The Wedding Chorale – Beggars At the Feast

Ring out the bells upon this day of days
May all the angels of the Lord above
In jubilation sing their songs of praise!
And crown this blessed time with
Peace and love
The Baron and Baroness de Thénard wish to pay their respects to the groom
I forget where we met
Was it not at the Chateau Lafarge
Where the Duke did that puke
Down the Duchess's de-coll-etage?
No, 'Baron de Thénard'
The circles I move in are humbler by far
Go away, Thénardier!
Do you think I don't know who you are?
He's not fooled, told you so
Show M'sieur what you've come here to show
Tell the boy what you know
When I look at you, I remember Eponine
She was more than you deserved, who gave her birth
But now she is with God and happier, I hope
Than here on earth
So it goes, heaven knows
Life has dealt me some terrible blows
You've got cash and a heart
You could give us a bit of a start
We can prove, plain as ink
Your bride's father is not what you think
There's a tale I could tell
Information we're willing to sell
There's a man what he slew
I saw the corpse clear as I'm seeing you
What I tell you is true
Pity to disturb you at a feast like this
But five hundred francs surely wouldn't come amiss
In God's name say what you have to say
But first you pay
What I saw, clear as light
Jean Valjean in the sewer that night
Had this corpse on his back
Hanging there like a bloody great sack
I was there, never fear
Even found me this fine souvenir
I know this, this was mine
This is surely some heavenly sign
One thing more, mark this well
It was the night the barricades fell
Then it's true, then I'm right
Jean Valjean was my savior that night
As for you, take this too!
God forgive the things that we do
Come my love, come Cosette
This day's blessings are not over yet
Ain't it a laugh
Ain't it a treat?
Hob-nobbin' here
Among the elite?
Here comes a prince
There goes a Jew.
This one's a queer
But what can you do?
Paris at my feet
Paris in the dust
And here's me breaking bread
With the upper crust!
Beggar at the feast
Master of the dance
Life is easy pickings
If you grab your chance
Everywhere you go
Law-abiding folk
Doing what is decent
But they're mostly broke
Singing to the Lord on Sundays
Praying for the gifts he'll send
But we're the ones who take it
We're the ones who make it in the end
Watch the buggers dance
Watch 'em till they drop
Keep your wits about you
And you stand on top
Masters of the land
Always get our share
Clear away the barricades
And we're still there
We know where the wind is blowing
Money is the stuff we smell
And when we're rich as Croesus
Jesus! Won't we see you all in hell!