Gilbert and Sullivan Archive

The Yeomen of the Guard


You are here: Archive Home > The Yeomen of the Guard > Web Opera > Act I

No. 9: RECIT. & SONG (Point)

"I've jibe and joke"
Midi Symbol MIDI File [16KB, 1' 42"] sequenced by Colin Johnson.


Peter Pratt as Jack Point
Point.
I've jibe and joke
And quip and crank
For lowly folk
And men of rank.
I ply my craft
And know no fear.
But aim my shaft
At prince or peer.
At peer or prince — at prince or peer,
I aim my shaft and know no fear!

I've wisdom from the East and from the West,
That's subject to no academic rule;
You may find it in the jeering of a jest,
Or distil it from the folly of a fool.
I can teach you with a quip, if I've a mind;
I can trick you into learning with a laugh;
Oh, winnow all my folly, folly, folly, and you'll find
A grain or two of truth among the chaff!
Oh, winnow all my folly, folly, folly, and you'll find
A grain or two of truth among the chaff!

I can set a braggart quailing with a quip,
The upstart I can wither with a whim;
He may wear a merry laugh upon his lip,
But his laughter has an echo that is grim.
When they're offered to the world in merry guise,
Unpleasant truths are swallowed with a will,
For he who'd make his fellow, fellow, fellow creatures wise
Should always gild the philosophic pill!
For he who'd make his fellow, fellow, fellow creatures wise
Should always gild the philosophic pill!

Previous PagePrevious SongYeomen Web Opera Home PageTop of PageNext SongNext Page

Archive Home  | The Yeomen of the Guard

Page Created 10 January, 2006