MICHAEL JOHN LACHIUSA: "Your Texas" from Giant
Somebody else may spend her life
In search of the perfect butter knife
To pair with the proper fork and proper spoon.
Don't laugh, but I'd rather read Rousseau
And Emerson, Carlyle, and Thoreau.
Right here in my father's chair, I've read
The sort of ideas that cloud my head with
Daydreams,
Big and small.
I have daydreams,
Don't we all?
When I read Thoreau, I smiled.
He said "All good things are free and wild."
Your Texas
Now, I don't know
Your Texas
But even so,
I imagine that a man can be…
Can be
More independent,
Wild and free
In Texas.
The last frontier is Texas,
And unlike here
There's a great unknown
Just waiting there
For those who wish to
Dream and dare.
Your Texas
Your Texas...
Imagine
Imagine:
Blossoming at forty,
Blossoming at sixty,
Blossoming at eighty.
That's how I want to live...
"Imagine a place in the wilderness, unspoiled by politics, where people are truly equal."
These kinds of ideas,
Don't laugh, they give me
Daydreams,
Wild and new.
I'll have daydreams,
Thanks to you,
And tonight I'll dream
Some more
Of a place I've never
Been before:
Reata.
Your country,
Your Texas...
Somebody else may spend her life
In search of the perfect
Butter knife.
Not I,
Not I.
STEPHEN SCHWARTZ: "The Wizard and I" from Wicked
Oh, Miss Elphaba,
Many years I have waited
For a gift like yours to appear.
Why, I predict the Wizard could make you his
Magic grand vizier!
My Dear, my dear,
I'll write at once to the Wizard,
Tell him of you in advance.
With a talent like yours, dear, there is a defin-ish chance.
If you work as you should,
You'll be making good.
Did that really just happen?
Have I actually understood?
This weird quirk I've tried to suppress or hide
Is a talent that could help me meet the Wizard,
If I make good.
So I'll make good.
When I meet the Wizard,
Once I prove my worth,
And then I meet the Wizard,
What I've waited for since, since birth.
And with all his Wizard wisdom,
By my looks, he won't be blinded.
Do you think the Wizard is dumb?
Or like Munchkins, so small-minded?
No, he'll say to me, I see who you truly are,
A girl on whom I can rely.
And that's how we'll begin,
The Wizard and I.
Once I'm with the Wizard
My whole life will change,
'Cause once you're with the Wizard,
No one thinks you're strange.
No father is not proud of you,
No sister acts ashamed,
And all of Oz has to love you
When by the Wizard, you're acclaimed.
And this gift or this curse
I have inside.
Maybe, at last, I'll know why
When we are hand in hand,
The Wizard and I.
And one day he'll say to me, "Elphaba,
A girl who is so superior,
Shouldn't a girl who's so good inside
Have a matching exterior?
And since folks here to an absurd degree
Seem fixated on your verdigris,
Would it be alright by you
If I de-greenify you?"
"Of course, that's not important to me.
All right, why not?" I'll reply.
Oh, what a pair we'll be,
The Wizard and I.
Yes, what a pair we'll be,
The Wizard and…
Unlimited.
My future is unlimited,
And I've just had a vision almost like a prophecy.
I know, it sounds truly crazy.
And true, the vision's hazy.
But I swear, someday there'll be
A celebration throughout Oz
That's all to do with me!
And I'll stand there with the Wizard,
Feeling things I've never felt,
And though I'd never show it,
I'd be so happy, I could melt.
And so it will be for the rest of my life,
And I'll want nothing else 'til I die.
Held in such high esteem,
When people see me, they will scream
For half of Oz's favorite team,
The Wizard and I.
RUGGERO LEONCAVALLO: "E fra quest' ansie" from Pagliacci
E fra quest'ansie in eterno vivrai?!
Will you live forever amid these worries?
Nedda! Nedda!
Nedda! Nedda!
Decidi il mio destin,
Decide my fate.
Nedda! Nedda, rimani!
O stay here, Nedda!
Tu il sai, la festa ha fin
As you know, the fair is over
e parte ognun domani.
and everyone will be gone tomorrow.
Nedda! Nedda!
Nedda! Nedda!
E quando tu di qui sarai partita,
And when you too have left here,
che addiverrà di me…
what will become of me…
della mia vita?!
of my life?!
Nedda, Nedda, rispondimi:
Nedda, Nedda, answer me.
s'è ver che Canio non amasti mai,
if it is true that you love Canio no more,
S'è ver che t'è in odio
if it is true that you hate
il ramingar e'l mestier che tu fai,
the nomadic life you lead,
se l'immenso amor tuo
if your great love
una fola non è
is not a fiction,
questa notte partiam!
let us go tonight!
fuggi, fuggi con me!
Nedda, fly with me!
CHARLES GOUNOD: "Avant de quitter ces lieux" from Faust
Avant de quitter ces lieux,
Before I leave this town,
Sol natal de mes aïeux
My forefathers' native place,
A toi, seigneur et Roi des cieux
To you, Lord and King of Heaven,
Ma sœur je confie,
Do I entrust my sister.
Daigne de tout danger
I beg you to defend her
Toujours, toujours la protéger
From every peril,
Cette sœur si cherie!
My beloved sister.
Délivré d'une triste pensée
Freed from this harrowing thought,
J'irai chercher la gloire, la gloire au seins des ennemis,
I shall seek glory in the enemy's ranks,
Le premier, le plus brave au fort de la mêlée,
The first, the bravest in the thick of the fray,
J'irai combattre pour mon pays.
I shall go and fight for my country.
Et si vers lui, Dieu me rappelle,
And if God should call me to his side,
Je veillerai sur toi fidèle,
I shall faithfully watch over you,
O Marguerite!
O Marguerite!
Avant de quitter ces lieux,
Before I leave this town,
Sol natal de mes aïeux,
My forefathers' native place,
A toi, seigneur et Roi des cieux,
To you, Lord and King of Heaven,
Ma sœur je confie!
Do I entrust my sister.
O Roi des cieux, jette les yeux,
O King of Heaven, hear my prayer
Protège Marguerite, Roi des cieux!
And defend Marguerite, O King of Heaven!
STEPHEN FLAHERTY: "Make them hear you" from Ragtime
Go out and tell our story
Let it echo far and wide
Make them hear you
Make them hear you
How Justice was our battle
And how Justice was denied
Make them hear you
Make them hear you
And say to those who blame us
For the way we chose to fight,
That sometimes there are battles
That are more than black or white
And I could not put down my sword
When Justice was my right
Make them hear you
Go out and tell our story to your daughters and your sons
Make them hear you
Make them hear you
And tell them, "In our struggle,
We were not the only ones"
Make them hear you
Make them hear you
Your sword could be a sermon
Or the power of the pen
Teach every child to raise his voice
And then my brothers, then
Will justice be demanded by ten million righteous men
Make them hear you—
When they hear you, I'll be near you
Again
