COMPLETE LYRICS
Complete Lyrics to Jane Austen's PERSUASION Song Cycle
Words by Emily King set to Music by Ludwig van Beethoven ©2015-21, emily king, bmi. all rights reserved.
1 PERSUASION (Allegro assai, Sonata for piano and violin, Op. 30, No. 3)
Anne: Seems like yesterday But it’s eight years today. Still I see it whenever I close my eyes Elders whom I had supposed were wise Breaking my heart As they take us and tear us apart.
Lady Russell: With no family tradition. Sir Walter : Not a penny to his name!
Anne: So full of wit and ambition Proud and confident he came.
Lady Russell: So indiscreet
Anne: Swept off my feet.
Sir Walter: Devil-may-care!
Anne: I’d willingly share…
All: Risking such failure the seas may entail…
Lady Russell You’re so lucky that we aided & Sir Walter : You to be persuaded to make this decision.
Anne: Oh… the perilous price of persuasion! Oh… how it feels on these family occasions… Needed for nothing and heeded by no-one A cypher who’s neither a wife or A simpering sister; I simply exist for A useful assistant for indolent, selfish relations.
Lady Russell: Where is my fan?
Miss Elliot: Better ask Anne! Anne: Neglected like some kind of pet being kept on short rations.
Lady Russell: Go to the ball? Promenade all? Sir Walter : Anne will just stall and stand by the wall!
Miss Elliot: Why would she dance when she’s sworn off romance? Sir Walter : In this age of rebellion Who holds back the mob from the gate?
Lady Russell & Miss Elliot: Society!
Sir Walter : And the fear that Napoleon’s Armies determine our fate?
Lady Russell & Miss Elliot: Propriety!
Lady Russell It’s her elders who see &Sir Walter: And will tell her how things ought to be.
Sir Walter: It’s the Elliot pride& Miss Elliot: That one’s surface shan’t tell what’s inside… That well-tailored opinions will hide Any feelings your friends will deride.
Anne: If it’s love, then their notion Admits of no emotion More than mild inclination In raising one’s station By a marriage advantageous to us all With carriages and pages in the hall Counting for more Than to marry the man you adore.
Seems like yesterday But it’s eight years today. Still I see it whenever I close my eyes Elders whom I had supposed were wise Not telling me how I should live without love until now.
Lady Russell It was our duty to shield you & Sir Walter : when the stranger came to wife.
Anne: Was I so imprudent to yield to Any danger in my life?
Lady Russell: Improper and wrong!
Anne: I knew all along…
Sir Walter: A terrible fit!
Anne: …I’d have to submit
All: Risking such failure the seas may entail…
Lady Russell You’re so lucky that we aided & Sir Walter : You to be persuaded to make this decision.
Anne: Oh… how precious your power of persuasion! Oh, how much less was impending invasion Needed to show me that his concentration Might be distracted from serving the nation To sail with the tide Leaving his bride in a hurry Back home to be worried and lonely among her relations.
Lady Russell: Who’ll stay behind?
Miss Elliot: Anne wouldn’t mind!
Lady Russell: Neglected like some kind of pet being kept on short rations.
Anne: It wasn’t a whim! I did it for him!
Lady Russell: I only spoke to you as a friend;
Sir Walter: How could I tell he would turn out so well in the end?
Lady Russell: That’s the thing in the past with advice…
Sir Walter: One can’t know til the last if the end will be nasty or nice.
Lady Russell: How could we know what a terrible price you would pay?
Lady Russell We just tried to sway you & Sir Walter: As Mother would say… Lady Russell: What would she say, here with us today
Captain Wentworth: Undoubted her family’s influenced her under duress
Without me, convincing her I had no chance of success.
Her gentleness proved to be weakness when put to the test!
As long as I live I can never forgive her For giving in to persuasion.
I have sailed round the world But have not found a girl to compare, Black, white or Asian.
It’s not easy to find A young woman as caring and kind As she’s witty and smart So pretty and sweet That her name makes my heart skip a beat...
But I’m not ready to admit defeat And surrender my search! Any girl between fifteen and thirty Will get me into the church. I’ve still one clean shirt I can marry in If we don’t tarry.
Manner mild and wise…
Sweet and gentle eyes…
As long as some maiden will laugh at my jokes Nor matter to her if I flatter her folks. So long as she’s local and legal, then we can be wed.
Lady Russell: With no family tradition! Sir Walter : Not a penny to his name
Anne: So full of wit and ambition Proud and confident he came
Lady Russell: So indiscreet!
Anne: Swept off my feet…
Sir Walter: Devil-may-care!
Anne: I’d willingly share…
All: Risking such failure the seas may entail…
Lady Russell You’re so lucky that we aided & Sir Walter : You to be persuaded to make this decision.
Anne: Oh… the terrible pain of persuasion! Traces are seen in my face’s complexion; There is no hope when fate has no connection; There is no soap that can restore the bloom For the drab middle sister Who nobody missed or Resisted when she left the room.
Captain Wentworth: Capable, sweet, Loving and neat!
Anne: Abandoned and dusty like rusty old tools I’m useless and stuck on the shelf with the fools Because I foolishly Let them persuade me to Persuade myself that I must live by their rules.
2 THE ELLIOTS(Andante con moto from String Quartet in B-Flat, Opus 130)
Jane: Sir Walter Elliot of Kellynch Hall, Somersetshire, was a man who never took up any book but the Baronetage… There he found consolation in a distressed hour – arising from domestic affairs – as he read his own history with an interest that never failed….
Sir Walter: The Elliots of Kellynch Hall..
Lady Russell (to Mr. Shepherd): Let’s help this handsome man!
Sir Walter: We Elliots of Kellynch Hall…
Mr. Shepherd (to Lady Russell): Any way we can, ma’am!
Sir Walter: We Elliots of Kellynch Hall… Elizabeth: The Elliots of Kellynch Hall! Upon Restoration Of Monarch to Nation, Elliots dwelt in Kellynch Hall!
Sir Walter: Our due since 1662!
Lady Russell (to herself): He’s so vain…
Sir Walter & Elizabeth: Unity of style and grace!
Lady Russell (to herself): …that lack of beauty gives him pain!
Sir Walter & Elizabeth: Property gives pride of place! And Propriety!
Sir Walter: So the Elliot family philosophy, For a fine figure of a man like me, “the blessing of beauty is second only to a baronetcy.” Thus – For my dear daughter there is nothing That I would not do For she’s oh-so-very handsome…. Lady Russell& Mrs. Clay: And she’s oh-so-very, very much like YOU!
Lady Russell: Miss Elliot of Kellynch Hall Fairest of all although eldest of three! So fair of face – such style and grace. Mrs. Clay: She condescends to call us friends.
Elizabeth: For thirteen years I’ve run the Hall— Opened every ball— Tried HARD to make my father proud And take the place of Mother Who left our dear father The awful legacy of daughters – three daughters And not one single son and heir She laboured to provide To answer all her prayers before she died.
Lady Russell (to herself): A Lady who left her dear husband, So silly and vain, To raise one lovely daughter; the other two He finds unforgiveably plain.
Sir Walter: Compared to my Elizabeth The other two were hard to handle. But as for looking at them, s’death, By night they’re hardly worth the candle.
Lady Russell: The youngest, Mary, is married at least, To neighbour Musgrove’s only son.
Elizabeth: She’s borne two nasty, spoiled little beasts; She’s growing coarse and weighs a tonne.
Lady Russell (to herself): And Anne, in the middle: An elegant mind – and a riddle; A character so sweet, Her family often find It easy to treat her like the rug beneath their feet. Elizabeth: The wallflower at every dance; Her manner lacks significance.
Lady Russell (to herself): In her, sweet Lady Elliot her mother lives again. Perhaps it might be that which gives her family pain. It hurts them all … at Kellynch Hall!
Sir Walter: Anne’s grown haggard – lost her bloom…
Elizabeth: It’s like there’s no one in the room!
Mrs. Clay: She fell in love – and lost her man.
Lady Russell: She speaks as little as she can.
Mrs. Clay: She never has a thing to say…
Elizabeth: … And no-one’s listening anyway! In any way!
Lady Russell: True, sweet Anne’s grown pale and faded In the eight long years Since we persuaded Her to give up useless tears For a Naval man of doubtful worth. As if he were for her The only man on earth….
Elizabeth: So what?
Mrs. Clay: She’s not the only one…
Both: …suffering from neglect!
Elizabeth & Mrs. Clay: Life’s not what we expected!
Sir Walter: And if our debts now all must be collected If long we’ll stay in Kellynch Hall, Our hectic domestic economics all Must be corrected, If we elect to keep the Elliots in style… No, we must not blench – but smile – Dear Lady Russell, please help us retrench!
Lady Russell: Your trouble, Sir Walter, is so clearly due To the inevitable consequence of your being you… As an elegant host, your Kellynch Hall May shortly cost you all in all!
Mr. Shepherd Time’s running out, but there’s no doubt& Lady Russell: If you’d just scan these plans of Anne’s In seven years you’d be clear!
Elizabeth Oh, no!& Sir Walter: What we’d still owe! If we must go, to live somewhere quietly Economizing without compromising Our comfort and our dignity… If it must be economy at Kellynch Hall – A style of life that’s this forlorn As not hardly to be borne – We’d rather not be here at all!
Mr. Shepherd: To rent out Kellynch, nought is lost. A wealthy tenant pays all your costs!
Mr. Shepherd The war has ceased and we’ve the peace& Lady Russell: To be thanked for Prize-rich Naval officers ashore. A wealthy Admiral and his spouse Could be the saviours of your house.
Mr. Shepherd: The name is Croft, And visit often In the country, the wife has a brother A Captain Wentworth, I rather Thought you’d met…
Lady Russell: It’s not a name… that I should soon forget…
Elizabeth Well, my dear,& Sir Walter: There’s nought to fear Because we won’t be here!
3. OFF TO LYME (Scherzo: Allegro (3rd mvmt.), String Quartet in B-flat Major, Op. 18, No. 6)
GIRLS: Since now even wars can end, The Navy’s throwing men just like Captain Wentworth Back onto our shores to give their sea legs solid ground. Ah! But to my sister and to me It’s a mystery Of just where he went, for The past two whole days He has been nowhere to be found!
CAPT. W: Both very charming, both very nice… Though it’s alarming: everything’s twice. I’d plight my troth, but I can’t marry both. Pursuing either, I may win neither. To make my choice, there’s a bit of a hitch. One takes a chance saying which one is which!
GIRLS: It’s a blessing of the peace That to us they release, to us they surrender The finest men of daring… Of which Mother England can boast. Navy-raised and Navy-bred,… on the waves or round the coast.
CAPT. W: Which is which? GIRLS: So open and upright! CAPT. W: Why not switch? GIRLS: So admirable! So delightful! Truly friends To the end, They love their fellow-officers like brothers! CAPT. W: If they’re the same, Why not play their game? GIRLS: With more warmth and worth Than any other military men on earth!
CAPT. W: Which is which? Why not switch? If they’re the same, Play the game? That Louisa is decided;… begad, I like her pluck! She’s not denied it; with any luck… Well, a wife’s a wife; and if we don’t agree I’ll just live my lonely life at sea…
GIRLS: And so without more delay, let’s be on our way, and travel to Lyme Regis. Under Wentworth’s wing, Visiting the Captains in Lyme.
CAPT. W: Bring both sisters, bring their brother, Bring his wife; her sister Anne’s another Reason why…. this is all too much and more For a simple sailor is much at sea with such enthralling Fine young ladies as he may meet upon the shore.
GIRLS: Strolling upon the shore, Waves crashing on the clashing floor… Though it’s frightful, It’s delightful! A November to remember to be sure!
GIRLS: Hurry up, hurry up, hurry up,…HENRIETTA: …let us go!LOUISA: (How can you be so slow?) GIRLS: Hurry up, hurry up, hurry up,LOUISA: let us fly!HENRIETTA: (The daylight’s flying by!)
GIRLS: Hurry up, hurry up, hurry up, LOUISA: … let us go!HENRIETTA: (Because you never know…) GIRLS: Hurry up, hurry up, hurry up, LOUISA: let us fly!HENRIETTA: (When you may catch his eye!)
LOUISA: When the wheel hits a bump And you’re seated in fours, You can feel your heart jump When his knee touches yours!
GIRLS: Hurry up, hurry up, hurry up, let’s depart!HENRIETTA: (For in affairs of heart…) GIRLS: With a wink and a fan and a tilt of the chin!...HENRIETTA: (…You would not think a captain be so taken in!)
GIRLS: Hurry up, hurry up!LOUISA: For we’ve not got all day…HENRIETTA: (For her to get her way!)
CAPT. W: It’s exactly these… complexities That drive a sane man back out to sea… If that one, Henrietta, regrets hurting her young curate, Then this one, Miss Louisa, Teases, flirting with me… Even I know that, all the attentions I’ve paid her, by all conventions, End in Mothers, Morals and unmotivated Matrimony! Unless I’d be a blackguard Cast aspersions on her, Compromise her honor, There is no going backward… No backing out for me!
ALL: So then, let us ride Upon this twisting tide That leads us to Lyme Regis. All the stars align, To promise a fine time in Lyme.
LOUISA: What matter if I flirt? Whom could it possibly hurt? He likes me to be strong… How could that possibly be wrong?
ALL: Waves crashing on the shore Rolling back to sea once more. Even though the highest tide Will ebb away and leave uncovered every single secret thing that we may try our best to hide.
LOUISA: No matter what they say!
4 SICKROOM/RUN (Adagio quasi un poco andante; Allegro: String Quartet in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 131)
Chorus: She lies, so still and pale, in the darkened room. A cold marble carved saint on a churchyard tomb. This close to death – we hold our breath. The end may be near – bending to hear… Her breath is all too faint ‘mid the hush and gloom. Fading away, senseless she lies. Pray for the day she opens her eyes. Her loved ones have all come; they’ll… say their last goodbyes.
Doctor: Wait! See how she rallies, now she’s coming to!Henrietta: Eyelids flutter…Capt. Benwick: Captain Wentworth!Chorus: She looks to you And you must…
Capt. Wentworth: Run! I must just run away For I just cannot stay!
I’d be waiting by her side Whether she had lived or died. Dead, a murderer I’d be. Live, she’d look to marry me!
Sweet Louisa needs must jump So she landed with a bump. (Just because I didn’t catch her Won’t disqualify the match.)
Oh, sweet Louisa! So eager and so true, ‘Twas my advice that told you what to do. “Don’t be persuaded – be happy and be firm!” To please me, she determined to be firm and reckless, Almost broke her neck and yes, I’ll Run For if she had her way We’d be married today. As if her not being dead Was a reason to be wed. She’s been resolute and brave, Now ‘tis I who must behave!
Now that she’s awakened, I must take my leave.
Leave all that flattery behind me To seek some refuge where none will find me. Not even she who haunts me still For Anne now and forever will be All that a wife could ever Mean to me… but From the wrong kind of wife I shall run for my life!
Gallop through the countryside Caught in knots myself had tied; I must travel far and wide To escape my stupid pride.
For Louisa’s health I pray… As long as I am far away!
I… just… can’t… stay… So… far… away…
At my brother’s house I’ll hide, Though a thousand miles I ride. Vainly looking high and low For Love that I already know.
I was a fool to tarry then! Dear Anne! But I won’t be again! What a fool I still should be With such a reason to be free. With such a reason to be free. Anne is my reason to be… I JUST CAN’T STAY TO LOVE ANOTHER, DAY AFTER DAY, DAMNED WITH OR WITHOUT HER!!!
…I know what I must do! …I’ll go to Timbuktu! And there I’ll build a miserable mudhut on the wild abysmal shore And never dream of dismal Love or bloody England anymore… Or the torture Or misfortune…
{He is handed a letter, folded and sealed as its own envelope.}
Now what the deuce? A note for me! Well, I’ll be damned! What could it be? My sister writes: “Gone overnight.” “We’re having a fine time in Lyme…” Lyme… “Your Miss Louisa’s feeling fine! That Captain Benwick, your young friend, By reading poems helped her mend. They’ll be spliced before he sails. I’ll write with more precise details…”
Can it be that I am free? That Louisa’s jilted me? Could it be that I am free? That’s exactly what it means to me… That I am FREE!! 5. WHEN IN BATH (Rondo: Allegro Sonata for Piano & Cello, Opus 5, No.2)
Lady Russell: Off to Bath to rejoin your family They’ll bore you and ignore you But at least you will still have me.
Anne: Back to Bath to that stupid shallow round of rumors that old Cupid can be found around the town.
Lady Russell Although you show some common sense & Anne: and would be single, Social pressure is immense That you should mingle.
Sir Walter & Elizabeth: Here in Bath, we have cleared the way for you…
Mrs. Clay: To assist your dearest sister to ensnare a man or two.
Sir Walter: First of all, procure a very fashionable address…
Mrs. Clay: Making sure they’ll rent for less…
Elizabeth: Then select a wardrobe to impress…
Mrs. Clay: Fur and feathers to finesse…
Sir Walter: Thus, prepared for paying calls, To us, the outlay will be small, Compared with upkeep at the Hall…
Elizabeth: No hosting endless holidays For countless Musgroves When sister Mary’s in-laws came to call…
Sir Walter & Eliza: For who knows who, For one and all…(& Mrs. Clay:) For who knows who, For one and all…
Sir Walter: Of course, our set accepts only the best To separate us from the cringing coarseness of the rest.
Sir Walter & Elizabeth: Only an elusive elegance will pass the acid test For the Elliots and their exclusive guests.
Lady Russell: As for me, Bath suits me brilliantly. Despite the water’s nasty taste, It’s just my cup of tea. A chance … to enlarge my large acquaintance, In the latest publications and the elegant events.
Anne: My family at stale and stupid private evenings all stagnate While shunning public shows as second-rate.
Sir Walter: A dreadful multitude of ugly women… Repugnant women here in Bath….
Anne: No theater or assembly balls for us, And scarcely any books at all…
Sir Walter: As for the men,… They’re even worse…Anne: They only venture out to comment on the ladies’ looks…Sir Walter By far the worst, as if they’re cursed!& Elizabeth:
Mrs. Clay: Except you, Sir, quite the reverse!
Sir Walter: Ah, Mrs. Clay – you do not say… You flatter me – but in my day I ranked among the first!
And even Anne Is mending while she can. She’s not so thin, Her cheeks, her skin Improve in every way.
Mr. Elliot: Patrons in the pumping room to take the waters; Matrons jumping those with whom to mate their daughters… When in Bath do as the Bathers do… Mind everyone and find the one Who’ll do the most for you.
Sir Walter: My heir presumptive, Mr. Elliot, has called In his most assiduous endeavour To beg his former fault May be forgiven, and forever.
Anne: Alas, I have the uneasiest sensation That such effusive reconcilation With this long-estranged relation. As Papa’s heir to his title -- and to Kellynch Hall -- We’re well aware he might be likely to displace us all.
Sir Walter: Such delicacy of mood, Such solicitude… We Elliots can rise above a young man’s seeming rude And excuse his youthful years’ ineptitude.
Mr. Elliott: How delightful that at last I meet Miss Anne. I profess myself your humble servant in any way I can. Simply to converse with such a deeply charming person Captivates a sentimental gentleman.
Lady Russell: My word! Can this be Mr. Elliot? On short acquaintance it’s too soon to tell yet… Yet everything that’s good Is united in his understanding: Correct in all the things he should, Inquisitive but not demanding; His discourse so discreet; You surely could not meet A more amiable or estimable man.
Mr. Elliott: Anne! tell me all about your trip to Lyme… Where I caught a glimpse of you amidst that Terribly trying time.
Anne: If he but knew reminding me,(aside) He truly risks finding me But dreaming of another man than he. When in Bath… All: When in Bath… When in Bath… When in Bath…
Mr. Elliot: When in Bath… All: When in Bath… When in Bath… When in Bath…
Lady Russell& Anne : When in Bath…
Mr. Elliot: When in Bath, do as the Bathers do. Coquettish glances linger As they wrap you round their finger While Papa his gout is curing The daughter’s out alluring With her devastating glances She brings romance to the dance As if by chance….
Admiral Croft: When in Bath, do as the Bathers do. For drinking vile waters is the test you must get through…
Mrs. Croft: When in Bath, do as the doctors say. To purify your liver, drink a gallon every day.
Elizabeth If you’re of a certain age, you mustn’t tarry.& Mrs. Clay: Sulfur water’s all the rage, if you would marry…
Mr. Elliot When in Bath, please do just as we say…& Sir Walter: Not what we do For what we do is just not right for you.
Lady Russell: You know I’m no matchmaker, but for such a catch a girl must take her time To know her mind. Not only to be dutiful But any match more suitable… May be too hard to find.
Anne: I grant for the foreseeable There’s no man more agreeable For he adapts to any traps Society’s devised. He’s ever so appealing But with no real depth of feeling… How could anybody ever trust herself to the affection Of a man -- no matter however suitable be the connection -- Who from the start had never shown his heart?
Mr. Elliot If you would wed& Mrs. Clay: Then use your head.
Lady Russell: You must be sure That he’s not poor.
Mr. Elliot: No matter which, If she is rich.
Admiral Croft To find a bride& Mrs. Croft: With time and tide, You must not fail If you would sail.
Sir Walter: When in Bath, to be too proud to wed a fortune’s not allowed.
Lady Russell: When in Bath, you’re far above The throwing of your life away for nothing more than love.
Elizabeth, Anne If you’re of a certain age, you mustn’t tarry.& Mrs.Clay: Sulfur water’s all the rage, if you would marry.
Lady Russell When in Bath, do as we say…& Sir Walter: As what we do’s not right for you. You’ll find another way.
Lady Russell: I can’t help seeing That, in you, your lady mother still has being. Your quiet, wise and eloquent demeanour Would mean our Lady Elliot lives again at Kellynch Hall.
Sir Walter: When in Bath… Please don’t laugh, I often dream of Kellynch Hall.
Anne: I too dream. If I seem Too ungrateful to be thought of at all, Surely it’s my sister upon whom he will call. But if Mr. Elliot insists upon me, a reluctance to roam Makes it hard to resist The tragical twist of the idea of never, oh never To ever return to my home.
Others: When in Bath, do as we say… do as we say, not as we do… do as we say… not as we do! 6 SYMPATHETIC DUET(Andante cantabile from Trio for Piano, Cello & Violin, Op. 97; “Archduke”)
Both: Losing a mother Can be a loss like no other. Oh, one can scarcely conceive How much a young girl can grieve.
Anne: Losing my mother Then sent to school…
Mrs. Smith: …To not be a bother To those whose grief was thrown in pale relief Against your fearsome, fulsome flood of tears.
Both: Oh, how you/I wept to think you/I would be kept So far away from home for years and years.
Anne: Then luckily in you I found a friend, So good and kind and faithful to the end. When you left school, in married life to go, I never dreamt that you’d be brought so low.
Mrs. Smith: My Charles was such a charming, gentle man, Who’d for me, and his friends, do all he can. If it weren’t for their extravagant ways, I’m sure that we’d have been happy all our days.
A husband of whom I was ever so fond – I buried him. Accustomed luxury and affluence were gone – Debts harried him Right down into his grave and then beyond… Leaving no child who cares or connects me, Just financial affairs to perplex me. Unaccustomed now to all the finer things of life, When a darling husband makes a widow of his wife.
Then of course there is the dismal misery That this crippling rheumatism is to me. When I first arrived at Bath, I couldn’t lift my head; They brought me to the hot baths, carried lying on my bed.
But in this house I’ve had a happy change of luck. The sister of the landlady, redoubtable Nurse Rooke. She showed me how to make the best of it. When I could move my hands, she taught me how to knit! Even though these days my legs won’t move, See how fast my handicrafts improve! Now I’m making all these cunning little things Nurse Rooke can sell her patients for anything it brings. She opens hearts and pursestrings of the well-to-do So I can pass the proceeds on to poor folk in the neighborhood we see, From one who has the need to still do good… To still do good to those less well-off … There still are those less fortunate than me.
Anne: Here at last – in direst poverty – I find That blessed elasticity of mind That power to turn the weight of evil ‘round To raise oneself t’where only good is found. Mrs. Smith: Since I can’t walk out and take a look, My eyes and ears are now Nurse Rooke. Call it gossip if you will… She’s always sure of something good to tell. She reads human nature to me like a letter, The kind that makes you know your species better. To me, who lives so very much alone, It’s such a treat as when one feeds a dog a bone.
Anne: No doubt she’ll use intelligence and tact So you can picture how her patients act. Not only of their folly and their pain… But from their fortitude we’ve much to gain! Heroic tales of trial and self-denial,… Mrs. Smith: I suppose sometimes she may, though I fear Her lessons are not always taught that way. I hear That human nature was often great in times of trial, But lately selfish hate and sneering pride are more in style.
[Instrumental: Vignette with silhouettes showing the tale of the Smiths' downfall, courtesy of Mr. Elliot.]
Mrs. Smith: Losing a mother
Anne: It was a loss like no other But there’s a worse kind of love…
Both: One you can only dream of.
Mrs. Smith: Losing a lover
Anne: One you can never recover…
Mrs. Smith: What, never?
Anne: No, never.
Mrs. Smith: But you are still young and clever You can find out a way to live… A way to love…
Anne: I’ll find out a way to love Another day No matter what the others say No other man shall have his way For I am his, though we’re apart With open heart… As much as if we were together… My affection is his forever. Neither sickness nor sorrow at being apart Seems to threaten tomorrow with closing your heart.
Both: As it’s no secret that hope is the key to an open heart… …promise to Mrs. Smith: Never…
Anne: …ever,
Both: Never part.
Anne: In Heaven, we will never part.
Mrs. Smith: In Heaven, we will never part.
Anne: Heavenly ending…
Mrs. Smith: … mending a broken heart.
7 WOULD AN’ IF I COULD (Presto - String Quartet in C-sharp minor, Op.131)
Lady Gossip: Did you see him walking with Miss Anne? Her cousin Mr Elliot… What a handsome couple!Gossip Gent: What a handsome man! You know he’s to inherit when her father dies, Only just a baronet, but property and title… If Miss Anne will treat him rightly To keep it in the family’d be his plan.
Lady Gossip: So attentive and agreeable, To argue would be feeble. It’s utterly foreseeable He could…Gossip Gent: He would…Lady Gossip: He should…Both: He should!
Lady Gossip: He could…Gossip Gent: He would…Lady Gossip: He would…Capt. Wentworth: He would!
Lady Gossip: If he should…Gossip Gent: If he would…Both: If he could…Capt. Wentworth: Then he should! Who am I to resent her, or to prevent her from inheriting her home and Ladyship, but…? Lady Gossip: Don’t you think their romance is so sweet When finances completely balancing so neatly Go walking down the street?
Gossip Gent: Of course, though, if Sir Walter Leads another to the altar And is blessed with boyish issue ‘Twould leave him disinherited, Which everyone excepting Mr. Elliot would wish!
Lady Gossip: There’s a lady…Gossip Gent: She’d like to be a Lady!Lady Gossip: Living with them, Known as Mrs. Clay. Companion to the elder sister Elliot...Gossip Gent: A cheerful widow, simply déclassée!
Mr. Elliot: So plausible and placid, her insinuating manner Reassures him as it flatters Old Sir Walter’s vaunted vanity!
Gossip Gent: There’s a lady…
Lady Gossip: She’d like to be a Lady!
Gossip Gent: Living off them, Known as Mrs. Clay.
Both: An intimate admirer of Sir Walter…
Elliot: A clever wench who knows just what to say!
Mrs. Clay: When a man’s as handsome as Sir Walter And takes good care to stay out of the sun, His youthful stance, his vigorous complexion, His head of hair declares him ever younger Than his years on earth, his blissful state Belies his date of birth. He almost never ails Or bilks his tailor. Where he gets his forlorn facial palette Is the sworn secret of his valet. Do not ask him. It’s no use. He can be a Bit obtuse. Or is it … Just a … ruse?
Mrs. Clay & Mr. Elliot: Must be facing… time is racing!
Mr. Elliot: Must be careful, mustn’t miss my chance Confounding Mrs. Clay from Conjuring romance. Ways to knock her out of play for good As in a game of croquet, Would an if I could! Calling at all hours, Bring bouquets of flowers, Diminishing her powers…
Mr. Elliot: I would…Mrs. Clay: He should… Anne: He could.Mr.Elliot:: I should…
Anne: He could…Mrs. Clay: He would…Mr. Elliot: I should.Capt. Wentworth: He would…
Elliot: If I could…Capt. Wentworth: Then he should.
Anne & Mrs. Clay: If he would… Elliot: Then I should… What can I invent now … to prevent her inheriting the Hall and Ladyship?
Anne: Watching Mr. Elliot unaware One can see the artful machinations there Behind his placid air. Last evening at the concert, Provoking Captain Wentworth, Into a jealous outburst!…
And yet… Admit… It thrilled a bit To think that he Could care for me. But I see I’m not free. He’s not part Of my heart. In time I hope To be reasonable and wise, but not yet…
When I see the two men side by side There is no comparison Honest felt affection Or artifice and pride.
Capt. Wentworth: It’s her home… And she would be the Lady… He’s her cousin… Cozily at work In the family circle… It’s the hellish Elliot tradition, Well, no doubt.
All: Time is running out!
Anne: The Captain’s jealousy may just express That quintessential mystery… The misery of happiness… The happiness of misery… Gent Gossip: Walking right out there across the street, Lady Gossip: I wonder how they’d chance to meet?Gent Gossip: I wonder what they’d have to say…Lady Gossip: Young Elliot and Mrs. Clay...Gent Gossip: Sworn enemies in every way...Both: Conspiring cannot come to good, Would and if they could! THE CAPTAIN’S LETTER “TO MISS A. E---"
Capt. Wentworth I can listen no longer in silence. You pierce my soul. & Anne (reading): I am half agony, half hope. Tell me not that I am too late, that such precious feelings are gone forever. I offer myself to you again with a heart even more your own. Dare not say that man forgets sooner than woman, that his love has an earlier death. I have loved none but you. I must go, uncertain of my fate. A word, a look will be enough to decide whether I enter your father’s house this evening, or… never. 8 LIFE AT SEA(Beethoven Allegro -- String Quartet in F Major, Op. 59, No. 1)
Anne: When one is a young and single well-to-do young lady Being carefully brought up inside her father’s stately home,..
Lady Russell: Travelling beyond the distance driven in a day Is just impossible without a careful chaperone.
Anne: Without a chaperone& Lady Russell: A girl can’t go alone…
Anne: …so she stays at home, And dreams of a lover who never will come again; Yearning for the freedom that this feeble world gives only men! Sir Walter: (It drives me wild that any idiot child Can join the Navy at the age of ten!)
Anne: I want to see… I have to be… (Don’t laugh at me!) It’s only that I want to see the sea… The silver sunlight sparkling on the waves; I want to feel the freedom Of breezes, salty with spray Scrubbing my face; My bonnet be blown all over the place; My hair ribbons skitter down the wind To be lost without a trace. While I stare at the place Where the sea meets the skies In that limitless space Where the sun will arise. Just the impossible blue Impossible blue….
Oh give me a skiff, or a yacht or a yawl. I want to sail out and experience all Not a dutiful daughter in a beautiful cell. But life on the water, of riding the swell…
(seasickness theme) Anne: Oh, to be a wife at sea… To live out one’s life a Navy wife at sea. No telling how delightful that would be. Standing by his side to see the world, Our flags unfurled… A cozy nest, Where he could rest.
Sir Walter: Wed a Navy man? A nobody from nowhere marry Anne? Face the color of mahogany…
Elizabeth: Sagging skin like leather, And as orange as our ancient livery…
Anne: Healthy open air, In all weathers we will find it fair. As long as we’re together We shall never have a care.
Lady Russell: Live your life at sea… Have you thought about how it will be? As the only woman – with four hundred filthy men In a leaking, creaking den -- of depravity and vice… Oh, you’ll have it neat and nice, oh no doubt, in a trice! Standing by your man, you’ll do everything you can, Wherever you may roam, to make him feel at home. Without privacy or aid from a nurse or from a maid, You’ll be sharing captain’s quarters without elegance or order. Surrounded by an ocean that is constantly in motion, Every day you’ll risk your neck as waves come crashing ‘cross the deck… Cold in winter, hot in summer… Who will help you when the babies come or…?
(seasickness theme)
Mrs. Croft: Live your life at sea. It’s the only way you’ll ever Get to spend your lives together. For all the safety back on shore, we Found it wasn’t worth the worry. And the only time I pined Was that time I got left behind, Since the anguish of not knowing Is far worse than that of going. Far more comfort in a warship Than in rumour and in gossip. I would rather die in battle Than be tortured by the prattle Of those Navy wives on shore. I’d far rather go to war And face the enemy at sea!
Anne: To be a wife at sea… To live one’s life so free. How else to live in such felicity? Mrs. Croft: As long as you’re together, You’ll brave every weather. Admiral Croft: And be wise above it all, Through every rise and fall….
Mrs. Croft: Of course, upon occasion, there’s a squall… [Orchestral Squall] Mrs. Croft & Still a life at seaAdmiral Croft: Is the finest man and wife could ever lead.
Anne: While I stare at the place Where the sea meets the skies. Mrs. Croft & You’ll find who your match isAdmiral Croft: Down below the hatches.
Anne: In that limitless space Where the sun will arise.
Mrs. Croft & Find your perfect mateAdmiral Croft: Before it’s all too late. However far you roam You’ll be each other’s home.
Anne: Watching the frigate bird Follow the ship as she flies, Soaring for happiness Far beyond words -- A white that’s too bright for my eyes -- She will know she has lived When she dies…
Anne: See A wife at seaAll else: Life at sea, life at sea…Anne: A bird so freeAll else: Life at sea, life at sea…Anne: See how she flies!
Captain Wentworth: After all these years And in spite of all my doubt and fears I’m deucedly confused You’d embrace a life you once refused.
Anne: I am not nineteen And in all the years that came between Those I let persuade me To leave you then did naught to aid me
Both: No, never again Suffering such pain Let them live another’s life Keeping loving hearts apart Shedding tears When all these years I/you could have been your/my wife.
Adm.Croft: The union of husband and wife in heart, body, and mind (reading) is intended by God for their mutual joy; for the help and comfort given one another in prosperity and adversity; and, when it is God's will.
Gentlemen (teasing): Then, gentlemen, we see that we can all agree That ladies aboard ship is not good Naval policy! Anne: But, Gentlemen, do you not see I must disagree That it would disagree with me to see the sea… The sunlight sparkling on the waves; I want to feel the freedom Of breezes salty with spray Scrubbing my face; My bonnet be blown all over the place; My hair ribbons skitter down the deck To be lost without a trace. While I stare at the place Where the sea meets the skies In that limitless space Where the sun will arise. Just the impossible blue The impossible blue… If it be on a sloop or a great man-of-war, Though my body be cooped up so long And so far from the shore As I sail by his side, oh, how my spirit will soar….
(seasickness theme) Anne: Oh, to be a Navy wife… How I hope I won’t be seasick all my life.
Capt. Wentworth: Well, if that’s our worst of trouble Then the rest of life’s a bubble For with obstacles like these Our life is floating on a breeze to Sail, as we sail the seven seas to
Live our Life At Sea So complicit in felicity. Knowing life can’t be Always charming in its harmony.
Both: But as long as I am by your side... Anne: If there’s danger on the ride I shall never run and hide Captain W.: Unafraid of married bliss I shall ask no more than this; That your family desist From persuading you that it’s Too soon to persuade the blessed moon To turn the TIDE!
Sailing with the tide With your arms around your bride
Anne: Sailing with the tide With your arms around your bride
Both: Whate’er the world makes of it Your beloved always standing by your side.
Anne: Such felicityBoth: As I thought I’d never live to see…
Capt. Wentworth: For the perfect mated wife I’d have waited all my life.
Both: It was fated to be She/He to be There to share Our LIFE AT SEA.
9. FINALE (Vivace (2nd mvmt.), String Quartet in F Major, OP. 135)
Ed: My lords, fine ladies and gentlemen! In case you haven’t heard…
Jacqui: The author gets the final word.
Jane: If you have a tale to tell And no-one wants to read it, Take your life in your hands And demand that it read as you need it to be. Write yourself free. By some magic, see tragedy comically, So it happily ends as Cupid intends, Rewriting the past to be happy at last. ('Tis all up to you how you end it!)
John: Though doubtful it will… turn out just that way…
Emily: The author has the final say.
Jane: If you have a song to sing And no-one wants to listen, Just you hum to yourself Like a bumblebee caught in a jar on the shelf: Buzzing away, Day after day. Trapped in a singular single condition: Scribbling on scraps, Paper hidden in laps. (Privacy’s not in a spinster’s position!) Hope there’s a room with a desk that you can use Free if the family has nothing left for you to do: Burn the toast Turn the sheets Sew a cap for a marrying niece. Snatch a quiet moment to write a line or two…
Claire & Gaby: Two maiden ladies living with their mother, Depend on the charity of their wealthy brothers. Maya: Can one really call it home When there’s little or nothing to call one’s own?
Teresa: Millions of spinsters live and die unknown each day But an int’resting author could try in her own way So that, for once, it all ended splendidly!
JANE: Sailing away on the sea With the love of my life eloping with me! Riding away with the man Whose magnificent manor graces the land! Gaby & Claire: Avoiding your fate with the fool Too dense to make sense of your ridicule…
Teresa: Letting down gently the dolt Too witless to miss your wit’s thunderbolt.
Jacqui: Avoiding the fool…. with ridicule!
Emily: Evading the dolt….
JANE: But who is the fool?
Yannik: Use your wits and have some fun, But when your laughing wit is done…
Robert: …and past ‘Tis Wisdom who laughs last…
JANE: The Authoress has her own way… If you have a life to live And no-one lets you lead it, While you watch and you wait, Show the hypocrites all that you hate about them; Put the weight of your wit in a book on their shelves They won’t recognize when they read it themselves, Correct your remarks to be clever and clean. Neglect to remember the shabby and mean. Sean: Squeeze each turnip ‘til you can bleed it.
GENTS: (Even poets and princes will read it!)
JANE: Though you stand and long to dance And cannot find a partner,
LADIES (to Jane): No-one looks for your hand, But they’ll pay for your books where the handsomest men…
GENTS: (to Jane): …Marry your heroines, clever and kind… JANE: Some part of your soul – the heart or the mind –
ALL: Won’t fade with the chintz, But live on in print, And in laughter… To be read happily ever after.
JANE: Ever after…
ALL: Hah!
All Lyrics © 2015-21, Emily King, BMI. All rights reserved.