Prologue - Work Song Lyrics

1815, Toulon, France. The chain gang, overseen by brutal warders, works in the sun.] PrisonersLook down, look downDon't look 'em in the eyeLook down, look down,You're here until you dieThe sun is strongIt's hot as hell belowLook down, look down,There's twenty years to goI've done no wrong!Sweet Jesus hear my prayer!Look down, look down,Sweet Jesus doesn't careI know she'll wait,I know that she'll be true!Look down, look down,They've all forgotten youWhen I get free ya won't see meHere for dust!Look down, look downDon't look 'em in the eyeHow long O LordBefore you let me die?Look down, look down,You'll always be a slaveLook down, look down,You're standing in your grave JavertNow bring me prisoner 24601Your time is upAnd your parole's begunYou know what that means ValjeanYes, it means I'm free JavertNO!It means you getYour yellow ticket-of-leaveYou are a thief ValjeanI stole a loaf of bread! JavertYou robbed a house! ValjeanI broke a window pane!My sister's child was close to deathAnd we were starving! JavertAnd you will starve againUnless you learn the meaning of the law. ValjeanI know the meaning of these 19 yearsA slave of the law JavertFive years for what you didThe rest because you tried to runYes 24601 ValjeanMy name is Jean Valjean JavertAnd I am JavertDo not forget my nameDo not forget me24601 ChorusLook down, look downYou will always be a slaveLook down, look downYou're standing in your grave. ValjeanFreedom is mine. The earth is still.I feel the wind. I breathe again.And the sky clears, the world is waiting.Drink from the pool. How clean the tasteNever forget the years, the waste.Nor forgive them, for what they've done.They are the guilty, everyone.The day begins...And now lets seeWhat this new worldWill do for me! [He finds work on a farm.] FarmerYou'll have to goI'll pay you off for the dayCollect your bits and pieces thereAnd be on your way.ValjeanYou've given me halfWhat the other men get!This handful of tinWouldn't buy my sweat! LaborerYou broke the lawIt's there for people to seeWhy should you get the sameAs honest men like me? ValjeanNow every door is closed to meAnother jail, another key, another chainFor when I come to any townThey check my papersAnd they find the mark of CainIn their eyes, I see their fear:`We do not want you here.' [He comes to an inn.] Innkeeper's WifeMy rooms are fullAnd I've no supper to spareI'd like to help a strangerAll we want is to be fair ValjeanI will pay in advanceI can sleep in a barnYou see how dark it isI'm not some kind of dog! InnkeeperYou leave my houseOr feel the weight of my rodWe're law-abiding people hereThanks be to God. [They throw him out.] ValjeanAnd now I know how freedom feelsThe jailer always at your heelsIt is the law!This piece of paper in my handThat makes me cursed throughout the landIt is the law!Like a curI walk the streetThe dirt beneath my feet. [He sits down despairingly outside a house from which emerges the Bishop of Digne.] BishopCome in, Sir, for you are wearyAnd the night is cold out there.Though our lives are very humbleWhat we have, we have to share.There is wine here to revive you,There is bread to make you strong,There's a bed to rest till morning,Rest from pain, and rest from wrong. ValjeanHe let me eat my fillI had the lion's shareThe silver in my handCost twice what I had earnedIn all those nineteen yearsThat lifetime of despairAnd yet he trusted me.The old fool trusted me -He's done his bit of goodI played the grateful serfAnd thanked him like I shouldBut when the house was still,I got up in the nightTook the silverTook my flight! [Taking the silver cup, he runs off, but is brought back by two constables.]