Act I
Mamma Who Bore Me
Mamma Who Bore Me (Reprise)
All That's Known
The Bitch of Living
My Junk
Touch Me
The Word of Your Body
The Dark I Know Well
The Word of Your Body (Reprise)
And Then There Were None
The Mirror-Blue Night
I Believe
Act II
Mamma Who Bore Me
WENDLA
Mama who bore me
Mama who gave me
No way to handle things
Who made me so sad
Mama, the weeping
Mama, the angels
No sleep in Heaven, or Bethlehem
Some pray that one day
Christ will come a'-callin'
They light a candle
And hope that it glows
And some just lie there
Crying for him to come and find them
But when he comes they don't know how to go
Mama who bore me
Mama who gave me
No way to handle things
Who made me so bad
Mama, the weeping
Mama, the angels
No sleep in Heaven, or Bethlehem
Mamma Who Bore Me (Reprise)
WENDLA AND GIRLS
Mama who bore me
Mama who gave me
Mama the angels
Who made me so sad
Mama who bore me
Mama who gave me
No way to handle things
Who made me so sad
Mama, the weeping
Mama, the angels
No sleep in Heaven, or Bethlehem
Some pray that one day
Christ will come a'-callin'
They light a candle
And hope that it glows
And some just lie there
Crying for him to come and find them
But when he comes they don't know how to go
Mama who bore me
Mama who gave me
Mama the angels
Who made me so bad
Mama, the weeping
Mama, the angels
No sleep in Heaven, or Bethlehem
All That's Known
BOYS
...litora, multum ille et terris iactatus et alto
vi superum saevae memorem Iunonis ob...
...iram;
multa quoque et bello
passus, dum conderet
urbem...
Arma virumque cano, Troiae
qui primus ab oris
Italiam, fato profugus,
Laviniaque venit
litora, multum ille et terris
iactatus et alto
vi superum saevae memorem
Iunonis ob iram;
multa quoque et bello
passus, dum conderet
urbem...
MELCHIOR
All that's known
In History, in Science
Overthrown
At school, at home, by blind men
You doubt them
And soon they bark and hound you -
Till everything you say is just another bad about you
All they say
Is "Trust in What is Written"
Wars are made
And somehow that is wisdom
Thought is suspect
And money is their idol
And nothing is okay unless it's scripted in their Bible
But I know
There's so much more to find -
Just in looking through myself
And not at them
Still, I know
To trust my own true mind
And to say: there's a way through this
On I go
To wonder and to learning
Name the stars and know their dark returning
I'm calling
To know the world's true yearning -
The hunger that a child feels for everything they're shown
You watch me -
Just watch me -
I'm calling
And one day all will know
You watch me -
Just watch me -
I'm calling, I'm calling.
And one day all will know.
BOYS
...multa quoque et bello passus, dum conderet urbem...
The Bitch of Living
MORITZ
God, I dreamed there was an angel
Who could hear me through the wall
As I cried out-like, in Latin
"This is so not life at all
Help me out-out-of this nightmare"
Then I heard her silver call -
She said: "Just give it time, kid
I come to one and all"
She said: "Give me that hand, please
And the itch you can't control
Let me teach you how to handle
All the sadness in your soul
Oh, we'll work that silver magic
Then we'll aim it at the wall"
She said: "Love may make you blind kid -
But I wouldn't mind at all"
MORITZ AND BOYS
It's the bitch of living
(Bitch, just the bitch)
With nothing but your hand
(Just the bitch, yeah)
Just the bitch of living
As someone you can't stand
GEORG
See, each night, it's like fantastic -
Tossing, turning, without rest
'Cause my days at the piano
With my teacher and her breasts;
And the music's like the one thing
I can even get at all
And those breasts!
I mean, God, please
Just let those apples fall
BOYS
It's the bitch of living
(ah, ah, ah)
With nothing going on
(Nothing going on)
Just the bitch of living
Asking: what went wrong?
Do they think we want this?
Oh - who knows?
ERNST
See, there's showering in gym class...
HANSCHEN
Bobby Maler, he's the best
Looks so nasty in those khakis
ERNST
God, my whole life's like some test
OTTO
Then there's Marianna Wheelan
As if she'd return my call
HANSCHEN
It's like just kiss some ass, man
Then you can screw 'em all
MLECHIOR
It's the bitch of living
BOYS
It's the bitch of living
MELCHIOR
And living in your head
BOYS
In your head
It's the bitch
MELCHIOR
Of living
And sensing God is dead
MORITZ AND BOYS
It's the bitch of living
MELCHIOR
You watch me -
Just watch me -
MORITZ AND BOYS
And trying to get ahead
MELCHIOR
I'm calling and one day
MORITZ AND BOYS
It's the bitch of living -
MORITZ
Just getting out of bed.
MELCHIOR
All will know...
MORITZ AND BOYS
It's the bitch of living -
Living, living...
MELCHIOR
All will know
MORITZ AND BOYS
And getting what you get.
Just the bitch of living -
MELCHIOR
And knowing this is it.
MELCHIOR, MORITZ AND BOYS
God, is this it?
This can't be it.
Oh God, what a bitch!
My Junk
WENDLA
In the midst of this nothing, this miss of a life,
Still, there's this one thing - just to see you go by.
MARTHA
It's almost like lovin' - sad as that is.
THEA
May not be cool, but it's so where I live.
ANNA
It's like i'm your lover - or, more like your ghost -
I spend the day wonderin' what you do, where you go...
THEA
I try and just kick it, but then, what can I do?
We've all got our junk, and my junk is you.
GIRLS
See us winter walkin' - after a storm.
It's chill in the wind - but it's warm in your arms.
We stop, all snow blind - may not be true.
But we've all got our junk, and my junk is you.
GEORG
Well, you’ll have to excuse me, I know it’s so off,
I love when you do stuff that’s rude and so wrong.
HANSCHEN
I go up to my room, turn the stereo on,
Shoot up some you in the "you" of some song.
THEA
I lie back, just driftin', and play out these scenes.
I ride on the rush - all the hopes, all the dreams...
ANNA
I may be neglectin' the things I should do.
We've all got our junk, and my junk is you.
BOYS AND GIRLS
See, we still keep talkin' - after you're gone.
You're still with me then - feels so good in my arms.
They say you go blind - maybe it's true.
But we've all got our junk, and my junk is you...
It's like, we stop time. What can I do -
We've all got our junk, and my junk is you.
And my junk is you -
You - you - you.
Touch Me
MELCHIOR
Where I go, when I go there,
No more memory anymore -
Only men on distant ships;
The women with them, swimming with them, to shore...
MORITZ
Where I go, when I go there,
No more whispering anymore -
Only hymns upon your lips;
A mystic wisdom, rising with them, to shore...
ERNST
Touch me - just like that.
And that - O, yeah - now, that's heaven.
Now, that I like.
God, that's so nice.
Now lower down, where the figs lie...
MORITZ
...Still, you must admit...with the two anatomies...it truly is daunting - I mean, how...everything might..
MELCHIOR
Measure up?
MORITZ
Not that I'm saying I wouldn't want...Would ever want to not - Would ever not want...
MELCHIOR
Moritz?
MORITZ
I have to go!
MELCHIOR
Moritz, wait -
OTTO
Where I go, when I go there,
No more shadows anymore -
Only men with golden fins;
The rhythm in them, rocking with them, to shore...
GEORG
Where I go, when I go there,
No more weeping anymore -
Only in and out your lips;
The broken wishes, washing with them, to shore...
MELCHIOR AND MORITZ
Touch me - all silent.
Tell me - please - all is forgiven.
Consume my wine.
Consume my mind.
I'll tell you how, how the winds sigh...
BOYS AND GIRLS
Touch me -
GEORG
- just try it.
Now, there - that's it - God, that's heaven.
I'll love your light.
I'll love you right...
We'll wander down, where the sins cry...
BOYS AND GIRLS
Touch me - just like that.
Now lower down, where the sins lie...
Love me - just for a bit...
We'll wander down, where the winds sigh...
Where the winds sigh...
Where the winds sigh...
The Word of Your Body
WENDLA
Just too unreal, all this.
Watching the words fall from my lips...
MELCHIOR
Baiting some girl - with hypotheses!
WENDLA AND MELCHIOR
Haven’t you heard the word of your body?
MELCHIOR
Don’t feel a thing - you wish.
WENDLA
Grasping at pearls with my fingertips...
MELCHIOR
Holding her hand like some little tease.
WENDLA AND MELCHIOR
Haven’t you heard the word of my wanting?
O, I’m gonna be wounded.
O, I’m gonna be your wound.
O, I’m gonna bruise you.
O, you’re gonna be my bruise.
Just too unreal, all this.
WENDLA
Watching his world slip through my fist...
MELCHIOR
Playing with her in your fantasies.
WENDLA AND MELCHIOR
Haven’t you heard a word – how I want you?
O, I’m gonna be wounded.
O, I’m gonna be your wound.
O, I’m gonna bruise you.
O, you’re gonna be my bruise.
The Dark I Know Well
MARTHA
There is a part I can’t tell
About the dark I know well...
You say, “Time for bed now, child,”
Mom just smiles that smile -
Just like she never saw me.
Just like she never saw me...
So, I leave, wantin' just to hide.
Knowin' deep inside
You are comin' to me.
You are comin' to me...
You say all you want is just a kiss good night,
And then you hold me and you whisper,
“Child, the Lord won’t mind.
It’s just you and me.
Child, you’re a beauty."
“God, it’s good – the lovin’ – ain’t it good tonight?
You ain’t seen nothin' yet – gonna treat you right.
It’s just you and me.
Child you’re a beauty.”
ILSE
I don’t scream. Though I know it’s wrong.
I just play along.
I lie there and breathe.
Lie there and breathe...
I wanna be strong -
I want the world to find out
That you’re dreamin’ on me,
Me and my “beauty.”
ILSE AND MARTHA
Me and my “beauty"...
ILSE, MARTHA AND BOYS
You say all you want is just a kiss good night,
Then you hold me and you whisper,
“Child, the Lord won’t mind.
It’s just you and me.
Child, you’re a beauty."
“God, it’s good – the lovin’ – ain’t it good tonight?
You ain’t seen nothin' yet – gonna teach you right.
It’s just you and me.
Child, you’re a beauty.”
There is a part I can’t tell
About the dark I know well.
There is a part I can’t tell
About the dark I know well.
There is a part I can’t tell
About the dark I know well.
There is a part I can’t tell
About the dark I know well...
The Word of Your Body (Reprise)
OTTO
O, you're gonna be wounded.
O, I'm gonna be your wound...
OTTO AND GEORG
O, I'm gonna bruise you.
O, you're gonna be my bruise...
And Then There Were None
MRS. GABOR
Dear Herr Stiefel - Moritz, I’ve spent the entire day thinking about your note. Truly, it touched me, it did, that you'd think of me as a friend. Of course, I was saddened to hear that your exams came off rather less well than you'd hoped, and that you will not be promoted, come fall. And, yet, I must say straightaway, that fleeing to America is hardly the solution. And even if it were, I cannot provide the money you request.
MORITZ
Uh-huh...uh-huh...uh-huh...well, fine.
Not like it’s even worth the time.
But still, you know, you wanted more.
Sorry, it won’t change – been there before.
MRS. GABOR
You would do me wrong, Herr Stiefel, to read into my refusal any lack of affection. On the contrary, as Melchior’s mother, I truly believe it to be my duty (to curb this momentary loss of) -
MORITZ
The thing that sucks - okay? - for me,
A thousand bucks, I’m, like, scot-free.
And I mean, please...That’s all I need.
Get real - Jose! By now, you know the score.
MRS. GABOR
Should you like, I am ready to write your parents. I will try to convince them that no one could have worked harder last semester, and also that too rigorous a condemnation of your current misfortune (could have the gravest possible effect on) -
MORITZ
You wanna laugh. It’s too absurd.
You start to ask. Can’t hear a word.
You’re gonna crash and burn. Right, tell me more.
MRS. GABOR
Still, Herr Stiefel, one thing in your letter disturbed me. Your – what shall we call it? – veiled threat that, should escape not be possible, you would take your own life.
MORITZ
Okay so, now we do the play.
Act like we so care. No way.
You’ll write my folks? Well, okay. Babe, that’s how it goes.
MRS. GABOR
My dear boy, the world is filled with men – businessmen, scientists, scholars even - who have done rather poorly in school, and yet gone on to brilliant careers. Consider, for example, our friend...
MORITZ
They freak or won't
You toe the line
You tell your soul, “Just kill some time.”
Will it quit? It will until they don’t.
They’re not my home. Not anymore.
Not like they so were before.
Still, I’ll split, and they’ll, like...Well, who knows?
Who knows? Who knows?
MRS. GABOR
In any case, I assure you that your present misfortune will have no effect on my feelings for you, or, on your relationship with Melchior...
MORITZ AND HANSCHEN
Uh-huh...uh-huh...uh-huh...well, fine.
Not like it’s even worth the time.
But still, you know, you wanted more.
HANSCHEN
Okay, so nothing’s changed.
MORITZ
Heard that before.
MORITZ AND OTTO
You wanna laugh. It’s too absurd.
You start to ask. Can’t hear a word.
OTTO
You wanna crash and burn.
MORITZ
Right, tell me more.
MORITZ AND ERNST
You start to cave. You start to cry.
You try to run. Nowhere to hide.
GEORG
You want to crumble up, and close that door.
MRS. GABOR
So, head high, Herr Stiefel! And do let me hear from you soon. In the meantime, I am unchangingly and most fondly yours, Fanny Gabor.
MORITZ
Just fuck it – right? Enough. That’s it.
You’ll still go on. Well, for a bit.
Another day of utter shit -
And then there were none.
MORITZ AND OTTO
And then there were none...
MORITZ, OTTO AND GEORG
And then there were none...
MORITZ AND BOYS
And then there were none...
The Mirror-Blue Night
BOYS
Flip on a switch, and everything’s fine –
No more lips, no more tongue, no more ears, no more eyes.
The naked blue angel, who peers through the blinds,
Disappears in the gloom of the mirror blue night.
MELCHIOR
But there’s nowhere to hide from these bones, from my mind.
It’s broken inside – I’m a man and a child.
I’m at home with a ghost, who got left in the cold.
Who knocks at my peace, with no keys to my soul.
BOYS
And the whispers of fear, the chill up the spine,
Will steal away too, with a flick of the light.
The minute you do it, with fingers so blind,
You remove every bit of the blue from your mind.
MELCHIOR
But there’s nowhere to hide from the ghost in my mind,
It’s cold in these bones – of a man and a child.
And there’s no one who knows, and there’s nowhere to go.
There’s no one to see who can see to my soul...
I Believe
BOYS AND GIRLS
I believe,
I believe,
I believe,
Oh I believe.
All will be forgiven - I believe.
I believe,
I believe,
Oh I believe.
All will be forgiven - I believe.
I believe,
I believe,
Oh I believe.
There is love in Heaven - I believe.
I believe,
I believe,
Oh I believe.
There is love in Heaven - I believe.
I believe,
I believe,
Oh I believe.
All will be forgiven - I believe.
I believe,
I believe,
Oh I believe,
There is love in Heaven.
All will be forgiven.
There is love in heaven.
All will be forgiven.
I believe...
There is love in Heaven.
I believe...
All will be forgiven.
I believe...
There is love in Heaven.
I believe...
All will be forgiven.
I believe...
There is love in Heaven.
I believe...
All will be forgiven.
I believe...
There is love in Heaven.
I believe...
All will be forgiven.
Peace and joy be with them...
Harmony and wisdom...
Peace and joy be with them,
Harmony and wisdom...
I believe,
I believe,
I believe,
Oh I believe...
The Guilty Ones
WENDLA
Something's started crazy -
Sweet and unknown.
Something you keep
In a box on the street -
Now it's longing for a home...
WENDLA, GIRLS AND BOYS
And who can say what dreams are?...
WENDLA
Wake me in time to be lonely and sad.
WENDLA, GIRLS AND BOYS
And who can say what we are?...
WENDLA
This is the season for dreaming...
And now our bodies are the guilty ones,
Who touch,
And color the hours;
Night won't breathe
Oh how we
Fall in silence from the sky,
And whisper some silver reply...
MELCHIOR
Pulse is gone and racing -
All fits and starts.
Window by window,
You try and look into
This brave new you that you are.
MELCHIOR, GIRLS AND BOYS
And who can say what dreams are?...
MELCHIOR
Wake me in time to be out in the cold.
MELCHIOR, GIRLS AND BOYS
And who can say what we are?...
MELCHIOR
This is the reason for dreaming...
MELCHIOR, WENDLA, GIRLS AND BOYS
And now our bodies are the guilty ones -
Our touch
Will fill every hour.
Huge and dark,
Oh our hearts
Will murmur the blues from on high,
Then whisper some silver reply...
And now our bodies are the guilty ones -
Our touch
Will color the hours;
Night won't breathe
Oh how we
Fall in silence from the sky,
Then whisper some silver reply...
And now our bodies are the guilty ones.
Don't Do Sadness / Blue Wind
MORITZ
Awful sweet to be a little butterfly.
Just wingin' over things, and nothin' deep inside.
Nothin' goin', goin' wild in you - you know -
You're slowin' by the riverside or floating high and blue...
Or, maybe, cool to be a little summer wind.
Like, once through everything, and then away again.
With the taste of dust in your mouth all day,
But no need to know, like, sadness - you just sail away.
'Cause, you know, I don't do sadness - not even a little bit.
Just don't need it in my life - don't want any part of it.
I don't do sadness. Hey, I've done my time.
Lookin' back on it all - then it blows my mind.
I don't do sadness. So been there.
Don't do sadness. Just don't care.
ISLE
Moritz Stiefle?
MORITZ
Ilse? You frightened me.
ISLE
What are you looking for?
MORITZ
If only I knew.
ISLE
Then what's the use of looking? I'm on the way home. Want to come?
MORITZ
I don't know.
ISLE
God, you remember how we used to run back to my house and play pirates? Wendla Bergman, Melchior Gabor, you, and I?
Spring and summer
Every other day,
Blue wind gets so sad.
Blowin' through the thick corn,
Through the bales of hay,
Through the open books on the grass...
Spring and summer...
Sure, when it's autumn,
Wind always wants to
Creep up and haunt you -
Whistling, it's got you;
With its heartache, with its sorrow,
Winter wind sings, and it cries...
Spring and summer,
Every other day,
Blue wind gets so pained.
Blowin' through the thick corn,
Through the bales of hay,
Through the sudden drift of the rain...
Spring and summer...
MORITZ
Actually, I'd better go.
ISLE
Walk as far as my house with me.
MORITZ
I wish I could.
ISLE
Then, why don't you?
MORITZ
Eighty lines of Virgil, sixteen equations, a paper on the Hapsburgs...
So, maybe I should be some kinda' of laundry line -
Hang their things on me, and I will swing 'em dry.
You just wave in the sun through the afternoon,
And then, see, they come to set you free, beneath the risin' moon.
'Cause you know -
I don't do sadness - not even a little bit.
Just don't need it in my life - don't want any part of it.
I don't do sadness. Hey I've done my time.
Lookin' back on it all - man, it blows my mind.
I don't do sadness.
So been there.
Don't do sadness.
Just don't care.
ISLE
Spring and summer,
Every other day,
Blue wind gets so lost.
Blowin' through the thick corn,
Through the bales of hay -
Spring and summer,
Every other day,
Blue wind gets so lost.
Blowin' through the thick corn,
Through the bales of hay,
Through the wandering clouds of the dust...
Spring and summer...
Left Behind
MELCHIOR
You fold his hands, and smooth his tie.
You gently lift his chin -
Were you really so blind, and unkind to him?
Can't help the itch to touch, to kiss,
To hold him once again.
Now, to close his eyes, never open them?...
MELCHIOR, BOYS AND GIRLS
A shadow passed. A shadow passed,
Yearning, yearning for the fool it called a home.
MELCHIOR
All things he never did are left behind;
All the things his mama wished he'd bear in mind;
And all his dad had hoped he'd know.
O-o-o-o-o-o-
The talks you never had,
The Saturdays you never spent,
All the "grown-up" places you never went;
And all of the crying you wouldn't understand,
You just let him cry - "Make a man out of him."
MELCHIOR, BOYS AND GIRLS
A shadow passed. A shadow passed,
Yearning, yearning for the fool it called a home.
MELCHIOR
All things he ever wished
Are left behind;
All the things his mama
Did to make him mind;
And how his dad
Had hoped he'd grow.
All things he ever lived
Are left behind;
All the fears that ever
Flickered through his mind;
All the sadness that
He'd come to own.
O-o-o-o-o-o-
MELCHIOR, BOYS AND GIRLS
O-o-o-o-o-o-
O-o-o-o-o-o-
A shadow passed. A shadow passed,
Yearning, yearning for the fool it called a home.
MELCHIOR
And, it whistles through the ghosts
Still left behind...
It whistles through the ghosts
Still left behind...
It whistles through the ghosts still left behind...
O-o...
Totally Fucked
MELCHIOR
There's a moment you know...you're fucked -
Not an inch more room to self-destruct.
No more moves - oh yeah, the dead-end zone.
Man, you just can't call your soul your own.
OTTO
But the thing that makes you really jump
Is that the weirdest shit is still to come.
You can ask yourself: hey, what have I done?
You're just a fly - the little guys, they kill for fun.
GEORG
Man, you're fucked if you just freeze up,
Can't do that thing - that keepin' still.
HANSCHEN
But, you're fucked if you speak your mind,
GEORG, OTTO AND HANSCHEN
And you know - uh huh - you will.
BOYS AND GIRLS
Yeah, you're fucked, all right - and all for spite.
You can kiss your sorry ass good-bye.
Totally fucked. Will they mess you up?
Well, you know they're gonna try.
MELCHIOR
Blaa blaa blaa blaa blaa blaa blaa...
BOYS AND GIRLS
Blaa blaa blaa blaa blaa blaa blaa...
MELCHIOR
Disappear - yeah, well, you wanna try.
Wanna bundle up into some big-ass lie,
Long enough for them to all just quit.
Long enough for you to get out of it.
MELCHIOR, BOYS AND GIRLS
Yeah, you're fucked all right - and all for spite.
You can kiss your sorry ass good-bye.
Totally fucked. Will they mess you up?
Well, you know they're gonna try.
Yeah, you're fucked all right - and all for spite.
You can kiss your sorry ass good-bye.
Totally fucked. Will they mess you up?
Well, you know they're gonna try.
ALL
Blaa blaa blaa blaa blaa blaa blaa blaa
Blaa blaa blaa blaa blaa,
Blaa blaa blaa blaa blaa blaa blaa blaa
Blaa blaa blaa blaa blaa...
Blaa blaa blaa blaa blaa blaa blaa blaa
Blaa blaa blaa blaa blaa,
Blaa blaa blaa blaa blaa blaa blaa blaa
Blaa blaa blaa blaa blaa...
Totally fucked!
The Word of Your Body (Reprise)
HANSCHEN
Come, cream away the bliss,
Travel the world within my lips,
Fondle the pearl of your distant dreams...
Haven't you heard the word of your body?
O, you're gonna be wounded.
O, you're gonna be my wound.
O, you're gonna bruise too.
O, I'm gonna be your bruise...
ERNST
Oh God...
HANSCHEN
Mmm, I know. When we look back, thirty years from now, tonight will seem unbelievably beautiful.
ERNST
And, in the meantime...?
HANSCHEN
Why not?
ERNST
On my way here this afternoon, I thought perhaps we'd only...talk.
HANSCHEN
So, are you sorry we - ?
ERNST
Oh no - I love you Hanschen. As I've never loved anyone.
HANSCHEN
And so you should.
ERNST
O, I'm gonna be wounded.
O, I'm gonna be your wound.
ERNST AND HANSCHEN
O, I'm gonna bruise you.
O, you're gonna be my bruise...
ERNST, HANSCHEN, WENDLA, MELCHIOR, BOYS AND GIRLS
O, you're gonna be wounded.
O, I'm gonna be your wound.
O, you're gonna bruise too.
O, I'm gonna be your bruise...
Whispering
WENDLA
Whispering...
Hear the ghosts in the moonlight.
Sorrow doing a new dance
Through their bones, through their skin.
Listening -
To the souls in the fool's night,
Fumbling mutely with their rude hands...
And there's heartache without end...
See the father bent in grief,
The mother dressed in mourning.
Sister crumples,
And the neighbors grumble.
The preacher issues warnings...
History...
Little Miss didn't do right.
Went and ruined all the true plans -
Such a shame, such a sin.
Mystery...
Home alone on a school night.
Harvest moon over the blue land;
Summer longing on the wind...
Had a sweetheart on his knees,
So faithful and adoring.
And he touched me,
And I let him love me.
So, let that be my story...
Listening...
For the hope, for the new life -
Something beautiful, a new chance.
Hear, it's whispering, there, again...
Those You've Known
MORITZ
Those you’ve known,
And lost, still walk behind you...
All alone,
They linger till they find you...
Without them,
The world grows dark around you -
And nothing is the same until you know that they have found you.
WENDLA
Those you’ve pained
May carry that still with them...
All the same,
They whisper: “All forgiven.”
Still, your heart says:
The shadows bring the starlight,
And everything you’ve ever been is still there in the dark night.
MORITZ
Though you know
You’ve left them far behind -
You walk on by yourself, and not with them,
Still you know,
They will fill your heart and mind,
When they say: "There’s a way through this..."
WENDLA
When the northern wind blows,
The sorrows your heart holds,
There are those who still know -
They’re still home;
We’re still home.
MORITZ AND WENDLA
Those you’ve known,
And lost, still walk behind you.
All alone,
Their song still seems to find you.
They call you,
As if you knew their longing –
They whistle through the lonely wind, the long blue shadows falling...
MELCHIOR
All alone,
But still I hear their yearning;
Through the dark, the moon, alone there, burning.
The stars, too,
They tell of spring returning –
And summer with another wind that no one yet has known...
They call me –
Through all things –
Night’s falling,
But somehow on I go.
You watch me,
Just watch me –
I’m calling
From longing...
MORITZ
Still you know
There’s so much more to find –
Another dream, another love you’ll hold.
Still you know
To trust your own true mind
On your way – you are not alone.
There are those who still know -
WENDLA
When the northern wind blows,
The sorrows your heart’s known –
I believe...
MELCHIOR
Now they’ll walk on my arm through the distant night,
And I won’t let them stray from my heart.
Through the wind, through the dark, through the winter light,
I will read all their dreams to the stars.
I'll walk now with them.
I’ll call on their names,
I’ll see their thoughts are known.
MORITZ AND WENDLA
Not gone.
Not gone.
Not gone.
MELCHIOR
Not gone -
Not gone -
They walk with my heart –
I'll never let them go.
I’ll never let them go.
I’ll never let them go...
You watch me
Just watch me,
I’m calling.
I’m calling –
And one day all will know...
The Song of Purple Summer
ILSE
And all shall fade,
The flowers of spring
The world and all the sorrows
At the heart of everything
But still it stays
The butterfly sings
And opens purple summer
With a flutter of its wings
ALL
The earth will wave with corn,
The grey-fly choir will mourn,
And mares will neigh with
Stallions that they mate, foals they've borne...
And all shall know the wonder
Of purple summer...
And yet, I wait.
The swallow brings
A song too hard to follow -
That no one else can sing.
The fences sway.
The porches swing.
The clouds begin to thunder,
Crickets wander, murmuring -
The earth will wave with corn,
The grey-fly choir will mourn,
And mares will neigh with
Stallions that they mate, foals they've born...
And all shall know the wonder -
I will sing the song
Of purple summer...
And All shall know the wonder -
I will sing the song
Of purple summer...
All shall know the wonder
Of purple summer...
