The Bells of Notre Dame
Clopin:
Morning in Paris, the city awakes
To the bells of Notre Dame
The Fisherman fishes, the bakerman bakes
To the bells of Notre Dame
To the big bells as loud as the thunder
To the little bells soft as a psalm
And some say the soul of the city's
The toll of the bells
The bells of Notre Dame
Listen, they are beautiful
So many colors of sounds, so many changing moods
But you know they don't ring by themselves
(They don't?)
No, silly boy - up there high, high in the dark bell tower
Lives the myterious bell ringer
Who is this creature?
Who?
What is he?
What?
How did he come to be there?
How?
Hush - Clopin will tell you
It is a tale
A tale of a man and a monster
Dark was the night when our tale was begun
On the docks near Notre Dame
Four frightened gypsies slid silently under
The docks near Notre Dame
But a trap had been laid for the gypsies
And they gazed up in fear and alarm
At a figure whose clutches
Were iron as much as the bells
Gypsies:
Judge Claude Frollo
Clopin:
The bells of Notre Dame
Chorus:
Kyrie Eleison (Lord have mercy)
Clopin:
Judge Claude Frollo longed to purge the world
Of vice and sin
Chorus:
Kyrie Eleison (Lord have mercy)
Clopin:
And he saw corruption
Everywhere except within
Chorus:
Dies irae, dies illa (Day of wrath, that day)
Solvet sacclum in favilla (Shall consume the world in ashes)
Teste David cum sibylla (As propjesied by David and the sibyl)
Quantus tremor est futurus (What trembling is to be)
Quando Judex est venturus (When the Judge is come)
Archdeacon:
See there the innocent blood you have spilt
On the steps of Notre Dame
Now you would add this child's blood to your gilt
On the steps of Notre Dame
You can lie to yourself and your minions
You can claim that you haven't a qualm
But you never can run from nor hide what you've done from the eyes
The very eyes of Notre Dame
Chorus:
Kyrie Eleison (Lord have mercy)
Clopin:
And for one time in his life of power and control
Chorus:
Kyrie Eleison (Lord have mercy)
Clopin:
Frollo felt a twinge of fear for his immortal soul
Frollo:
What must I do?
Archdeacon:
Care for the child, raise it as your own
Frollo:
What! I am to settle for this misshapen...
Oh well, let him live with you in your church
Archdeacon:
Live here? Where?
Frollo:
Anywhere.
Just so he's kept locked away where no one else can see
The belltower
Who knows? Our lord works in mysterious ways
Even this foul creature may yet prove one day to be
Of use to me
Clopin:
Now here is a riddle to guess if you can
Sing the bells of Notre Dame
Who is the monster and who is the man?
Clopin and Chorus:
Sing the bells, bells, bells, bells, bells, bells, bells, bells
Bells of Notre Dame