The Scarlet Pimpernel by Frank Wildhorn and Nan Knighton

Act One Storybook Listen to me, I have beautiful dreams I can spin you Dreams to linger within you Close your eyes and we'll ride my carousel I'll sing you stories of lovers whose love used to fill me And the lovers who will be For, you see, love is one thing I do well Come, let's believe love can be just as sweet as it seems Let's live on dreams! In my dreams such beautiful lovers have found me Storybook lovers surround me Nothing is real, but I'm flying, sighing Where, where, where is my storybook ending? Why does my golden pretending Leave me with nothing to hold but my dreams? Oh, is it only in dreams that we find our ideal love? Are there lovers with real love? If you know how to feel love, show me how Ah, but my prince, if you can't be as sweet as you seem I'd rather dream Come and wake me! Come be the love I can hold now Storybook love leaves me cold now Show me the way to stop dreaming There is only one perfect storybook ending That is the end of pretending That is the moment I say, love me now! Et sur mon manege, l'amour toujours est chantant De mes reves, c'est le commencement Et j'espere une fin heureuse Mais la fin de l'histoire ne vient pas tres doucement Pour l'histoire, il faut faire semblant Certes je n'embrasse que mes reves Seuls mes reves! Madame Guillotine I know the gutter and I know the stink of the street Kicked like a dog, I have spat out the bile of defeat All you beauties who towered above me You who gave me the smack of your rod Now I give you the gutter I give you the judgement of God! Vengeance victorious These are the glorious days Women of Paris, come gather your bloody buquets! Now gaze on our goddess of justice With her shimmering, glimmering blade As she kisses these traitors she sings them a last serenade Sing, swing Savour the sting As she severs you, Madame Guillotine Slice, come paradise You'll be smitten with Madame Guillotine The world may be ugly, but each man must do what he must Give in pretty dear, in a year you will be pretty dust Now come let our lady possess you In her breathtaking, hair-raising bed She will tingle your spine As she captures your heart and your head Sing, swing Savour the sting As she severs you, Madame Guillotine Slice, come paradise Our Delilah will shave you razor clean God, when did man lose his reason? Save us, my God, if you're there God, can you not feel the terror like a fire in the air? Flash, slash! Glisten and gash! She will ravash you, Madame Guillotine Split, Madame just bit Give her more to bite, she's a hungry queen Sing, savour the sting As she severs you, Madame Guillotine Slice, come paradise Now Blow by blow We defy you Feel the glow Hear the cry Hearts will howl Blood will flow Hail her Majesty! Madame Guillotine! You Are My Home From this day on, I give myself to you Here in my arms, you will be free I only want you as you are Give me your trust Grow old with me I promise you to cherish and to hold Now and as long as we both live I'll make you laugh, I'll keep you warm There is so much I want to give You are my home You make me strong And in this world of strangers I belong to someone You are all I know You're all I have I won't let go May God above shine through this love To make us man and wife This is what I've wanted all my life You are my home You make me strong And in this world of strangers I belong to someone You are all I know You're all I have I need you so I won't let go You are my home Prayer No, stay I don't care what you've said or done Don't go away Not now, when life had just begun Come back, and be the woman who I knew Help me to believe in you What on earth am I to do? She's gone, this vision who was not quite real I must move on despite the pain The pain will heal Oh, Lord, how could you let me love like this? No one dies upon a kiss And only fools believe in bliss And yes, God knows I am a fool A man deluded by his wife A figure ripe for ridicule Who's lived a vain and useless life So be it then, I'll play that game I do not give a tinker's damn I'll be a fool, it's all the same It truly doesn't matter what I am God, no! I'm broken, but I'm still alive And slowly I will feel my soul revive With time, I'll find a way to right this wrong If it takes my whole life long Lord, I'll fight my battles all alone But make me strong Into the Fire David walked into the valley With a stone clutched in his hand He was only a boy But he knew someone must take a stand There will always be a valley Always mountains one must scale There will always be perilous waters Which someone must sail Into valleys, into waters Into jungles, into hell Let us ride, let us ride home again with a story to tell Into darkness, into danger Into storms that rip the night Don't give in, don't give up But give thanks for the glorious fight You can tremble, you can fear it But keep your fighting spirit alive boys Let the shiver of it sting you Fling into battle, spring to your feet boys Never hold back your step for a moment Never doubt that your courage will grow Hold your head even higher and into the fire we go Are there mountains that surround us? Are there walls that block the way? Knock 'em down, strip 'em back boys And forward and into the fray Into terror, into valour Charge ahead, no, never turn Yes, it's into the fire we fly And the devil will burn Someone has to face the valley Rush in, we have to rally and win boys When the world is saying not to By God, you know you've got to march on, boys Never hold back your step for a moment Never doubt that your courage will grow Hold your head ever higher and into the fire we go Let the lightning strike Let the flash of it shock you Choke your fears away Pull as tight as a wire Let the fever strike Let the force of it rock you We will have our day, sailing into the fire Someone has to face the valley Rush in! We have to rally and win boys When the world is saying not to By God, you know you've got to march on, boys Never hold back your step for a moment Look alive! Oh, your courage will grow Yes, it's higher and higher and into the fire we go Into fire! Onward, ho! Falcon in the Dive Hunt for the man Comb the city, every street, every grate You put a guard at every gate Drag him out, shout the moment that you find him! Daam! Knock in the doors, lock up the city Track him down through this town And be quick about it...now! How the devil do I ever prevail when I'm only a man? But I'll never be duped by this scurrilous phantom again I wasn't born to walk on water I wasn't born to sack and slaughter But on my soul, I wasn't born To stoop, to scorn, and knuckle under A man can learn to steal some thunder A man can learn to work some wonder And when the guantlet's down, it's time to rise and climb the sky And soon the moon will smoulder And the winds will drive Yes, a man grows older but his soul remains alive All those tremulous stars still glitter and I will survive! Let my heart grow colder and as bitter as a falcon in the dive There was a dream, a dying ember There was a dream, I don't remember But I will resurrect that dream Though rivers stream and hills grow steeper For here in hell where life gets cheaper Oh, here in hell the blood runs deeper And when the final duel is near I'll lift my spear and fly Piercing into the sky and higher And the strong will thrive Yes, the weak will cower while the fittest will survive If we wait for the darkest hour Till we spring alive Then with claws of fire, we devour like a falcon in the dive These are the days! Yes! Days of glory, days of rage, and the dream And the dream of Paris preys on my bones Gnawing night and day and clawing through my brain and No, never bend! Never kneel! Rend him to bits! Bite! Now, the beauty of the fight I'm not a man to hunger for blood, but the spirit can cry To be younger and fiercer and fly Piercing into the sky and higher And the strong will thrive Yes, the weak will cower while the fittest will survive If we wait for the darkest hour Till we spring alive Then with claws of fire, we devour like a falcon in the dive The Scarlet Pimpernel Who is the Scarlet Pimpernel? I've heard he swaggers on a heath With several daggers in his teeth. They say he cracks the longest whip And has the stiffest upper lip I've heard he's had his skin tatooed And dances in the nude Who is the Scarlet Pimpernel? Now really girls You can't believe just anything you hear For accuracy I look to the daily press Today they say the fellow's a Venetian gondalier A *** Latin lover Yes, well, more or less And although he's feeble minded They report he's all the rage When he travels with his twelve foot spear He was seen the other day Hacking off a Frenchie's ear...And two knee caps! He's always at it tooth and nail There's always someone to impale But he relaxes now and then To take a sail upon the Seine I wish he'd sail away with me Or simply come to tea? This plucky ne'er-do-well  No, this lucky bloody swell! Who is the Scarlet Pimpernel? When I Look at You When I look at you, what I always see Is the face of someone else who once belonged to me Still I can hear him laugh And even though that melody plays on, he's gone When I look at you, he is standing there I can almost breathe him in like summer in the air Why do you smile his smile? That heaven I'd forgotten eases through, in you If you could look at me once more With all the love you felt before If you and I could disappear into the past And find that love we knew I'd never take my eyes away from you When I look at you, he is touching me I would reach for him, but who can hold a memory? And love isn't everything That moonlight on the bed will melt away, someday Oh, you were once that someone Who I followed like a star Then suddenly you changed, And now I don't know who you are Or could it be that I never really knew you from the start? Did I create a dream? Was he a fantasy? Even a memory is paradise for all the fools like me Now, remembering is all that I can do Because I miss him so, when I look at you When I Look at You: Reprise Oh, you were once that someone Who I followed like a star Then suddenly you changed, And now I don't know who you are Or could it be that I never really knew you from the start? Did I create a dream? Was he a fantasy? Even a memory is paradise for all the fools like me Now, remembering is all that I can do Because I miss her so I miss him so When I look at you Where's the Girl? I remember days full of restlessness and fury I remember nights that were drunk on dreams I remember someone who hungered for the glory I remember her, but it seems she's gone Where's the girl? Where's the girl with the blaze in her eyes? Where's the girl with that gaze of surprise? Now and then I still dream she's beside me Where's the girl who could turn on the edge of a knife? Where's the girl who was burning for life? I can still feel her breathing beside me And I know she remembers how fearless it feels To take off with the wind at her heels She and I took this world like a storm Come again! Let the girl in your heart tumble free Bring your renegade heart home to me In the dark of the morning, I'll warm you I'll rouse you Marguerite, don't forget I know who you are We were cut from the same surly star Like two jewels in the sky sharing fire Where's the girl so alive and still aching for more? We had dreams that were worth dying for We were caught in the eye of a storm Come again! Let the girl in your heart tumble free Bring your renegade heart home to me In the dark of the morning, I'll warm you I'll rouse you Where's the girl? Is she gazing at me with surprise? Do I still see that blaze in her eyes? Am I dreaming, or is she beside me now? You Are My Home: Reprise You are my only brother and my friend What would I do if you were gone? Why are your eyes so full of fear? I will be here, we will go on You are my home You make me strong And in this world of strangers I belong to someone You are all I know You're all I have I won't let go The Creation of Man Peacocks! Sink me! Think ye, sir, how those feathered boys love to flaunt their tails! Stallions! Zounds, sir! Hounds sir! Stags! Of the goosie and the gander, sir Which gender is the grander, sir To render total candor, sir, the spendour is the male's! Be an example to your sex Give your boot a dapper strap And it's smarter if your garter has some snap! Cravats should be flounced about our necks Wear a nightcap when you nap Be bewitching with some stitching on your cap! Now, drape your cape And puff your cuff Embroider those lapels! Be the king of the beasts in pastels! La, but someone has to strike a pose And bear the weight of well-tailored clothes And that is why the Lord created men Strut, sir! What, sir? Roosters do! Give a *** his comb and the hens will pale! Bucks! Bulls! More, sir! Boars, sir! Rams! Of the nanny goat and billy, sir Whose beard is fully wooly, sir? It's bully for the billy for he's willy-nilly male! Sir, be a lion-hearted *** Fill those pantaloons with light! I could dangle down a spangle out of sight! Oh, yes! Be bold, sir! When it's cold, slap on that wig Draw your britches in quite tight Even more so, and your torso will ignite Now, smock your frock Perfume your plume I'll let my waistcoat swing! And the jungle will bow to its king! La, but someone has to strike a pose And bear the weight of well-tailored clothes And that is why the Lord created men Gentlemen, remember what we're here for Why we must be dressed to kill If we have to look like Cleopatra Then we will! If you're out to make a splash, cheri, Do know your haberdashery! Buttons, buckles, ruffles and lace Represent the human race! La, but someone has to strike a pose And bear the weight of well-tailored clothes Each species needs a sex that's fated To be highly decorated That is why the Lord created men Madame Guillotine: Reprise Stick to your purpose  And don't let the fire burn out  An eye for an eye  And to hell with those shadows of doubt  No one blinds me with tricks and diversion  No one quickens my heart on the sly  I am here for one reason  And all other reasons must die The Riddle See the moon slink down in the sky, darling Let your fantasies fly, darling Life is cold, and the game is old Just see how virtue repays you You turn and someone betrays you Betray him first And the game's reversed! For we all are caught in the middle Of one long treacherous riddle Can I trust you? Should you trust me too? We shamble on through this hell Taking on more secrets to sell Till there comes a day when we sell our souls away! Through the mist your lover is beckoning Comes that moment of reckoning Faces change, even smiles grow strange And we all have so many faces The real self often erases Enticing lies flicker through our eyes Feel the terror draw ever nearer The more you stare in the mirror But hold your own Face the wind alone Reel on, love! Toughen your scars Year by year we're falling like stars Till there comes a day when we well our souls away! Can I run to you? Are you true to me? I'll do unto you as you do to me! And we slowly learn someone has to burn Better you than me! Oh, every Judas once loved a Jesus But finally treason will seize us And only fools follow golden rules We all are caught in the middle Of one long treacherous riddle Of who trusts who, maybe I'll trust you But can you trust me? Wait and see! On to Act Two  Act Two The Scarlet Pimpernel Who is the Scarlet Pimpernel? Who is the Scarlet Pimpernel? Who is the Scarlet Pimpernel? Who is the Scarlet Pimpernel? Lud love me, such conjecturing could drive a man insane And I'm the one to set this gossip quite to rest The Pimpernel is me Indeed, and I'm the Queen of Spain She's disguised herself But now she has at last confessed I confess to nothing more Than admiration for a man Who so gloriously risks his life Did you hear that one and all? The Pimpernel's bewitched my wife The man's a hero He's a drunk A fiddling Nero He has *** Oh bunk, the man's a lazy lout And still I long to find him out The secret simply will not keep For England's losing sleep It's time to break the spell Won't someone bloody tell? Who is the Scarlet Pimpernel? They Seek Him Here They seek him here, they seek him there Those Frenchies seek him everywhere Is he in heaven or is he in hell? That demned elusive Pimpernel He meddles with the Frenchie Revolution Popping in and out each week Spoiling every lovely execution La, what cheek! They seek him here, they seek him there Those Frenchies seek him everywhere If you should see him, please do give a yell! That demned elusive Pimpernel The rumour is the Pimpernel is British A Brit who's playing peek-a-boo Were I the Pimpy, I'd feel rather skittish It's not you It's possible our hero flirts with danger How I wish he'd flirt with me Methinks I feel the evening growing stranger Ah, mais oui They seek him here, they seek him there Those Frenchies seek him everywhere Is he up yonder? Or down in the dell? Where is this blasted Pimpernel? I believe he's here upon your own shores Dancing 'round these hallowed halls After all, we Englishmen are known For splendid balls They seek him here, they seek him there The ladies seek him everywhere! Marguerite, what should you say to him? Please tell me how I might identify you I'd like our paths to overlap Were I the Pimpy, tell me, what should I do? Shut your trap! They seek him here, they seek him there Those Frenchies seek him everywhere Is he in heaven or is he in hell? That demned elusive Pimpernel She Was There So many nights I have stood in the moonlight Watching it fade with the dawn Wanting her back with me, warm in the moonlight Knowing that moment was gone Out of mind, out of sight, Till the moon rose ronight All at once, I felt a chill In a spill of moonlight, she was there Though we both held very still There was something pulling in the air When she whispered through the dark I tried hard to hold my ground I believed I had a choice Till the music in her voice Turned my whole world around I would like to understand But the stars and I begin to blur If she never touched my hand Then what filled me with the feel of her? In between us stood a wall In a flash it fell apart Is it possible she heard Every last unspoken word Racing out of my heart? She never turned to me, but suddenly We had so much to share! I never took her in my arms, but she was there Oh, she was there! No, I never pulled her in Still her tenderness was everywhere Oh, she slipped beneath my skin Just as if she'd always been right there Has she been there all along? Was I too far gone to know? What a fool I must have been For how could I pull her in When I've never let her go? She Was There: Reprise Has she been there all along? Was I too far gone to know? What a fool I must have been For how could I pull her in When I've never let her go? Storybook: Reprise Listen to me, I have beautiful dreams I can spin you Dreams to linger within you Close your eyes and we'll ride my carousel I'll sing you stories of lovers whose love used to fill me And the lovers who will be For, you see, love is one thing I do well Et sur mon manege, l'amour toujours est chantant De mes reves, c'est le commencement Et j'espere une fin heureuse Mais la fin de l'histoire ne vient pas tres doucement Pour l'histoire, il faut faire semblant Certes je n'embrasse que mes reves Seuls mes reves! Where's the Girl?: Reprise I remember days full of restlessness and fury I remember nights that were drunk on dreams I remember someone who hungered for the glory I remember her Let her go, let her live, let her die on her own We are all of us bruised and alone Now we both will have nothing to hold Let her know, hurl it in to her renegade heart That the best of our dreams fell apart And the dark of the morning grows cold Into the Fire: Reprise Into darkness, into danger Into storms that rip the night Don't give in, don't give up But give thanks for the glorious fight Someone has to face the valley Rush in, we have to rally and win, boys When the world is saying not to By God, you know you've got to march on, boys Never hold back your step for a moment Never doubt that your courage will grow Yes, it's higher and higher And into the fire we go I'll Forget You I'll forget you The more you stay inside of me, the weaker I grow I'll forget you Tomorrow I will turn and let you go I'll grow colder I'll lose myself in anything but you now For there is nothing I can do now...but forget I'll forget you I won't remember arms that pulled me in, soft and slow I'll forget you There has to be a way to let you go! No more shadows No dreams of leaning in the dark above you I will forget how much I love you...anyday But every time I close my eyes You come to me again I swear I feel your touch upon my skin You haunt me everywhere Till I reach into the air Trembling to think of All the nights that might have been I'll forget you I hear you whisper softly in the dark...still, I know I'll forget you God help me see the way to let you go I do not want you And still you steal each breath I'm breathing from me With just a touch, you overcome me And I let you I will forget you... When I die... I will forget you When I die... When I Look At You: Reprise Let me look at you There's so much to say Oh, how wonderful! I look And you don't turn away I can't take my eyes from you God help me but I want you Even more than before Now you've come home to me Never again to hide Now when I lie awake at night There will be someone by my side Now you know, but then I guess you always knew I am so lost in love When I look at you Into the Fire: Reprise Someone has to face the valley Rush in, we have to rally and win boys When the world is saying not to By God, you know you've got to march on, boys Never hold back your step for a moment Never doubt that your courage will grow Hold your head ever higher and into the fire we go Into fire! Onward, ho!