Every Story Is A Love Story
Amneris:
Every story, tale or memoir
Every saga or romance
Whether true or fabricated
Whether planned or happenstance
Whether sweeping through the ages
Casting centuries aside
Or a hurried brief recital
Just a thirty-minute ride
Whether bright or melancholy
Rough and ready, finely spun
Whether with a thousand players
Or a lonely cast of one
Every story, new or ancient
Bagatelle or work of art
All are tales of human failing
All are tales of love at heart
This is the story
Of a love that flourished
In a time of hate
Of lovers no tyranny could separate
Love set into motion on the Nile's shore
Destiny ignited by an act of war
Egypt saw the mighty river as its very heart and soul
Source of life for all her people
That only Egypt could control
Destruction of her southern neighbor justified
Nubia exploited, left with little more than pride
Fortune Favours the Brave
Soldiers:
Oh, Oh
Fortune favours the brave
Oh, Oh
Fortune favours the brave
Radames:
We have swept to glory,
Egypt's mastery expands
From the Nile's northern most delta
To the dry, dry southern sands
The more we find, the more we see,
The more we come to learn
The more that we explore,
The more we shall return
Soldiers:
Oh, oh
Fortune favors the brave
Radames:
It's all worked out, my road is clear
The lines of latitude extend
Way beyond my wildest dreams
Toward some great triumphant end
We seize the day
We turned the tide
We touched the stars
We mocked the grave
We moved into uncharted lands
Radames & Soldiers:
Fortune favors the brave
Radames:
The more we find, the more we see
The more we come to learn
The more that we explore
The more we shall return
Nothing is an accident
We are free to have it all
We are what we want to be
It's in ourselves to rise or fall
This is easy to believe
When distant places call to me
It's harder from the palace yard
Fortune favors the free
Soldiers:
Oh, oh
Radames:
Fortune favors the young!
Soldiers:
Oh, oh
Radames:
Fortune favors the brave!
The Past Is Another Land
Aida:
You know nothing about me
and care even less
How could you understand our emptiness
You've plundered our wisdom,
our knowledge, our wealth
In bleeding us dry
You long for our spirit
But that you will never possess
The past is now another land
Far beyond my reach
Invaded by insidious
Foreign bodies, foreign speech
Where timeless joys of childhood
Lie broken on the beach
The present is an empty space
Between the good and bad
A moment leading nowhere
Too pointless to be sad
But time enough to lay to waste
Every certainty I had
The future is a barren world
From which I can't return
Both heartless and material
Its wretched spoils not my concern
Shining like an evil sun
As my childhood treasures burn
Shining like an evil sun
As my childhood treasures burn
Another Pyramid
Zoser:
While you've been away cavorting
Matters here have moved apace
Now I need you home supporting
All the plans I've put in place
First of all this means your wedding
You'll recall your future bride
For the way that Pharaoh's heading
Time's no longer on our side
According to the hawk god, Horus
Our most regal invalid
Is not that much longer for us
Build another pyramid!
There are many who'll be tearful
As our leader fades away
But our architects are cheerful
And each dog must have its day
If our country is to flourish
Then my son must take the lead
Be our inspiration, nourish
All our hopes our dreams our creed
Soon our monarch will have filled a tomb
Just like his fathers did
Summon Egypt's greatest builders
Re: another pyramid
Ministers:
Build it, build it
Zoser:
Another pyramid
There will be a time for mourning
But for now put plans on hold
Ministers:
Hold
Zoser:
For I give the nation warning
That before the corpse is cold
Ministers:
Cold
Zoser:
We'll extend fair Egypt's power
Egypt's glory strength and style
We shall have our finest hour
Far beyond the mighty Nile
He must have a vault that's grand by
Any standards, floor to lid
Put five thousand slaves on stand by
Build another pyramid!
Ministers:
Build it, build it
Build it, build it
Build it, build it
Build it-
Build it, build it
Build it-
Zoser:
He must have a vault that's grand by
Any standards, floor to lid
Put five thousand slaves on stand by
Build another pyramid!
How I Know You
Mereb:
I grew up in your hometown
At least began to grow
I hadn't got to my first shave
before the body blow
Egyptians in the courtyard
My family in chains
You witnessed our abduction
Which possibly explains
How I know you
How I know you
Before that fateful morning
My family enjoyed
A privileged existence
For my father was employed
As advisor to the King no less
Which surely rings a bell
For as your are his daughter
You probably can tell
How I know you
Yes I know you
Aida:
You know too much and what you say
Is better left unknown
And now I'm just a slave like you
Our lives our not our own
Mereb:
I never have abandoned
And nor I think could you
That spark of hope for freedom
No terror can subdue
Aida:
My only hope is silence
You've never seen my face
Mereb:
No you remain a princess
In any time or place
Aida:
You don't know me
Mereb:
Yes, I know you
Aida:
You don't know me
Mereb:
How I know you
How I know you
My Strongest Suit
Amneris:
In life one has to face a huge assortment
Of nauseating fads and good advice
There's health and fitness
Diet and deportment
And other pointless forms of sacrifice
Conversation? Wit? I am a doubter
Manners? Charm?
They're no way to impress
So forget the inner me, observe the outer
I am what I wear and how I dress
Oh now I believe in looking
Like my time on earth is cooking
Whether polka dotted
Striped or even checked
With some glamour guaranteeing
Every fiber on of my being
Is displayed to quite remarkable effect
From your cradle via trousseau
To your deathbed you're on view, so
Never compromise, accept no substitute
I would rather wear a barrel
Than conservative apparel
For my dress has always been
My strongest suit
Women:
Overwear
Underwear
Anytime
Anywhere
Amneris
Staying in or hitting townwards
From the top and working downwards
I ensure that every stitch
Is stitched in time
Women:
Is stitched in time
Amneris:
Whether wig or hat or turban
Whether clad boudoir or urban
Not to strut your stuff
Outrageously's a crime
Women:
Such a crime
Amneris:
And the few who are invited
To my wardrobe are delighted
As they wander through my things
To find en route
Women:
We're wandering through your things
Amneris:
That in negligee or formal
I am anything but normal
For my dress has always been
My strongest suit
| Amneris: I am what I wear I said anytime Anywhere |
Women: Overwear, underwear Anytime, anywhere Overwear, underwear Anytime, anywhere Overwear, underwear Anytime, anywhere Overwear,underwear Anytime |
Amneris:
So bring me all my finest
Most audacious, my divinest
Most revealing
Most expensive and to boot
Most arresting
Most heartstopping
Most free-flowing
Most eye-popping
Most arresting
Most heart-stopping
Dress has always been
My strongest suit
My strongest suit
You know that
I am what I wear
Dress has always been
My strongest
My strongest
My strongest
My strongest suit!
Enchantment Passing Through
Radames:
To sail away to half discovered places
To see the secrets so few eyes have seen
To see moments of enchantment on our faces
The moments when we smile and those in between
Aida:
If I could leave this place then I'd be sailing
To corners of my land where there would be
Sweet southern winds of liberty prevailing
The beauty so majestic and so free
Radames:
There'd be no ties of time and space to bind me
Aida:
And no horizon I could not pursue
Radames:
I'd leave the world's misfortunes far behind me
Aida:
I'd put my faith and trusting in something new
Radames and Aida:
But why should I tell you this
Aida:
A stranger I just met
Radames:
A woman whom I hardly know at all and should forget
Radames and Aida:
A journey we can only dream of
Enchantment passing through
And how is it I say these things
So easily to you
Radames:
But why did I tell her this?
A stranger I've just met
A woman who I hardly know at all and will forget
Anonymous and gone tomorrow
Enchantment passing through
And all I've done is tell her things
she already knew
She knew
She knew....
My Strongest Suit (Reprise)
Amneris:
I may leave a great impression
As I race through a succession
Of the latest crazes, chase the newest fad
I feel better when beguiling
Find that fashion keeps me smiling
But in my heart I know it's rather sad
Aida:
That a life of great potential
Is dismissed, inconsequential
Amneris:
And only ever seen as being cute
So I'll flutter to deceive
Aida:
Oh no you must believe
That one day you're bound to find
Aida/Amneris:
A stronger suit
The Dance of the Robe
Aida:
It's knowing what they want of me that scares me
It's knowing having followed that I must lead
It's knowing that each person there compares me
To those in my past whom I now succeed
But how can whatever I do for them now
Be enough
Be enough
Nubians:
Aida! Aida!
All we ask of you
Is a lifetime of service, wisdom, courage
To ask more would be selfish
But nothing less will do
Aida! Aida!
Nehebka:
Your robe should be golden, your robe should be perfect
Instead of this ragged concoction of thread
But may you be moved by its desperate beauty
To give us new life for we'd rather be dead
Then live in the squalor and shame of the slave
To the dance!
To the dance!
Nubians:
Aida! Aida!
All we ask of you
All we ask is a lifetime of
Service, wisdom, courage
To ask more would be selfish
But nothing less will do
Aida! Aida!
Aida! Aida!
Aida! Aida! Aida!
Aida:
I know expectations are wild and almost
Beyond my fulfillment but they won't hear
A word of a doubt or see signs of weakness
My nigh on impossible duty is clear
If I can rekindle my ancestors' dreams
It's enough
It's enough
| Aida: It's enough | Nubians: Aida! |
Nubians:
Aida! Aida!
Aida! Aida! Aida!
| Aida: It's enough! | Nubians: Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah |
Not Me
Radames:
I once knew all the answers
I stood on certain ground
A picture of true happiness
Confidence so effortless
No brighter could be found
Mereb:
Oh no
Radames:
I never asked the questions
That trouble me today
I knew all there was to know
Love worn lightly
Put on show
My conquests on display
Mereb:
I can't believe he's changing
Radames:
And who'd have thought that confidence could die?
Not me, not me
Mereb:
Not me, not me
Radames:
That all I took for granted was a lie
Not me, not me
And who'd have guessed
I'd throw my world away
To be with someone I'm afraid will say
Not me, not me
Mereb:
This can never be
He's in love
But he's not the only one
Who'll be changed
Aida:
I shall not envy lovers
But long for what they share
Amneris:
An empty room is merciless
Don't be surprised if I confess
I need some comfort there
Aida and Amneris:
And who'd have thought
That love could be so good?
Not me, not me
And show me things I never understood
Not me, not me
Who'd have guessed he'd
Throw his world away
To be with someone til his dying day
Not me, not me
Radames, Amneris, Aida:
And who'd have thought that love
Could be so good
Radames, Amneris, Aida, Mereb:
Not me, not me
Radames, Amneris, Aida:
My/his secrets &
My/his passions understood
Radames, Amneris, Aida, Mereb:
Not me, not me
Radames, Amneris, Aida:
Who'd have guessed
I'd/he throw My/his world away
To be with someone til my/his dying day
Not me
Mereb:
This can never be
Elaborate Lives
Radames:
We all lead such elaborate lives
wild ambitions in our sights
How an affair of the heart survives
days apart and hurried nights
Seems quite unbelievable to me
I don't want to live like that
seems quite unbelievable to me
I don't want to love like that
I just want our time to be
slower and gentler, wiser,free
We all live in extravagant times
playing games we can't all win
Unintened emotional crimes
Take some out, take others in
I'm so tired of all were going through
I don't want to live like that
I'm so tired of all were going through
I don't want to love like that
I jsut want to be with you
Now and forever, peaceful,true
This may not be the moment
to tell you face to face
But I could wait forever
for the perfect time and place
Aida & Radames:
We all lead such elaborate lives
We don't know whose words are true
Strangers, lovers, husbands, wives
Hard to know who's loving who
Aida:
Too many choices tear us apart
I don't want to live like that
Radames:
Too many choices tear us apart
I don't want to love like that
I just want to touch your heart
May this confession
Radames and Aida:
Be the start
The Gods Love Nubia
Aida:
Take me in my dreams recurring
Cheerful as a childhood dance
Into one more taste of freedom
One more longing backward glance
In the sway of somber music
I shall never, never understand
Let me slip into the sweeter
Chorus of that other land
The gods love Nubia, the beautiful, the golden
The radiant, the fertile, the gentle and the blessed
The pain of Nubia is only for the moment
the desolate the suffering
the plundered, the opressed
Nehebka:
The gods love Nubia, their glorious creation
Its songs roll sweetly across the harvest plain
Nehebka & Aida:
The tears of Nubia, a passing aberration
They wash into the river and are never cried again
Nehebka, Aida, Mereb, and Nubian Woman:
The gods love Nubia, we have to keep believing
The scattered and divided, we are still it's heart
Aida:
The fall of Nubia, ephemeral and fleeting
The spirit always burning though the flesh is torn apart.
All:
The fall of Nubia
Ephemeral and fleeting
The spirit always burning
Though the flesh is torn apart
Take me in my dreams recurring
Cheerful as a childhood dance
Into one more taste of freedom
One more longing backward glance
The gods love Nubia, the beautiful, the golden
The radiant, the fertile, the gentle and the blessed
The pain of Nubia is only for the moment
the desolate the suffering
the plundered, the opressed
The gods love Nubia
we have to keep believing
Though scattered and divided we are still it's heart
The fall of Nubia ephemeral and fleeting the spirit always
Burning though the flesh is torn apart
The spirit always burning though the flesh is torn apart
Aida:
Apart
All:
Take me in my dreams recurring
One more longing backward glance