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No. 1 - Opening Chorus

MIDI File

Chorus: Tra la, la, la, tra la, la, la,
The villagers sing tra-la-la-la;
In ev'ry comic opera,
It's got to be sung, tra la, la, la.
The villagers, the 'he's and 'her's,
Are there when the tra-la-la occurs.
They sing, merrily sing
Of this and that and ev'rything.
They dance, merrily prance,
whenever they get the chance.
Tra la, la, la, tra la, la, la,
The lyric would make you laugh, ha, ha,
For that we pay the royalties;
They sing it in fifty diff'rent keys.
All gay, all day, happy the villagers are;
Tra la, la, la, tra la, la, la,
Tra la, la, la, la, la, la, la!
Tra la, la, la, tra la, la, la,
The lyric would make you laugh, ha, ha,
For that we pay the royalties;
They sing it in fifty diff'rent keys.
All gay, all day, happy the villagers are;
Tra la, la, la, tra la, la, la,
Tra la, la, la, la, la, la, la!
   
  Here comes Chefchick, the keeper of the Inn.
There's got to be an Inn, there's got to be an Inn,
Or a comic op'ra can't begin.
Here comes Chefchick, your sympathy to win.
He means a lot to you,
He'll tell the plot to you;
So listen to his wail,
It's a good old-fashioned tale.
   
Chefchick: My name's Chefchick,
I'm the keeper of the Inn,
Where the villagers go, for the villagers know
Where to go to chin and drink their gin.
There's a mortgage, a mortgage on the Inn.
Chorus: Same old tale been told for years,
Selling beers and shedding tears.
Poor old Chefchick, poor old Chefchick!
   
Marcel: My name's Marcel,
I'm the barber of the town.
I have the mortgage on the Inn,
I'll get the girl or cash it in.
Chorus: Yes, he's Marcel, the barber of renown.
He hopes to win the hand
Of the heroine, you'll understand,
Demure Miss Chefchick, poor Miss Chefchick!
   
Janku: My name's Janku, apothecary man.
I deal in drops that kill the bugs,
And I get my laughs with funny mugs.
Chorus: Yes, he's Janku, and Janku has a plan,
To save the girl and save the day,
And incident'ly save the play.
Good old Janku, dear old Janku!
Three men: And now that we're all together,
As happy as we can be,
We've started the play, we have started away
On a trip to the land of comedy.
Chorus: Yes, now that we're all together,
As happy as we can be,
We've started the play, we have started away
To the land of comic, comic, comic op'ra comedy.
Op'ra, comic op'ra,
Good old-time comic op'ra,
Gone for ever and aye;
Words by Gilbert and tunes by Sullivan,
Op'ra, comic op'ra, they produced it so proper,
Makes one feel old,
No more real old op'ra, comic op'ra,
Since the Gilbert and Sullivan days.
Here comes the heroine, she's a little dream;
Here comes the heroine, she will sing a theme.
Love is love, a beautiful song to lead, it is;
Love is love, a beautiful song, indeed it is!
Love is in her heart, we fear,
Wait till you hear, wait till you hear,
Wait till you hear!

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American Musical Theatre | The Royal Vagabond

Page modified 19 May 2017