The Gondoliers by W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan

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No. 10: FINALE, ACT I

"Kind sir, you cannot have the heart"

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Gianetta.

Kind sir, you cannot have the heart
Our lives to part
From those to whom an hour ago
We were united!
Before our flowing hopes you stem,
Ah, look at them,
And pause before you deal this blow,
All uninvited!
You men can never understand
That heart and hand
Cannot be separated when
We go a-yearning;
You see, you've only women's eyes
To idolize
And only women's hearts, poor men,
To set you burning!
Ah me, you men will never understand
That woman's heart is one with woman's hand!

Some kind of charm you seem to find
In womankind —
Some source of unexplained delight
(Unless you're jesting),
But what attracts you, I confess,
I cannot guess,
To me a woman's face is quite
Uninteresting!
If from my sister I were torn,
It could be borne —
I should, no doubt, be horrified,
But I could bear it; —
But Marco's quite another thing —
He is my King,
He has my heart and none beside
Shall ever share it!
Ah me, you men will never understand
That woman's heart is one with woman's hand!.

Don Alhambra.

Do not give way to this uncalled-for grief,
Your separation will be very brief.
To ascertain which is the King
And which the other,
To Barataria's Court I'll bring
His foster-mother;
Her former nurseling to declare
She'll be delighted.
That settled, let each happy pair
Be reunited.

Gianetta, Tessa, Marco & Giuseppe.

Viva! His argument is strong!
Viva! We'll not be parted long!
Viva! It will be settled soon!
Viva! Then comes our honeymoon!
Viva! Viva! Viva!

Exit Don Alhambra.

Gianetta.

Then one of us will be a Queen,
And sit on a golden throne,
With a crown instead
Of a hat on her head,
And diamonds all her own!
With a beautiful robe of gold and green,
I've always understood;
I wonder whether
She'd wear a feather?
I rather think she should!

All.

Oh, 'tis a glorious thing, I ween,
To be a regular Royal Queen!
No half-and-half affair, I mean,
No half-and-half affair,
But a right-down regular,
Regular, regular,
Regular Royal Queen!

Marco.

She'll drive about in a carriage and pair,
With the King on her left-hand side,
And a milk-white horse,
As a matter of course,
Whenever she wants to ride!
With beautiful silver shoes to wear
Upon her dainty feet;
With endless stocks
Of beautiful frocks
And as much as she wants to eat!

All.

Oh, 'tis a glorious thing, I ween,
To be a regular Royal Queen!
No half-and-half affair, I mean,
No half-and-half affair,
But a right-down regular,
Regular, regular,
Regular Royal Queen!

Tessa.

Whenever she condescends to walk,
Be sure she'll shine at that,
With her haughty stare
And her nose in the air,
Like a well-born aristocrat!
At elegant high society talk
She'll bear away the bell,
With her "How de do?"
And her "How are you?"
And "I trust I see you well!"

All.

Oh, 'tis a glorious thing, I ween,
To be a regular Royal Queen!
No half-and-half affair, I mean,
No half-and-half affair,
But a right-down regular,
Regular, regular,
Regular Royal Queen!

Giuseppe.

And noble lords will scrape and bow,
And double themselves in two,
And open their eyes
In blank surprise
At whatever she likes to do.
And everybody will roundly vow
She's fair as flowers in May,
And say, "How clever!"
At whatsoever
She condescends to say!

All.

Oh, 'tis a glorious thing, I ween,
To be a regular Royal Queen!
No half-and-half affair, I mean,
No half-and-half affair,
But a right-down regular,
Regular, regular,
Regular Royal Queen!
Oh, 'tis a glorious thing, I ween,
To be a regular Royal Queen,
A right-down regular Royal Queen!

Click on picture to enlarge — Giuseppe (Rutland Barrington) & Marco (Courtice Pounds), 1889

Enter Chorus of Gondoliers and Contadine.

Chorus.

Now, pray, what is the cause of this remarkable hilarity?
This sudden ebullition of unmitigated jollity?
Has anybody blessed you with a sample of his charity?
Or have you been adopted by a gentleman of quality?

Marco & Giuseppe.

Replying, we sing
As one individual,
As I find I'm a king,
To my kingdom I bid you all.
I'm aware you object
To pavilions and palaces,
But you'll find I respect
Your Republican fallacies,
You'll find I respect
Your Republican fallacies.

Chorus.

As they know we object
To pavilions and palaces,
How can they respect
Our Republican fallacies?

Marco.

For every one who feels inclined,
Some post we undertake to find
Congenial with his frame of mind —
And all shall equal be.

Giuseppe.

The Chancellor in his peruke —
The Earl, the Marquis, and the Dook,
The Groom, the Butler, and the Cook —
They all shall equal be.

Marco.

The Aristocrat who banks with Coutts —
The Aristocrat who hunts and shoots —
The Aristocrat who cleans our boots —
They all shall equal be!

Giuseppe.

The Noble Lord who rules the State —
The Noble Lord who cleans the plate —

Marco.

The Noble Lord who scrubs the grate —
They all shall equal be!

Giuseppe.

The Lord High Bishop orthodox —
The Lord High Coachman on the box —

Marco.

The Lord High Vagabond in the stocks —
They all shall equal be!

Both.

For every one who feels inclined,
Some post we undertake to find
Congenial with his frame of mind —
Congenial with his frame of mind —
And all shall equal be.
Sing high, sing low,
Wherever they go,
Sing high, sing low,
Wherever they go,
Wherever they go,
Wherever they go,
They all shall equal be!

Chorus.

Sing high, sing low,
Wherever they go,
Sing high, sing low,
Wherever they go,
Wherever they go,
Wherever they go,
They all shall equal be!
The Earl, the Marquis, and the Dook,
The Groom, the Butler, and the Cook,
The Aristocrat who banks with Coutts,
The Aristocrat who cleans the boots,
The Noble Lord who rules the State,
The Noble Lord who scrubs the grate,
The Lord High Bishop orthodox,
The Vagabond in the stocks —
For every one who feels inclined,
Some post they undertake to find
Congenial with his frame of mind —
Congenial with his frame of mind —
And all shall equal be.

Then hail! O King,
Whichever you may be,
To you we sing,
But do not bend the knee.
Then hail, hail! O King,
Hail! O King,
Hail! O King!

Marco & Giuseppe.

Come, let's away — our island crown awaits me —
Conflicting feelings rend my soul apart!
The thought of Royal dignity elates me,
But leaving thee behind me breaks my heart!

Gianetta & Tessa.

Farewell, my love; on board you must be getting;
But while upon the sea you gaily roam,
Remember that a heart for thee is fretting —
The tender little heart you've left at home!

Gianetta.

Now, Marco dear,
My wishes hear:
While you're away
It's understood
You will be good
And not too gay.
To every trace
Of maiden grace
You will be blind,
And will not glance
By any chance
On womankind!

If you are wise,
You'll shut your eyes
Till we arrive,
And not address
A lady less
Than forty-five.
You'll please to frown
On every gown
That you may see;
And, O my pet,
You won't forget
You've married me!

And O my darling, O my pet,
Whatever else you may forget,
In yonder isle beyond the sea,
Do not forget,
Do not forget you've married me!

Tessa.

You'll lay your head
Upon your bed
At set of sun.
You will not sing
Of anything
To any one.
You'll sit and mope
All day, I hope,
And shed a tear
Upon the life
Your little wife
Is passing here.

And if so be
You think of me,
Please tell the moon!
I'll read it all
In rays that fall
On the lagoon:
You'll be so kind
As tell the wind
How you may be,
And send me words
By little birds
To comfort me!

And O my darling, O my pet,
Whatever else you may forget,
In yonder isle beyond the sea,
Do not forget you've married me!

Gianetta, Tessa, Marco & Giuseppe.

O my darling, O my pet,
Whatever else you may forget,
In yonder isle beyond the sea,
Do/We'll not forget,
Do/We'll not forget you've married me!
O my darling, O my pet,
In yonder isle beyond the sea,
Do/We'll not forget you've married me/ye!

Chorus. (during which a "Xebeque" is hauled alongside the quay.)

Then away they/we go to an island fair
That lies in a Southern sea:
We know not where, and we don't much care,
Wherever that isle may be.

Men. (hauling on boat)

One, two, three,
Haul!
One, two, three,
Haul!
One, two, three,
Haul!
With a will!

All.

When the breezes are a-blowing
The ship will be going,
When they don't they/we shall all stand still!
Then away they/we go to an island fair,
We know not where, we don't much care,
Wherever that isle may be!

Marco.	Gianetta.	Tessa.	Giuseppe.	Chorus.
Away we go To a balmy isle,
	Away, away they go.	Away, away they go.	Away, away we go.	Away, away,
Where the roses blow
All the winter while,	Away,	Away,	Where the roses blow	Away,
Roses blow,	Away,	Away,	All the winter while,	Away,
Away where the roses blow,				Where roses blow,
All the winter while,	All the winter while,			All winter while,
Where the roses blow!	Where the roses blow!	Where the roses blow,	Where the roses blow!	Where the roses blow!
		All winter while.	All winter while.

All. (hoisting sail)

Then away they/we go to an island fair
That lies in a Southern sea:
Then they/away we go to an island fair,
Then away, then away, then away,
Then away, away!

The men embark on the "Xebeque." Marco and Giuseppe embracing Gianetta and Tessa. The girls wave a farewell to the men as the curtain falls.

END OF ACT I

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