Prelude
From "Trouble in Tahiti"
Music & Lyrics by Leonard Bernstein
From "Trouble in Tahiti"
Music & Lyrics by Leonard Bernstein
Daa/Daa, Day, Day
Mornin' sun kisses the windows, kisses the walls
Of the little white house;
Kisses the door-knob, kisses the roof,
Kisses the door-knob and pretty red roof
Of the little white house in Scarsdale.
Mornin' sun kisses the windows, kisses the walls
Of the little white house;
Kisses the door-knob, kisses the roof,
Kisses the door-knob and pretty red roof
Of the little white house in Scarsdale.
Friendly sun opens the eyelids, opens the eyes
Of the husband and wife;
Kindles their faces, kindles their love,
Kindles their faces with greetings of love
In the little white house in Wellesley Hills.
Suburbia!
Of the husband and wife;
Kindles their faces, kindles their love,
Kindles their faces with greetings of love
In the little white house in Wellesley Hills.
Suburbia!
Our little spot, out of the hubbub,
Less than an hour by train.
Suburbia! Sweet in the Spring,
Healthful in Winter,
Saves us the bother of summers in Maine.
Less than an hour by train.
Suburbia! Sweet in the Spring,
Healthful in Winter,
Saves us the bother of summers in Maine.
Mornin' sun kisses the driveway, kisses the lawn
Kisses the flagstones on the front lawn
Of the little white house,
Kisses the paper at the front door,
Kisses the roses around the front door
Of the little white house in Ozone Park.
Kisses the flagstones on the front lawn
Of the little white house,
Kisses the paper at the front door,
Kisses the roses around the front door
Of the little white house in Ozone Park.
Ratty Boo. Sofa so far so, Automobee, Ought to be
Moby.
Sofa so far. Ever over debout. Ever tin over.
Skid a lit day. Skid a lit Ada A barbanel: who
But a barbanel buys a visa
Vic.
Sofa so far. Ever over debout. Ever tin over.
Skid a lit day. Skid a lit Ada A barbanel: who
But a barbanel buys a visa
Vic.
Suburbia!
Parks for the kids, neighborly butchers,
Less than an hour by train!
That mornin' sun says a good mornin'.
Have a good day. Have a good morning',
Have a good day in the city today.
Joy to your labors until you return
To the little white house in Highland Park
In shaker Heights
In Michigan Falls
In Beverly Hills.
Skid a lit day; skid a lit day... Ratty boo.
Parks for the kids, neighborly butchers,
Less than an hour by train!
That mornin' sun says a good mornin'.
Have a good day. Have a good morning',
Have a good day in the city today.
Joy to your labors until you return
To the little white house in Highland Park
In shaker Heights
In Michigan Falls
In Beverly Hills.
Skid a lit day; skid a lit day... Ratty boo.
~ ~ ~
There Is a Garden
I was standing in a garden,
a garden gone to seed
Choked with every kind of weed.
There were twisted trees around me
All black against the sky,
black and bare and dead and dry.
My father called,
"Come out of this place!"
I wanted to go, but there was no way,
no sign, no path, to show me the way.
Then another voice was calling
It barely could be heard.
I remember every word.
"There is a garden,
"come with me, come with me.
"A shining garden,
"come and see, come and see.
a garden gone to seed
Choked with every kind of weed.
There were twisted trees around me
All black against the sky,
black and bare and dead and dry.
My father called,
"Come out of this place!"
I wanted to go, but there was no way,
no sign, no path, to show me the way.
Then another voice was calling
It barely could be heard.
I remember every word.
"There is a garden,
"come with me, come with me.
"A shining garden,
"come and see, come and see.
"There love will teach us
"Harmony and grace,
"harmony and grace.
"Then love will lead us
"to a quiet place."
Then I ran to find the singer
I longed to see his face
He could free me from this place.
Every step I took was terror
The ground beneath me burned
Stones were everywhere I turned.
And worst of all,
there was the noise,
Angry shouts, furious cries,
and a roar
like the roar of millions of flies!
Through it all his voice was calling
But now it seemed quite near
Soft and warm and strong and clear
"There is a garden,
"come with me..."
"Come with me."
Then desire took hold inside me
To touch his saving hand
Just to touch his tender hand
And I knew what he would look like.
So handsome, so serene,
just my age, just seventeen.
I saw him then, I saw his face,
I ran to him,
He vanished like smoke.
I reached, I called and I awoke.
"There love will teach us,
"harmony and grace,
"harmony and grace.
"Then love will lead us
"To a quiet place, to a quiet place."
~ ~ ~
Trouble in Tahiti!
Opening Recitative
What a movie!
What a terrible, awful movie!
It’s a crime what they put
on the screen!
I can hardly believe what I’ve seen!
Do they think we’re a lot of children?
It would bore any four year old!
What drivel! What nonsense!
What escapist Technicolor twaddle!
“Trouble in Tahiti,” indeed!
“Trouble in Tahiti,” imagine!
There she is in her inch or two of sarong
Floating, floating, floating, all among the
floating flowers.
Then she sees him, the handsome American.
(I must say he’s really a man,
Six feet tall, and each foot just incredible!)
Well, they’re madly in love,
But there’s trouble ahead;
There’s a legend:
“If a princess marry white man, and rain fall that day,
Then the white man shall be sacrifice without delay.”
Sure enough, on the night of their wedding day,
There’s a storm like nothing on earth;
Tidal waves and siroccos and hurricanes;
And to top it all off,
The volcano erupts
As the natives sing: Ah! Ah! Ah! Olé!
They go crazy with the drumming and the chanting and ritual dance,
While the lovers sing a ballad of South Seas romance.
It’s so lovely, I wish I could think of it;
Da da dee da da…
It was called “Island Magic,”
I think it was.
Oh, a beautiful song!
I remember it now:
“Island Magic, where the midnight breezes caress us,
And the stars above
seem to bless us,
That’s Island Magic, Island Magic.”
Well, in any case, the hero is tied to a tree.
(Did I tell you he’s a flyer
who got lost at sea?)
Anyway, all the natives are crazy now,
Running wild with lances and knives;
Then they pile up the wood for the sacrifice,
And the witch doctor comes,
And he sets it on fire.
As the natives sing: Ah! Ah! Ah! Olé!
But at this point, comes the good old U.S. Navy,
A-singin’ a song.
They come swarming down in parachutes a thousand strong!
Everything now is cleared up and wonderful:
Everyone is happy as pie;
And they all do a great rumba version of “Island Magic” of course!
It’s a dazzling sight;
With the sleek brown native women dancing with the U.S. Navy boys,
And a hundred-piece symphony orchestra:
Island Magic! Where the palm trees whisper together,
And it’s always warm summer weather,
That’s Island Magic,
Island Magic! With the one I love very near;
Island Magic, Whispering native words in my ear.
Island Magic,
Only you, my darling, could weave it,
And I never ever will leave it,
And I simply cannot believe
It really is mine!
Island Magic![4:23-End] Dinah suddenly regains focus and jumps back to the opening recitative:
Island Ma…”
What a terrible, awful movie!!!
How long have I been standing here chattering?
If I don’t get going this minute, there won’t be any dinner
When Sam comes home!
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