The ABC Café / Red and Black

Enjorlas!

At Notre Dame, the sections are prepared
At rue de bac they're straining at the leash
Students, workers, everyone
There's a river on the run
Like the flowing of the tide
Paris coming to our side

The time is near
So near, it's stirring the blood in their veins
And yet, beware
Don't let the wine go to your brains
For the army we fight is a dangerous foe
With the men and the arms, we never could match
It is easy to sit here and swat them like flies
But the National Guard will be harder to catch
We need a sign
To rally the people, to call them to arms, to bring them in line

Marius you're late, what's wrong today?
You look as if you've seen a ghost
Some wine and say what's going on
A ghost, you say? A ghost maybe
She was just like a ghost to me
One minute there then she was gone

I am agog, I am aghast
Is Marius in love at last?
I've never heard him "Ooh" and "Ahh"
You talk of battles to be won, and here he comes like Don Juan
It is better than an opera

It is time for us all to decide who we are
Do we fight for the right to a night at the opera now?
Have you asked of yourselves what's the price you might pay?
Is this simply a game for rich young boys to play?
The colour of the world is changing day by day

Red, the blood of angry men
Black, the dark of ages passed
Red, a world about to dawn
Black, the night that ends at last

Had you been there tonight, you might know how it feels
To be struck to the bone in a moment of breathless delight
Had you been there tonight, you might also have known
How your world may be changed in just one burst of light
And what was right seems wrong, and what was wrong seems right

Red, I feel my soul on fire
Black, my world if she's not there
Red, the colour of desire
Black, the colour of despair

Marius, you're no longer a child
I do not doubt you mean it well
But now there is a higher call
Who cares about your lonely soul?
We strive towards a larger goal
Our little lives don't count at all

Red, the blood of angry men
Black, the dark of ages passed
Red, a world about to dawn
Black, the night that ends at last

Well, Courfeyrac, do we have all the guns?
Feuilly, Combeferre, our time is running short
Grantaire, put the bottle down!
Do we have the guns we need?
Give me brandy on my breath and I'll breathe them all to death

In Saint Antoine, they're with us to a man
In Notre Dame, they're tearing up the stones
20 rifles good as new (listen)
20 rounds for every man (listen to me)
Double that in Port St Cloud
Seven guns at St Martin (listen everybody)

General Lamarque is dead
Lamarque is dead
Lamarque, his death is the hour of fate
The people's man
His death is the sign we await
On his funeral day, they will honour his name
It's a rallying cry that will reach every ear

In the death of Lamarque, they will kindle their flame
They will see that the day of salvation is near
The time is here
Let us welcome it gladly with courage and cheer
Let us take to the streets with no doubt in our hearts
But a jubilant shout, they will come one and all
They will come when we call