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No. 20: Duet (Rose-in-Bloom & Sultan)

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Rose-in-Bloom.
  Suppose — I say suppose —
    That your silly ickle wife
Just for once in all her life
      Were to foolishly forget
Oriental etiquette
    And infringe a regulation
Formed for persons of her station —
      Would oo blame oo ickle wifie?
Would oo punish wifie-pifie?
(Earnestly.) Would she meet a dreadful doom?
 
Sultan.
  Suppose my lovely Rose,
My Royal Rose-in-Bloom,
    My Royal spouse Zubeydeh,
Could forget she is a lady —
      Then my silly ickle wifie
Oo would lose oo ickle lifie!

Rose. Sultan.
  For queens must not forget   For queens must not forget
    Their "set,"     My pet,
  They owe to etiquette   They owe to etiquette
    A debt;     A debt;
  And Royalty must ever be
Upheld in perfect dignity!
  And Royalty must ever be
Upheld in perfect dignity!


Rose-in-Bloom.
  Suppose — I say suppose —
    That one night she couldn't sleep,
So she thought that she would creep
      Like a silent little mouse
Down the stairs and out the house
    And about the city trotted —
Would she have to be garotted?
      Would a nasty knifie-pifie
Put an end to ickle wifie
    Or a bow-string be her doom?
 
Sultan.
  My wifie-pifie knows,
My Royal Rose-in-Bloom,
    If she did what you refer to,
Then the Executioner to,
      With his great big knifie-pifie,
I should send my ickle wifie!

Rose. Sultan.
  But as I can't suppose   But as I can't suppose
    Your Rose,     My Rose
  Forgetting what she knows   Forgetting what she knows
    She owes     She owes
  To rigid Royal etiquette,
We will not talk of that, as yet!
  To rigid Royal etiquette,
We will not talk of that, my pet!
      Will not talk
  We will not talk of it,   of that, We will not talk
  We will not talk of it,   of that, We will not talk
  We will not talk, not talk,   of that, not talk
  Not talk of that, as yet!   of that, my pet!


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