand still!

[Gwen/Duncan – incident 23.30] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 12:42 – 13:41)

[eliminated campers]


 * Away we go


 * To a balmy isle,


 * Where the roses blow


 * All the winter while.

[Geoff – incident 10.04]

Of happiness the very pith

In Barataria you may see:

A monarchy that’s tempered with

Republican Equality.

This form of government we find

The beau ideal of its kind—

A despotism strict combined

With absolute equality!

[Lindsay – incident 09.04]

[Duncan – incident 20.21]

Rising early in the morning,

We proceed to light the fire,

Then our Majesty adorning

In its workaday attire,

We embark without delay

On the duties of the day.

First, we polish off some batches

Of political dispatches,

And foreign politicians circumvent:

Then, if business isn’t heavy,

We may hold a royal levée,

Or ratify some Acts of Parliament.

Then we probably review the household troops—

With the usual “ Shalloo humps !” and “ Shalloo hoops !”

Or receive with cermonial an state

An interesting Eastern potentate.

After that we generally

Go and dress our private valet—

(It’s a rather nervous duty—he’s a touchy little man)—

Write some letters literary

For our private secretary—

He is shaky in his spelling, so we help him if we can.

Then, in view of cravings inner,

We go down and order dinner;

Then we polish the Regalia and the Coronation Plate—

Spend an hour in titivating

All our Gentlemen-in-Waiting;

Or we run on little errands for the Ministers of State.

Oh, philosophers may sing

Of the troubles of a King;

Yet the duties are delightful, and the privileges great;

But the privilege and pleasure

That we treasure beyond measure

Is to run on little errands for the Ministers of State.

After luncheon (making merry

On a bun and glass of sherry),

If we’ve nothing in particular to do,

We may make a Proclamation,

Or receive a Deputation—

Then we possibly create a Peer or two.

Then we help a fellow creature on his path

With the Garter or the Thistle or the Bath

Or we dress and toddle off in semi-state

To a festival, a function, or a fete.

Then we go and stand as sentry

At the Palace (private entry),

Marching hither, marching thither, up and down and to and fro,

While the warrior on duty

Goes in search of beer and beauty

(And it generally happens that he hasn’t far to go).

He relieves us, if he’s able,

Just in time to lay the table,

Then we dine and serve the coffee, and at half-past twelve or one,

With a pleasure that’s emphatic,

We retire to our attic

With the gratifying feeling that our duty has been done!

Oh, philosophers may sing

Of the troubles of a King,

But of pleasures there are many and of worries there are none;

And the culminating pleasure

That we treasure beyond measure

Is the gratifying feeling that our duty has been done!

[hooked-up boys]

Take a pair of sparkling eyes

Hidden, ever and anon,

In a merciful eclipse—

Do not heed their mild surprise—

Having passed the Rubicon,

Take a pair of rosy lips;

Take a figure trimly planned—

Such as admiration whets

(Be particular in this);

Take a tender little hand

Fringed with dainty fingerettes,

Press it—in parenthesis—

Ah! Take all these, you lucky man—

Take and keep them, if you can!

[Courtney – incident 12.14] (from “Here we are at the risk of our lives”)

Though obedience is strong,

Curiosity’s stronger—

We waited for long

Till we couldn’t wait longer.

It’s imprudent, we know,

But without your society

Existence was slow,

And we wanted variety.

[Return of the Losers – incident 26.04] (from “Here we are at the risk of our lives”)

After sailing to this island—


 * Tossing in a manner frightful,

We are all once more on dry land—


 * And we find the change delightful,

As at home we’ve been remaining—


 * We’ve not seen you both for ages,

Tell me, are you fond of reigning?


 * How’s the food and what’s the wages?

[Boys team – incident 15.02]

[Chris/Chef Hatchet – incident 23.33]

Dance a cachucha, fandango, bolero,

Xeres we’ll drink—Manzanilla, Montero—

Wine, when it runs in abundance, enhances

The reckless delight of that wildest of dances!

[Heather/Lindsay – incident 18.12]

There lived a King, as I’ve been told,

In the wonder working days of old,

When hearts were twice as good as gold,

And twenty times as mellow.

Good temper triumphed in his face,

And in his heart he found a place

For all the erring human race

And every wretched fellow.

When he had Rhenish wine to drink

It mad him very sad to think

That some, at junket or at jink,

Must be content with toddy.

He wished all men as rich as he

(And he was rich as rich could be),

So to the top of every tree

Promoted everybody.

Lord Chancellors were cheap as sprats,

And Bishops in their shovel hats

Were plentiful as tabby cats—

In point of fact, too many.

Ambassadors cropped up like hay,

Prime Ministers and such as they

Grew like asparagus in May,

And Dukes were three a penny.

On every side Field Marshalls gleamed,

Small beer were Lord-Lieutenants deemed,

With Admirals the oceans teemed

All round his wide dominions.

And Party Leaders you might meet

In twos and threes in every street

Maintaining, with no little heat,

Their various opinions.

That King, although no one denies

His heart was of abnormal size,

Yet he’d have acted otherwise

If he had been acuter.

The end is easily foretold,

When every blessed thing you hold

Is made of silver, or of gold,

You long for simple pewter.

When you have nothing else to wear

But cloth of gold or satins rare,

For cloth of gold you cease to care—

Up goes the price of shoddy.

In short, whoever you may be,

To this conclusion you’ll agree—

When everyone is somebody

Then no one’s anybody!


 * Now that’s as plain as plain can be,


 * To this conclusion we agree—


 * When everyone is somebody,


 * Then no one’s anybody!

[Duncan/Heather/Gwen – incident 23.14]


 * In a contemplative fashion,


 * And a tranquil frame of mine,


 * Free from every kind of passion,


 * Some solution let us find.


 * Let us grasp the situation,


 * Solve the complicated plot—


 * Quiet, calm deliberation


 * Disentangles every knot.

[Gwen or Izzy] (from “In a contemplative fashion”)

I, no doubt, Guiseppe wedded—

That’s of course, a slice of luck—

He is rather dunderheaded,

Still, distinctly he’s a duck.

[Lindsay – nature and incident 07.12] (from “In a contemplative fashion”)


 * I, a victim, too, of Cupid


 * Marco married—that is clear.


 * He’s particularly stupid,


 * Still, distinctly, he’s a dear.

[Trent or Owen] (from “In a contemplative fashion”)


 * To Gianetta I was mated;


 * I can prove it in a trice:


 * Though her charms are overrated,


 * Still, I own she’s rather nice.

[Tyler – incident 01.31] (from “In a contemplative fashion”)


 * I to Tessa, willy-nilly,


 * All at once a victim fell.


 * She is what is called a silly,


 * Still, she answers pretty well.

[Beth – incident 09.08]

[Lindsay – incidents 17.04, 22.12]

On the day that I was wedded

To your admirable sire,

I acknowledge that I dreaded

An explosion of his ire.

I was overcome with panic—

For his temper was volcanic,

And I didn’t dare revolt,

For I feared a thunderbolt!

I was always very wary,

For his fury was ecstatic—

His refined vocabulary

Most unpleasantly emphatic.

To the thunder

Of this Tartar

I knocked under

Like a martyr;

When intently

He was fuming,

I was gently

Unassuming—

When reviling me

Completely,

I was smiling

Very sweetly:

Giving him the very best and getting back the very worst—

That is how I tried to tame your great progenitor—at first!

[ Bridgette  ] (verse 2 from “On the day that I was wedded”)

But I found that a reliance

On my threatening appearance,

And a resolute defiance

Of marital interference,

And a gentle intimation

Of my firm determination

To see what I could do

To be wife and husband too

Was the only thing required

For to make his temper supple,

And you couldn’t have desired

A more reciprocating couple.

Ever willing

To be wooing,

We were billing—

We were cooing;

When I merely

From him parted,

We were nearly

Broken-hearted—

When in sequel

Reunited,

We were equal-

Ly delighted.

So with double-shotted guns and colors nailed unto the mast

I tamed your insignificant progenitor—at last!

[Chris – incident 01.02] ( recitative )

[Heather – incident 25.12]

To help unhappy commoners, and add to their enjoyment,

Affords a man of noble rank congenial employment;

Of our attempts we offer you example illustrative:

The work is light, and I may add, it’s most remunerative.

[Chris – incident 01.04] (from “To help unhappy commoners”, MIDI file 0:23 – 0:41)

Small titles and orders

For Mayors and Recorders

I get—and they’re highly delighted.

M.P. s baronetted,

Sham colonels gazetted,

And second-rate Aldermen knighted.

[Chris – incident 24.01] (from “To help unhappy commoners”, MIDI file 0:41 – 0:56)

Foundation-stone laying

I find very paying:

It adds a large sum to my makings—

At charity dinners

The best of speech spinners,

I get ten percent of the takings.

[Heather – incident 03.08] (from “To help unhappy commoners”, MIDI file 0:56 – 1:11)


 * I present any lady


 * Whose conduct is shady


 * Or smacking of doubtful propriety.


 * When Virtue would quash her,


 * I take and whitewash her,


 * And launch her in first-rate society.

[Heather, as described by Lindsay – incident 18.28] (from “To help unhappy commoners”, MIDI file 1:11 – 1:41)


 * I recommend acres


 * Of clumsy dressmakers—


 * Their fit and their finishing touches.


 * A sum in addition


 * They pay for permission


 * To say that they make for the Duchess.

Those pressing prevailers,

The ready-made tailors

Quote me as their great double-barrel.

I allow them to do so

Though Robinson Crusoe

Would jib at their wearing apparel.

[Izzy – incident 17.30] (from “To help unhappy commoners”, MIDI file 1:56 – 2:11)


 * At middle class party


 * I play at ecarte —


 * And I’m by no means a beginner.


 * To one of my station


 * The remuneration—


 * Five guinea s a night and my dinner.

[Chris – incident 24.02] (from “To help unhappy commoners”, MIDI file 2:11 – 2:26)


 * I write letters blatant


 * On medicines patent—


 * And use any other you mustn’t—


 * And vow my complexion


 * Derives its perfection


 * From somebody’s soap—which it doesn’t.

[Chris – nature and incident 01.05] (from “To help unhappy commoners”, MIDI file 2:42 – 3:02)

[Heather – incident 03.09]


 * In short, if you’d kindle


 * The spark of a swindle,


 * Lure simpletons into your clutches.


 * Or hoodwink a debtor,


 * You cannot do better


 * Than trot out a Duke or a Duchess!

[Duncan/Courtney – incident 12.23]

[Gwen/ EPKWACAAH – incident 19.28]

I am a courtier grave and serious

Who is about to kiss your hand:

Try to combine a pose imperious

With a demeanor nobly bland.

That’s, if anything, too unbending—

Too aggressively stiff and grand;

Now to the other extreme you’re tending—

Don’t be so deucedly condescending.


 * Oh, hard to please some noblemen seem!


 * At first, if anything, too unbending—


 * Off we go to the other extreme—


 * Too confoundedly condescending!

[Incident 12.23 continued]

Now a gavotte perform sedately—

Offer your hand with conscious pride;

Take an attitude not too stately,

Still sufficiently dignified.

Oncely, twicely—oncely, twicely—

Bow impressively ere you glide.

Capital, both—you’ve caught it nicely!

That is the style of thing precisely!


 * Oh, sweet to earn a nobleman’s praise!


 * Capital both—we’ve caught it nicely!


 * Supposing he’s right in what he says,


 * This is the style of thing precisely!

[Duncan/Bunny II – incident 11.16] (recitative – Finale)

Now let the loyal lieges gather round—

The prince’s foster-mother has been found!

She will declare, to silver clarion’s sound,

The rightful King—let him forthwith be crowned!

[Katie/Sadie – incident 06.15] (from Finale, MIDI file 1:00 – 1:17)

Speak, woman, speak—


 * We’re all attention!


 * The news we seek


 * This moment mention.


 * To us they bring


 * His foster mother.


 * Is he the King?


 * Or this, my brother?


 * Speak, woman, speak!

[Duncan/Bunny II – incident 11.17] (recitative from Finale, MIDI file 1:18 – 2:00)


 * The Royal Prince was by the King entrusted


 * To my fond care, ere I grew old and crusted;


 * When traitors came to steal his son reputed,


 * My own small boy I deftly substituted!


 * The villains fell into the trap completely—


 * I hid the Prince away—still sleeping sweetly:


 * I called him “son” with pardonable slyness—


 * His name, Luiz! Behold his Royal Highness!

[LeShawna – incident 13.08] (from Finale, MIDI file 2:07 – 2:19)

[Owen – incident 26.40]

Is this indeed the King?

Oh, wondrous revelation!

Oh, unexpected thing!

Unlooked-for situation!

[Sadie – incident 11.28 (platonically)] (from Finale, MIDI file 2:20 – 2:41)

[Gwen – incident 26.61]

This statement we receive

With sentiments conflicting;

Our hearts rejoice and grieve,

Each other contradicting;

To those whom we adore

We can be reunited—

On one point rather sore,

But, on the whole, delighted!

[Trent/Gwen – incident 08.49] (from Finale, MIDI file 2:42 – 3:08)

When others claimed thy dainty hand

I waited—waited—waited,


 * As prudence (so I understand)


 * Dictated—tated—tated.


 * By virture of our early vow


 * Recorded—corded—corded


 * Your pure and patient love is now


 * Rewarded—warded—warded.

[Owen – incident 26.42] (from Finale, MIDI file 3:08 – 3:45)

Then hail, O King of a Golden Land

And the high-born bride who claims his hand!

The past is dead, and you gain your own,

A royal crown and a golden throne!

[most campers – incident 27.03] (from Finale, MIDI file 3:46 – 5:14)

Once more gondolieri,

Both skillful and wary,

Free from this quandary

Contented are we.

From Royalty flying,

Our gondolas plying,

And merilly crying

Our “premé,” “stali!”

So goodbye, cachucha, fandango, bolero—

We’ll dance a farewell to that measure—

Old Xeres, adieu—Manzanilla—Montero—

We leave you with feelings of pleasure!

Verses from Utopia, Limited
For a brief plot summary, see the "Introduction to Gilbert & Sullivan" section above. Click the links provided for a more detailed plot summary or the Short Attention Span summary.

[Girls – incident 15.01]

[losers – incident 22.01]

In lazy languor—motionless,

We lie and dream of nothingness;

For visions come

From Poppydom

Direct at our command:

Or, delicate alternative,

In open idlenss we live,

With lyre and lute

And silver flute,

The life of Lazyland!

[ Geoff  – incident 21.17] (from “In lazy languor”, MIDI file 1:12 – 2:06)


 * The song of birds


 * In ivied towers;


 * The rippling play


 * Of waterway;


 * The lowing herds;


 * The breath of flowers;


 * The languid loves


 * Of turtle doves—


 * These simple joys are all at hand


 * Upon thy shores, O Lazyland!

[ Noah  – nature and incident 04.22] (from “O make way for the wise men”, MIDI file 1:26 – 1:43)

In every mental lore


 * (The statement smacks of vanity)


 * We claim to rank before

The wisest of humanity.

As gifts of head and heart


 * We wasted on “utility,”


 * We’re “cast” to play a part

Of great responsibility.

[ Chris  – incident 25.15] (from “O make way for the wise men”, MIDI file 1:44 – 1:59)


 * Our duty is to spy


 * Upon our King’s illicities,


 * And keep a watchful eye


 * On all his eccentricities.


 * If ever a trick he tries


 * That savors of rascality,


 * At our decree he dies


 * Without the least formality.

[Chris – incidents 11.08, 11.18] (from “O make way for the wise men”, MIDI file 2:00 – 2:23)

We fear no rude rebuff,


 * Or newspaper publicity;


 * Our word is quite enough,

The rest is electricity.

A pound of dynamite


 * Explodes in his auricular s;


 * It’s not a pretty sight—

We’ll spare you the particulars.

[Geoff – incident 10.05] (from “O make way for the wise men”, MIDI file 2:39 – 2:54)

Of a tyrant polite


 * He’s a paragon quite.

He’s as modest and mild


 * In his ways as a child;

And no one ever met


 * With an autocrat, yet,


 * So delightfully bland


 * To the least in the land!

[ Owen / Gwen  – incident 25.25]

Let all your doubts take wing—

Our influence is great.

If Paramount our King

Presume to hesitate,

Put on the screw

And caution him

That he will rue

Disaster grim

That must ensue

To life and limb

Should he pooh-pooh

This harmless whim.

[Owen – incidents 02.10, 25.37] (from “Let all your doubts take wing”, MIDI file 0:25 – 1:09)


 * Observe this dance


 * Which I employ


 * When I, by chance,


 * Go mad with joy.


 * What sentiment


 * Does this express?


 * Supreme content


 * And happiness!

[ Trent  – incident 08.33] (from “Let all your doubts take wing”, MIDI file 1:09 – 1:33)


 * Your friendly aid conferred,


 * I need no longer pine.


 * I’ve but to speak the word,


 * And lo! The maid is mine!


 * I do not choose


 * To be denied,


 * Or wish to lose


 * A lovely bride—


 * If to refuse


 * The King decide,


 * The Royal shoes


 * Then woe betide!

[ Cody  – incident 08.41] (from “Let all your doubts take wing”, MIDI file 1:34 – 2:20)

[Owen – incident 25.27]

This step to use

I condescend

Whene’er I choose

To serve a friend

What it implies

Now try to guess;

It typifies

Unselfishness!

[Owen – incident 26.59]

Quaff the nectar—cull the roses—

Gather fruit and flowers in plenty!

For our King no longer poses—

Sing the songs of far niente !

Wake the lute that sets us lilting,

Dance a welcome to each comer;

Day by day our year is wilting—

Sing the sunny songs of summer!

[ Courtney  – nature and incident 05.10]

[Geoff – incident 14.13]

A King of autocratic power we—

A despot whose tyrannic will is law—

Whose rule is paramount o’er land and sea,

A presence of unutterable awe!

But though the awe that I inspire

Must shrivel with imperial fire

All foes whom it may chance to touch,

To judge by what I see and hear,

It does not seem to interfere

With popular enjoyment, much.

[Owen – nature and incident 04.11] (verse 2 from “A King of autocratic power we”, MIDI file 1:15 – 2:09)

Stupendous when we rouse ourselves to strike,

Resistless when our tyrant thunder peals,

We often wonder what obstruction’s like,

And how a contradicted monarch feels.

But as it is our Royal whim

Our Royal sails to set and trim

To suit whatever wind may blow—

What buffets contradiction deals

And how a thwarted monarch feels

We probably shall never know.

[Gwen – incident 26.09]

[http://math.boisestate.edu/gas/utopia/webop/ul004b.html How fair! How modest! How discreet! ]

How bashfully demure!

See how they blush, as they’ve been taught,

At this publicity unsought!

How English and how pure!

[original “Haute Camp-ture” synopsis – incident 22.42] (MIDI file 0:43 – 1:39)

[Courtney/ Heather - nature]


 * Although of native maids the cream,


 * We’re brought up on the English scheme—


 * The best of all


 * For great and small


 * Who modestly adore.

For English girls are good as gold,

Extremely modest (so we’re told),

Demurely coy—divinely cold—


 * And we are that—and more.


 * To please papa, who argues thus—


 * All girls should mould themselves on us


 * Because we are


 * By furlongs far


 * The best of all the bunch,


 * We show ourselves to loud applause


 * From ten till four without a pause

Which is an awkward time because

It cuts into our lunch.


 * Oh, maids of high and low degree,


 * Whose social code is rather free,


 * Please look at us and you will see


 * What good young ladies ought to be!

[Incident 22.42 continued]

And as we stand, like clockwork toys,

A lecturer whom papa employs

Proceeds to praise

Our modest ways

And guileless character—


 * Our well-known blush—our downcast eyes—


 * Our famous look of mild surprise

(Which competition still defies)—


 * Our celebrated “Sir!!!”


 * Then all the crowd take down our looks


 * In pocket memorandum books.


 * To diagnose


 * Our modest pose


 * The Kodaks do their best:

If evidence you would possess

Of what is maiden bashfulness

You only need a button press—


 * And we will do the rest.

[Gwen/Cody – incident 01.26] (MIDI file 0:24 – 1:42)

[ Justin / Izzy  – incident 27.54]

Bold-faced ranger

(Perfect stranger)

Meets two well-behaved young ladies.

He’s attractive,

Young and active—

Each a little bit afraid is.

Youth advances,

At his glances

To their danger they awaken;

They repel him

As they tell him

He is very much mistaken.

Though they speak to him politely,

Please observe they’re sneering slightly,

Just to show he’s acting vainly.

This is Virtue speaking plainly,

“Go away, young bachelor,

We are not what you take us for!”

When addressed impertinently,

English ladies answer gently,

“Go away, young bachelor,

We are not what you take us for!”

[Gwen/Trent – incidents 01.10, 05.25] (verse 2 from “Bold-faced ranger”, MIDI file 1:43 – 2:59)

As he gazes,

Hat he raises,

Enters into conversation.

Makes excuses—

This produces

Interesting agitation.

He, with daring,

Undespairing,

Gives his card—his rank discloses.

Little heeding

This proceeding,

They turn up their little noses.

Pray observe this lesson vital—

When a man of rank and title

His position first discloses,

Always cock your little noses.

When at home, let all the class

Try this in the looking glass.

English girls of well-bred notions

Shun all unrehearsed emotions.

English girls of highest class

Practice this before the glass.

[Justin/ Katie/Sadie – incident 27.05] (verse 3 from “Bold-faced ranger”, MIDI file 3:00 – 4:23)

His intentions

Then he mentions.

Something definite to go on—

Makes recitals

Of his titles,

Hints at settlements, and so on.

Smiling sweetly,

They, discreetly,

Ask for further evidences:

Thus invited,

He, delighted,

Gives the usual references:

This is business. Each is fluttered

When the offer’s fairly uttered.

“Which of them has his affection?”

He declines to make selection.

Do they quarrel for his dross?

Not a bit of it—they toss !

Please observe this cogent moral—

English ladies never quarrel.

When a doubt they come across,

English ladies always toss.

[Heather/ Bridgette – incident 14.07] (from “Bold-faced ranger”, MIDI file 4:34 – 5:05)

Quaff the nectar—cull the roses—

Bashful girls will soon be plenty!

Maid who thus at fifteen poses

Ought to be divine at twenty!

[Izzy – incident 15.10]

First you’re born—and I’ll be bound, you

Find a dozen strangers round you.

“Hallo,” cries the newborn baby,

“Where’s my parents? Which may they be?”

Awkward silence—no reply—

Puzzled baby wonders why!

Father rises, bows politely—

Mother smiles (but not too brightly)—

Doctor mumbles like a dumb thing—

Nurse is busy mixing something—

Every symptom tends to show

You’re decidedly  de trop —

[dare/punishment challenges – incidents 15.17, 25.22] (chorus verse 1 from “First you’re born”, MIDI file 0:36 – 0:49)


 * Life’s teetotum ,


 * If you spin it,


 * Gives its quotum


 * Once a minute.


 * I’ll go bail,


 * You hit the nail,


 * And if you fail


 * The deuce is in it!

[Trent – nature and incidents 08.50, 16.16] (soloist verse 2 from “First you’re born”, MIDI file 0:50 – 1:19)

You grow up and you discover

What it is to be a lover.

Some young maiden is selected—

Poor, perhaps, but well-connected,

Whom you hail (for Love is blind)

As the Queen of fairy kind.

Though she’s plain—perhaps unsightly,

Makes her face up—laces tightly,

In her form your fancy traces

All the gifts of all the graces.

Rivals none the maiden woo,

So you take her and she takes you!

[any or all campers] (chorus verse 2 from “First you’re born”, MIDI file 1:20 – 1:33)


 * Joke beginning,


 * Never ceases,


 * Till your inning


 * Time releases,


 * On your way


 * You blindly stray,


 * And day by day


 * The joke increases.

[Izzy/Justin – incident 27.56] (partial verse)

Subjected to your heavenly gaze

(Poetical phrase)

My brain is turned completely.

Observe me now,

No Monarch, I vow,

Was ever so far afflicted!

[Heather – incident 11.09] (partial verse from “Subjected to your heavenly gaze”, MIDI file 0:37 – 0:52)


 * Come, crush me this contemptible worm


 * (A forcible term),


 * If he’s assailed you wrongly.


 * The rage display


 * Which, as you say,


 * Has moved your Majesty lately.

[Killer Bass/Courtney – incident 02.09]

Oh, maiden, rich

In Girton lore,

That wisdom which

We prized before,

We do confess

Is nothingness,

And rather less,

Perhaps, than more.

On each of us

Thy learning shed.

On calculus

May we be fed.

And teach us, please,

To speak with ease

All languages,

Alive and dead!

[Gwen/Heather – incidents 23.04, 24.09] (partial verse from “O maiden rich in Girton lore”, MIDI file 1:33 – 1:54)


 * On the royal yacht,


 * When the waves were white,


 * In a helmet hot


 * And a tunic tight,


 * And our great big boots,


 * We defied the storm;


 * For we’re not recruits,


 * And his uniform


 * A well-drilled trooper ne’er discards—


 * And we are her escort—First Life Guards!

[Gwen/Trent – incident 26.20] (partial verse – from “O maiden rich in Girton lore”, MIDI file 1:55 – 2:15)

[Heather/ Beth / Lindsay - nature]

These gentlemen I present to you,

The pride and boast of their barrack-yards;

They’ve taken, O! such care of me!


 * For we are her escort—First Life Guards!

[Geoff/Bridgette – incidents 22.05, 27.62] (from “O maiden rich in Girton lore”, MIDI file 2:57 – 3:22)

Oh! The hours are gold,

And the joys untold,

When my eyes behold

My beloved Princess!

And the years will seem

But a brief daydream,

In the joy extreme

Of our happiness!

[ LeShawna /Trent – incident 16.78]

[Owen/ Duncan – incident 24.41]

[http://math.boisestate.edu/gas/utopia/webop/ul008.html Ah! Gallant soldier, brave and true ]

In tented field and tourney,

I grieve to have occasioned you

So very long a journey.

A British warrior gives up all—

His home and island beauty—

When summoned by the trumpet call

Of Regimental duty!

[Gwen/Trent – nature and incident 16.12] (from “Ah! Gallant soldier, brave and true”, MIDI file 0:28 – 0:44)


 * Oh, my joy, my pride,


 * My delight to hide,


 * Let us sing, aside,


 * What in truth we feel.


 * Let us whisper low


 * Of our love’s glad glow,


 * Lest the truth we show


 * We would fain conceal.

[Courtney – incident 12.12] (gender roles reversed in TDI – from “Ah! Gallant soldier, brave and true”, MIDI file 0:45 – 1:08)


 * Such escort duty, as his due,


 * To young Lifeguardsman falling


 * Completely reconciles him to


 * His uneventful calling.


 * When soldier seeks Utopian glades


 * In charge of Youth and Beauty,


 * Then pleasure merely masquerades


 * As Regimental Duty!

[Justin/$1M Suitcase – incident 27.73] (from “It’s understood, I think”, MIDI file 0:19 – 0:36)

We stand, I think, on safish ground,

Our senses weak it will astound

If either gentleman is found

Prepared to meet his rival.

Their machinations we defy;

They will not part us, you and I—

Of bloodshed each is rather shy—

They both prefer survival!

[rude awakenings – incidents 03.01,09.01,13.01] (from “It’s understood, I think”, MIDI file 2:39 – 2:58)


 * Our mortal race


 * Is never blest—


 * There’s no such case


 * As perfect rest;


 * Some petty blight


 * Asserts its sway—


 * Some crumpled roseleaf light


 * Is always in the way!

[Beth/Lindsay – incident 09.03] (Finale Act I)

Although your Royal summons to appear

From courtesy was singularly free,

Obedient to that summons we are here—

What would your Majesty?

[Castaways – incident 23.42] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 0:58 – 1:30)

Attend to me, Utopian populace,

Ye South Pacific Island viviparians ;

All, in abstract, types of courtly grace,

Yet, when compared with Britain’s glorious race,

But little better than half-clothed barbarians!

[ Chef Hatchet /boot camp trainees – incident 12.02] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 1:34 – 2:31)

When Britain sounds the trump of war

(And Europe trembles)

The army of that conqueror

In serried ranks assembles;

‘Tis then this warrior’s eyes and saber gleam

For our protection—

He represents a military scheme

In all its proud perfection!

[Heather – nature and incident 18.14] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 2:39 – 3:17)

A complicated gentleman allow me to present,

Of all the arts and faculties the terse embodiment,

He’s a great Arithmetician who can demonstrate with ease

That two and two are three or five or anything you please;

An eminent Logician who can make it clear to you

That black is white—when looked at from the proper point of view;

A marvelous Philologist who’ll undertake to show

That “yes” is but another and a neater form of “no.”

[Gwen/Trent – incident 16.71] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 3:17 – 3:41)

[LeShawna/Duncan – incident 21.13]


 * All preconceived ideas on any subject I can scout,


 * And demonstrate beyond all possibility of doubt,


 * That whether you’re an honest man or whether you’re a thief


 * Depends on whose solicitor has given me my brief.

[Chef Hatchet – nature and incident 05.04] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 4:59 – 5:27)

This County Councillor acclaim,

Great Britain’s latest toy—

On anything you like to name

His talents he’ll employ—

All streets and squares he’ll purify

Within your city walls,

And keep, meanwhile, a modest eye

On wicked music halls.

[Duncan – incident 04.13] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 7:00 – 7:22)

And lastly I present

Great Britain’s proudest boast,

Who from the blows

Of foreign foes

Protects her sea-girt coast—

And if you ask him in respectful tone,

He’ll show you how you may protect your own!

[Duncan – incident 04.14] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 7:23 – 7:50)


 * I’m Captain Corcoran, K.C.B.,


 * I’ll teach you how we rule the sea,


 * And terrify the simple Gauls;


 * And how the Saxon and the Celt


 * Their Europe-shaking blows have dealt


 * With Maxim gun and Nordenfelt


 * (Or will, when the occasion calls).

[Owen – incident 18.08] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 7:50 – 8:09)


 * If sailor-like you’d play your cards,


 * Unbend your sails and lower your yards,


 * Unstep your masts—you’ll never want ‘em more.


 * Though we’re no longer hearts of oak,


 * Yet we can steer and we can stoke,


 * And, thanks to coal, and thanks to coke,


 * We never run a ship ashore!

[Parade of Contestants – incident 01.21] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 8:29 – 9:00)


 * All hail, ye types of England’s power—


 * Ye heaven-enlightened band!


 * We bless the day, and bless the hour


 * That brought you to our land!

[Beth/Lindsay – incident 03.13] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 14:42 – 14:52)


 * Henceforward, of a verity,


 * With Fame ourselves we link—


 * We’ll go down to Posterity


 * Of sovereigns all the pink!

[Heather/Beth – incident 09.10] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 14:53 – 14:57)


 * If you’ve the mad temerity


 * Our wishes thus to blink,


 * You’ll go down to Posterity


 * Much earlier than you think!

[Geoff/Bridgette – incident 27.63] (from Finale Act I, MIDI file 15:29 – 15:40)

Who love with all sincerity,

Their lives may safely link

And as for our Posterity—

We don’t care what they think!

[Trent – nature and incidents 05.27, 16.26] (with opening recitative )

Oh, Zara, my beloved one, bear with me!

Ah, do not laugh at my attempted C!

Repent not, mocking maid, thy girlhood’s choice—

The fervor of my love affects my voice!

A tenor, all singers above

(This doesn’t admit of a question),

Should keep himself quiet,

Attend to his diet

And carefully nurse his digestion;

But when he is madly in love

It’s certain to tell on his singing—

You can’t do chromatics

With proper emphatics

When anguish your bosom is wringing!

When distracted with worries in plenty,

And his pulse is a hundred and twenty,

And his fluttering bosom the slave of mistrust is,

A tenor can’t do himself justice.

I could sing if my fervor were mock,

It’s easy enough if you’re acting—

But when one’s emotion

Is born of devotion

You mustn’t be over-exacting.

One ought to be firm as a rock

To venture a shake in vibrato,

When fervor’s expected

Keep cool and collected

Or never attempt agitato.

But, of course, when his tongue is of leather,

And his lips appear pasted together,

And his sensitive palate as dry as a crust is,

A tenor can’t do himself justice.

[Gwen/Trent – incident 26.24]

[ Harold /LeShawna – incident 27.10]

Words of love too loudly spoken

Ring their own untimely knell;

Noisy vows are rudely broken,

Soft the song of Philomel.

Whisper sweetly, whisper slowly,

Hour by hour and day by day;

Sweet and low as accents holy

Are the notes of lover’s lay!

[Gwen/Trent – incident 08.51] (verse 2 from “Words of love too loudly spoken”, MIDI file 0:56 – 2:00)


 * Let the conqueror, flushed with glory,


 * Bid his noisy clarion bray;


 * Lovers tell their artless story


 * In a whispered virelay.


 * False is he whose vows alluring


 * Make the listening echoes ring;


 * Sweet and low when all-enduring


 * Are the songs that lovers sing!

[Bridgette/Heather – incident 05.26]

Society has quite forsaken all her wicked courses,

Which empties our police courts and abolishes divorces.

No tolerance we show to undeserving rank and splendor;

For the higher his position is, the greater the offender.

No peeress at our Drawing Room before the Presence passes

Who wouldn’t be accepted by the lower middle classes.

Each shady dame, whatever be her rank, is bowed out neatly.


 * In short, this happy country has been Anglicized completely!

[Chris/Bridgette – incident 05.28] (verse 2 from “Society has quite forsaken all her wicked courses”)

Our city we have beautified—we’ve done it willy-nilly—

And all that isn’t Belgrave Square is Strand or Picadilly.

We have solved the labor question with discrimination polished,

So poverty is obsolete and hunger is abolished—

The Chamberlain our native stage has purged, beyond a question,

Of “ risky ” situation and indelicate suggestion;

No piece is tolerated if it’s costumed indiscreetly—


 * In short, this happy country has been Anglicized completely!

[Heather – incident 05.29] (sarcastically in TDI – verse 3 from “Society has quite forsaken all her wicked courses”)

Our Peerage we’ve remodeled on an intellectual basis,

Which certainly is rough on our hereditary races—

The Brewers and the Cotton Lords no longer seek admission,

And Literary Merit meets with proper recognition—

Who knows but we may count among our intellectual chickens,

Like you, an Earl of Thackeray and p’r’aps a Duke of Dickens—

Lord Fildes and Viscount Millais (when they come) we’ll welcome sweetly—


 * In short, this happy country has been Anglicized completely!

[Owen – incident 25.26] (MIDI file 0:19 – 2:57)

Eagle high in cloudland soaring—

Sparrow twittering on a reed—

Tiger in the jungle roaring—

Frightened fawn in grassy mead—

Let the eagle, not the sparrow,

Be the object of your arrow—

Fix the tiger with your eye—

Pass the fawn in pity by.

Glory then will crown the day—

Glory, glory, anyway!

[Heather – incidents 06.02, 20.18]

[LeShawna’s mob – incident 16.60]

With fury deep we burn—

We fume with smothered rage—

These Englishmen who rule supreme,

Their undertaking they redeem

By stifling every harmless scheme

In which we both engage.


 * We think it is our turn—


 * We think our turn has come—


 * These Englishmen, they must prepare


 * To seek at once their native air.


 * The King, as heretofore, we swear,


 * Shall be beneath our thumb—

[Duncan/Geoff/ D.J. – incident 10.13] (from “With fury deep we burn”)


 * For this musn’t be,


 * And this won’t do,


 * If you’ll back me,


 * Then I’ll back you,


 * No, this won’t do,


 * No, this mustn’t be.

[Heather/Beth – incident 09.11]

If you think that, when banded in unity,

We may both be defied with impunity,

You are sadly misled of a verity!


 * If you value repose and tranquility,


 * You’ll revert to a state of docility,


 * Or prepare to regret your temerity!

[Beth – incident 09.09] (from “If you think that, when banded in unity”, MIDI file 0:27 – 1:08)

[Heather – incidents 16.90, 18.21]


 * Whene’er I chance to baffle you,


 * I, also, dance a step or two—


 * Of this now guess the hidden sense:


 * It means—complete indifference.

[Heather/Leshawna & co. – incident 16.94] (from “If you think that, when banded in unity”, MIDI file 1:09 – 1:29)

As we’ve a dance for every mood

With pas de trois we will conclude.

What this may mean you all may guess—

It typifies remorselessness!


 * It means unruffled cheerfulness!

[Boys’ alliance – incident 17.12]

With wily brain upon the spot

A private plot we’ll plan,

The most ingenious private plot

Since private plots began.

That’s understood. So far we’ve got

And, striking while the iron’s hot,

We’ll now determine like a shot

The details of this private plot.

[Boys’ alliance – incident 17.15] (from “With wily brain”, MIDI file 0:26 – 1:28)

[Girls’ war council – incident 17.29]


 * I think we ought—[whispers]


 * Such bosh I never heard!


 * Ah! Happy thought!—[whispers]


 * How utterly dashed absurd!


 * I’ll tell you how—[whispers]


 * Why, what put that in your head?


 * I’ve got it now—[whispers]


 * Oh, take him away to bed!


 * But, bless me, don’t you see—


 * Do listen to me, I pray—


 * It certainly seems to me—


 * Bah! This is the only way!


 * It’s rubbish absurd you growl!


 * You talk ridiculous stuff!


 * You’re a driveling barndoor owl!


 * You’re a vapid and vain old muff!

So far we haven’t quite solved the plot—

They’re not a very ingenious lot—

But don’t be unhappy,

It’s still on the tapis,

We’ll presently hit on a capital plot!

[Boys’ alliance – incident 17.32] (from “With wily brain”, MIDI file 1:29 – 2:15)


 * Suppose we all—[whispers]


 * Now there I think you’re right.


 * Then we might all—[whispers]


 * That’s true—we certainly might.


 * I’ll tell you what—[whispers]


 * We will if we possibly can.


 * Then on the spot—[whispers]


 * Bravo! A capital plan!


 * That’s exceedingly neat and new!


 * Exceedingly new and neat.


 * I fancy that that will do.


 * It’s certainly very complete.


 * Well done, you sly old sap!


 * Bravo, you cunning old mole!


 * You very ingenious chap!


 * You intellectual soul!

[Boys’ alliance – incident 17.18] (from “With wily brain”, MIDI file 2:15 – 2:43)

At last a capital plan we’ve got

We won’t say how and we won’t say what:

It’s safe in my noddle—

Now off we will toddle,

And slyly develop this capital plot!

[Bridgette – nature and incident 27.76] (this song is the basis for Trent’s tribute song in my short story, Legacy )

A wonderful joy our eyes to bless,

In her magnificent comeliness,

Is an English girl of eleven stone two,

And five foot ten in her dancing shoe!

She follows the hounds, and on she pounds—

The “field” tails off and the muffs diminish—

Over the hedges and brooks she bounds

Straight as a crow, from find to finish.

At cricket, her kin will lose or win—

She and her maids, on grass and clover,

Eleven maids out—eleven maids in—

And perhaps an occasional “maiden over!”

Go search the world and search the sea,

Then come you home and sing with me

There’s no such gold and no such pearl

As a bright and beautiful English girl!

With a ten-mile spin she stretches her limbs,

She golfs, she punt s, she rows, she swims—

She plays, she sings, she dances, too,

From ten or eleven ‘til all is blue !

At ball or drum, till small hours come

(Chaperone’s fan conceals her yawning)

She’ll waltz away like a teetotum ,

And never go home ‘til daylight’s dawning.

Lawn tennis may share her favors fair—

Her eyes a-dance and her cheeks a-glowing—

Down comes her hair, but what does she care?

It’s all her own and it’s worth the showing!

Go search the world, etc.

Her soul is sweet as the ocean air,

For prudery knows no haven there;

To find mock modesty, please apply

To the conscious blush and the downcast eye.

Rich in the things contentment brings,

In every pure enjoyment wealthy,

Blithe as a beautiful bird she sings,

For body and mind are hale and healthy.

Her eyes they thrill with right goodwill—

Her heart is light as a floating feather—

As pure and bright as the mountain rill

That leaps and laughs in the Highland heather!

Go search the world, etc.

[Courtney/Duncan – incident 12.24]

[Courtney] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [Duncan]

[http://math.boisestate.edu/gas/utopia/webop/ul022.html Then I may sing and play? ]


 * You may!

And I may laugh and shout?


 * No doubt!

These maxims you endorse?


 * Of course!

You won’t exclaim, “Oh, fie!”


 * Not I!


 * Whatever you are—be that:


 * Whatever you say—be true:


 * Straightforward act—


 * Be honest—in fact,


 * Be nobody else but you.


 * Give every answer pat—


 * Your character true unfurl;


 * And when it is ripe,


 * You’ll then be a type


 * Of a capital English girl!


 * Oh, sweet surprise—oh, dear delight,


 * To find it undisputed quite,


 * All musty, fusty rules despite


 * That Art is wrong and Nature’s right!

When happy I,

With laughter glad

I’ll wake the echoes fairly,

And only sigh

When I am sad—

And that will be but rarely!


 * I’ll row and fish,


 * And gallop, soon—


 * No longer be prim one—


 * And when I wish


 * To hum a tune,


 * It needn’t be a hymn one?


 * No, no!


 * It needn’t be a hymn one!


 * Oh, sweet surprise, etc.

[Gwen – incident 16.53]

When but a maid of fifteen year,

Unsought—unplighted—

Short-petticoated—and, I fear,

Still shorter-sighted—

I made a vow, one early spring,

That only to some spotless King

Who proof of blameless life could bring

I’d be united.

For I had read, not long before,

Of blameless kings in fairy lore,

And thought the race still flourished here—

Well, well—

I was a maid of fifteen year!

Each morning I pursued my game.

(An early riser);

For spotless monarchs I became

An advertiser:

But all in vain I searched each land,

So, kingless, to my native strand

Returned, a little older, and

A good deal wiser!

I learnt that spotless King and Prince

Have disappeared some ages since—

Even Paramount’s angelic grace—

Ah, me—

Is but a mask on Nature’s face!

[Gwen/Trent – incident 26.17] ( recitative, MIDI file 3:05 – 3:44)


 * Ah, Lady Sophy—then you love me!


 * For so you sing—

No, by the stars that shine above me,

Degraded King!

For while these rumors, through the city bruited,

Remain uncontradicted, unrefuted,

The object thou of my aversion rooted,

Repulsive thing!

[Gwen/Trent – incident 26.52] (MIDI file 4:38 – 7:07)

Oh, the rapture unrestrained

Of a candid retractation !

For my sovereign has deigned

A convincing explanation—

And the clouds that gathered o’er

All have vanished in the distance,

And of Kings of fairy lore

One, at least, is in existence!


 * Oh, the skies are blue above,


 * And the earth is red and rosal ,


 * Now the lady of my love


 * Has accepted my proposal!


 * For that  asinorum pons 


 * I have crossed without assistance,


 * And of prudish paragons


 * One, at least, is in existence!

[Heather/Gwen/Duncan – incident 23.49] (Finale Act II)

There’s a little group of isles beyond the wave—

So tiny, you might almost wonder where it is—

That nation is the bravest of the brave,

And cowards are the rarest of all rarities.

The proudest nations kneel at her command;

She terrifies all foreign-born rapscallions;

And holds the peace of Europe in her hand

With half a score invincible battalions!

[Heather – incident 25.05] (from Finale Act II, MIDI file 0:37 – 0:51)

Such, at least, is the tale

Which is borne on the gale,

From the island which dwells in the sea.

Let us hope, for her sake,

That she makes no mistake—

That she’s all she professes to be!

Glossary
Note: The Gilbert & Sullivan Archive has Glossary pages for most of the operettas under their respective home pages.

Ablutioner: a person who bathes regularly. To call someone an “imperfect ablutioner” is essentially to call him “unwashed”—a common dismissive term for people who one believes to be socially or culturally inferior to oneself.

All is blue: the entire sky is blue, i.e. full daylight.

All the remarkable people: All the people (mostly real, but a few fictitious) in the song, “If You Want a Receipt” were well known in Gilbert’s time, although many are all but forgotten now. This fate might have befallen Gilbert and Sullivan themselves, had they not been asked to collaborate on Trial By Jury.

Amaryllis: along with Chloe and Phyllis, stock names for heroines of pastoral romances.

Animalculous: the adjective form of “animalcule”, the original word for “microorganism”.

Asphodel: originally, a flower that supposedly grew in the Elysian Fields, the ancient Greek equivalent of Heaven. Later, a literary synonym for a daffodil.

Asinorum pons: the first of Euclid’s theorems that can be difficult to understand. The term can therefore serve as a metaphor for concepts such as “separating the men from the boys”. Properly rendered “pons asinorum” (“bridge of asses”), Gilbert reverses the words to better fit the verse’s meter, and because he needed a rhyme for “paragons”.

Attitudes: poses; postures.

Auricular: pertaining to the ear. Gilbert uses it as a synonym for an ear.

Banjo serenader: originally, “nigger serenader”. The word “nigger” (which, like “negro” comes from negra, the Spanish word for “black”) was innocent in Gilbert’s time, but later came to be regarded as a racial slur, so theater companies began substituting other terms around 1947. In this case, the second of three in the Gilbert & Sullivan series, “banjo serenader” is the usual substitute. The other two cases are a second instance in The Mikado, which appears in this compilation, and one in Princess Ida, which does not. In those cases, as well, other words or lines are now substituted.

Bann: wedding announcement.

Bart: the abbreviation for baronet, the lowest of hereditary British titles.

Bath bun: a pastry named for its place of origin, the town of Bath.

Bathing machine: a mobile booth where women could preserve decorum when changing into their bathing suits.

Beau ideal: (French) literally, “ideal beauty”; more generically, a perfect model. Thus, General Stanley (from The Pirates of Penzance) could have been called “the beau ideal of a modern Major General.” (It would even have fit the meter.)

Beaux: (French) plural of beau, a male suitor or boyfriend.

Black-and-tan: a Manchester terrier, which has a black-and-tan coat. A “half-bred black-and-tan” is a Manchester terrier mix.

Boltered: covered with blood.

Bowdlerize: cut out those parts of a literary work that might offend prudes. The U.S. version of Total Drama Island, where words such as “crap” or “sucks” are routinely replaced with milder terms, is an example of a bowdlerized work. The process is named after Thomas Bowdler (1754-1825), who published an expurgated version of Shakespeare’s plays.

Brasset: a piece of armor covering the arm.

Brave: (archaic) can mean “noble” or “well”, in addition to the better-known meaning of “courageous”. The archaic usage is particularly common in The Yeomen of the Guard, but also appears in several other Gilbert & Sullivan plays.

Brill: a flatfish related to the turbot, but smaller and not as tasty.

Buffer: the shock absorber at the end of a railroad car.

Captain Shaw: head of the London Fire Brigade at the time Iolanthe was written.

Chez moi: (French) “my house”.

Chit: an impertinent woman, similar to a minx.

Classics: the great works of ancient Greek and Roman writers.

Clerk: pronounced “clark” in the British fashion.

Clo: (substandard English) clothing.

Cook’s Excursion: the reference in Thespis is to the world’s first travel agency.

Corps de Bally: the “corps de ballet”. In other words, “Teasing Tom” married a ballet dancer. In a class-conscious society, this would have been bad because dancing was a lower-class occupation.

Cot: short for “cottage”.

County family: Landed gentry.

Dab: (chiefly British) a person skilled at the task under discussion.

De trop: (French) superfluous; useless or worse.

D.D.: Doctor of Divinity, i.e. a highly educated clergyman.

Despises female clay: implies indifference to worldly matters, not homosexuality.

Deuce: a euphemism for “devil”

Diskiver: (substandard English) discover.

Dithyramb: a hymn—in practice, more like a drunken party—in honor of Dionysus, the God of Wine.

Djinn: plural of djinni, or “genie”.

Doing: (chiefly British) cheating. Gilbert also uses the better known (and more innocent) meaning in various places.

Dolce far niente: (Italian) literally, “sweet doing nothing”. Colloquially, “pleasant idleness” or “blissful sloth”.

Downing Street: the British Prime Minister lives at 10 Downing Street, which is equivalent to the U.S. White House.

Drum: a noisy party.

Duck: in the context of the song, a mild term of endearment, similar to “darling”.

Ecarte (Écarté): a card game. The TDI reference is to Izzy and Owen’s fondness for canasta, which is also a card game.

Ensemble: Situations where two groups of singers sing different words at the same time, to the same or different melodies, are common in Sullivan’s musical arrangements.

Equipoise: balance.

Far niente: short for “dolce far niente” (q.v.).

Fell: cruel or savage.

Fences: the sort of parry-and-riposte action seen in the sport of fencing. “Verbal fences” therefore refers to conversational repartee.

Festina lente: (Latin) literally, “make haste slowly”. More colloquially, “look before you leap”.

Fitless finger-stalls: poorly fitting gloves.

Follows the hounds: the stanza containing this term is full of fox-hunting terminology. The animal-loving Bridgette wouldn’t be caught dead hunting foxes, of course, but riding horses is another matter. Following the hounds wherever they go requires considerable riding skill, and this is what makes English-style fox hunting a sport.

Fortalice: a small fort. The Tower of London compound isn’t exactly small, but Gilbert needed a rhyme for “hiss”.

Froggee: from “Frog”, a derogatory term the British have for the French.

Fudge: lacking serious merit.

Garner: a storehouse.

Garter/Thistle/Bath: orders of knighthood.

Gay: There are several songs in the Gilbert & Sullivan operas where the modern connotation of the word “gay” could elicit laughs Gilbert did not intend. The original meaning of “gay” has no good synonyms, which is why some people refuse to use it in the modern sense.

Girton: a prestigious women’s college attached to Cambridge. Radcliffe is the closest American equivalent.

Go bail for: guarantee, as in “post bail”. To “go bail for the liquor” therefore means to guarantee the quality of the beverage.

Going free: the song describing the encounter between the H.M.S. Tom-Tit and the French frigate is full of nautical terms. Gilbert was well-versed in nautical jargon, and loved to flaunt his knowledge of it. The sailor singing the song would have the audience believe that the Captain of the Tom-Tit spared the French crew out of chivalry or pity. His actual words, however, indicate that the Tom-Tit crew thought the French ship to be unarmed, and fled when their prey displayed both large cannon and skilled gunners.

Great double-barrel: big shot. The Duke of Plaza-Toro is the Victorian equivalent of a celebrity endorser.

Greenery-yallery: greenish yellow, i.e. jaundiced.

Guinea: a unit of British currency, equal to 1.05 pounds (i.e. 1 pound plus 1 shilling). It still exists in theory, but has not been coined since 1813.

Guy: an effigy of Guy Fawkes (1570-1606), who tried to blow up Parliament in 1605. His ill-fated escapade is mockingly remembered in a minor British holiday, which features (among other things) grotesque attire.

Gyves: leg irons; shackles.

Heigho (also Heigh-ho): a traditional spelling for a sigh. “Heigho-let” is thus Gilbert’s word for a little sigh.

Hind: a female red deer.

Hoi polloi: (Greek) the people. The phrase, “the hoi polloi” is redundant (“the the people”).

Hops: dance parties.

Hunter: a horse used for hunting.

Imported from France: During the Tudor period, which is the setting for The Yeomen of the Guard, French jokes were unlikely to be received well in certain circles because France was England’s traditional enemy.

Incubus: a burden. Originally, a male demon thought to be the source erotic dreams in women (the name meaning “to lie upon”). The female counterpart is a succubus (“to lie under”).

Indite: dictate.

Indiwiddle: individual. Distorted to rhyme with “idyll”.

Jim-jams: (slang) delerium tremens. The reference is metaphorical, because neither Grand Duke Rudolph nor Heather drinks much alcohol.

Job: backroom deal.

Lady novelist: Because lady novelists had ceased to be anomalies not long after Gilbert’s time, many substitutions have been suggested over the years, but none have been been accepted as definitive. Martyn Green, the famous Gilbert & Sullivan actor, who sang the “Little list” song a great many times during his tenure with the D’Oyly Carte Opera Company, preferred “girl who’s not been kissed”.

Lay: exorcize, as in “lay back into the grave”.

Life preserver: a nonlethal weapon, now called a “blackjack”.

Lime: to apply “birdlime”, a sticky substance smeared on twigs to catch birds.

Lower: threaten. Rhymes with “hour”.

Maravedi: a low-value Spanish coin.

Mark: an obsolete English unit of currency, equal to 2/3 pound (13 shillings + 4 pence).

Marry come up: (archaic) a plea to the Virgin Mary for assistance in an interpersonal struggle.

Matrimonial ambition: Thoughts or dreams of climbing the social ladder by marrying into a higher social class than one currently occupies.

Maxim gun: a type of early machine gun, based on the same principle as modern machine guns.

Mickle: a great many. The word is therefore either ironic or poorly chosen in both of the songs where Gilbert uses it. If the latter, his error was apparently a common one (rather like the modern error of using “decimate” when the speaker means “devastate”).

Moll: a gangster’s girlfriend.

Mop: grimace.

Mould: a crumbly type of soil that makes the gravedigger’s job relatively easy.

Mote: literally, a speck of dust. Gilbert uses the more colloquial definition of a personality flaw, in reference to a verse from the Sermon on the Mount.

Mounseer: a distortion of “monsieur”, the French equivalent of “mister”. Gilbert uses it to represent Frenchmen in general (cf. “parley-voo”).

Mow: grimace. Thus, “a mop and a mow” is redundant (“a grimace and a grimace”).

M.P.: Member of Parliament.

Muckle: run off at the mouth

Nine-pounder: a cannon that fires a nine-pound ball.

Nob: short for “nabob”.

Nordenfelt: a type of early machine gun, based on a similar principle to the Gatling gun.

Nosology: the study of diseases. J.W. Wells and his associates conduct this study by mystic rather than scientific methods, because they are sorcerers, not physicians.

Old Bailey: London’s Central Criminal Court.

Painted with vigor: originally “blacked like a nigger”. See “banjo serenader” for further commentary on the usage of “nigger”. Having one’s skin artificially darkened would have been a fearsome punishment in Victorian England because pale skin was the mark of an aristocrat, whereas dark (e.g. tanned) skin was the mark of a peasant.

Paling: picket fence.

Parley-voo: from “Parlez-vous francais?” (“Do you speak French?”). Gilbert uses this to represent Frenchmen in general (cf. “mounseer”).

Parliamentary trains: the “local” (i.e. stopping at every station) trains that railroad companies are required by law to provide for use by the lower classes.

Patter: rapid speech. A “patter song” is therefore a song where the words themselves are less important than rapid delivery. Gilbert and Sullivan are credited with perfecting this form, which is a distinctive element of their style.

Paynim: an archaic form of “pagan”. Used during the Crusades to describe the Saracens.

Peeler: (slang) policeman, after the reformer Robert Peel (1788-1850). “Bobby”, also slang for a policeman, has the same origin.

Penny reading: a public reading or similar entertainment, with an admission price of one penny.

Periphrastic: beating around the bush.

Pipe my eye: weep.

Pipe-lights: matches.

Plantaganet: the family name of the kings that ruled England from 1154-1485. The last known Plantaganet, a nephew of Richard III, was executed in 1499.

Plate powder: an abrasive used to polish silver plate.

Poltroon: like a coward, but more so.

Premier: Prime Minister. Gilbert used “Premier” (the French title) in the song from Thespis because it fits the meter and “Prime Minister” doesn’t.

Prithee: short for “I pray thee”. The modern equivalent is “please”, short for “if you please”.

Punt: operate a boat with a pole, usually on a river. Also, a type of boat that is typically operated in this way.

Quarter-day: a quarterly rent collection day. The phrase, “as sure as a quarter-day” is equivalent to, “as sure as death and taxes”.

Quiddity: puns, wordplay, and suchlike.

Rake: a sexually licentious person; a womanizer. Short for "rakehell".

Rate: short for “berate”.

Recitative: a passage of dialogue that is sung instead of spoken. Recitative differs from song in that it is typically sung with little melody, and may not have much rhythm, either. In grand opera, virtually all dialogue is delivered in this style. In light opera, such as the Gilbert & Sullivan plays, recitative (which may or may not be rhymed and metered) is usually used to introduce a song.

Retractation: “retraction” is more common, but “retractation” is also in the dictionary, and Gilbert needed the extra syllables for the meter, not to mention a rhyme for “explanation”.

Rill: a small brook.

Risky: an Anglicized form of the French word, “risqué”.

Rosal: “rosy” is more common, but “rosal” is also in the dictionary, and Gilbert needed a rhyme for “proposal”.

Sacred: The heralds mentioned in Princess Ida are “sacred” in the sense that they have diplomatic immunity.

Sally Lunn: a type of teacake, named after an 18thcentury English baker.

Sat a gee: rode a horse. In the case of General Stanley, the implication is that it may be a hobby horse.

Sausage roll: similar to a small pig in a blanket, except that the meat is completely enclosed. In The Grand Duke, eating a sausage roll is the conspiracy’s secret sign.

Shalloo humps/Shalloo hoops: “Shoulder arms”.

Sillery: a type of champagne.

Simmery Axe: St. Mary Avenue.

Sooth: (archaic) word of honor.

Squeamer: probably intended to be the noun form of “squeamish”. It is not in the dictionary.

Squint: the reference is to the deputy Venus being cross-eyed.

Stone: a British unit of weight equal to 14 lb. “Eleven stone two” is therefore 156 lb (11x14+2), or about 70 kg. The English girl of the song is therefore big and athletic.

Strike: the reference is to striking (lowering) the flag, i.e. surrendering.

Sunbeams from cucumbers: the reference is to an incident from Jonathan Swift’s masterwork, Gulliver’s Travels, specifically, one of the wildly impractical scientific advances Gulliver encountered during his visit to the flying island of Laputa. In the latter part of the song, “Gently, gently”, Hilarion and his friends mock Ida’s university by listing things—all impossible or traditionally thought to be impossible—that the women enrolled there supposedly expect to learn.

Super: short for “supernumerary player”, i.e. an extra or a bit player.

Susceptible: easily smitten by a pretty face.

Tack: change direction sharply, usually used in connection with sailing.

Tar: (slang) a British sailor.

Taradiddle: a euphemism for a lie, usually used by or in connection with children. “Fib” is the closest American equivalent.

Tantantara: onomatopoeia for the sound of a trumpet call. Variations of this appear in several Gilbert & Sullivan operettas.

Teetotum: a type of spinning top. Jews call it a dreidel.

Tetter: a condition that causes itching. Gilbert uses the term to suggest the sort of discomfort that comes from an unscratchable itch.

Thirty-two: short for “32-pounder”, a cannon large enough to fire a 32-pound ball.

Throttle: throat or windpipe.

Toilet club: barbershop.

Tollolish: tolerable.

Took his tub: learned to bathe regularly.

Toss: flip a coin.

Trepan: pierce the skull for medical purposes, or to ensnare. Gilbert uses the former meaning in “If you want a receipt” from Patience, and the latter in “Gently, gently” from Princess Ida.

Trolling: heartily singing.

Trousseau: (French) a new bride’s personal effects such as her wedding dress, jewelry, etc. Literally, “bundle”.

Tuck Shoppe: Essentially an on-site convenience store, mentioned but never seen, and similar to the PX of a military base. The overnight camping trip challenge (episode #6, “The Sucky Outdoors”) featured an all-expense-paid trip to the Tuck Shoppe as the winning team’s reward. The Tuck Shoppe is also presumably the source of the chips and other junk food that various campers are seen munching on from time to time.

Turtle: short for “turtledove”.

Two-and-six: two shillings and sixpence = ½ crown = 1/8 pound.

Twopence-halfpenny: pronounced “tuppence haypenny” in the British fashion.

Unannealed: (properly “unaneled”) not having received the Sacrament of extreme unction (popularly known as “last rites”). A person who dies unaneled and unshriven (q.v.) is at risk of going to Hell. This is the reference in The Pirates of Penzance. The reference in Princess Ida (which is spelled properly) is an unrelated concept, and refers to a blacksmithing process.

Undoing: (chiefly British) seducing, or bringing to ruin. Gilbert uses the former meaning in The Pirates of Penzance, and the latter in The Yeomen of the Guard. In still other places, he uses the more obvious meaning of “the opposite of ‘doing’”.

Unshriven: having one’s sins unconfessed, and therefore unabsolved. A person who dies unshriven and unaneled (q.v.) is at risk of going to Hell.

Viviparian: an invented noun form of “viviparous”, referring to a creature that bears live young, as opposed to laying eggs. All humans (and nearly all other mammals) are therefore viviparians, but Gilbert needed a rhyme for “barbarians”.

Wards in Chancery: wards of the Court of Chancery—usually orphans.

Warming: a warming of one’s seat, i.e. a spanking.

Watteau: Jean Antoine Watteau (1684-1721), a French painter of rustic scenes.

Welkin: sky (technically, cloud cover).

What cheer: a modern equivalent would be, “How did it go?”

Whit: the smallest imaginable portion of something.

Willow willow waly: w or l sounds, and vowel sounds, tend to figure prominently in the refrains of melancholy songs. The words themselves, in the case of the song from Patience, are meaningless.

Work’us: (substandard) workhouse, a.k.a. poorhouse.

Writhing maid: The tone of this satirical poem suggests that the maid writhes in some sort of spiritual agony, but the actual words imply that she is constipated. Calomel is, among other things, a laxative; and colocynth and aloe are plants from which laxatives are produced. Gilbert is showing how a poet can get away with anything by using words the reader doesn’t understand.