The Complete Plays of Gilbert and SullivanGilbert, W. S. (William Schwenck)
General
The Complete Plays of Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert, W. S. (William Schwenck)
Operas -- Librettos
A simple sailor, lowly born,
Unlettered and unknown,
Who toils for bread from early mom
Till half the night has flown!
No golden rank can he impart—
No wealth of house or land—
No fortune save his trusty heart
And honest brown right hand!
And yet he is so wondrous fair
That love for one so passing rare,
So peerless in his manly beauty,
Were little else than solemn duty!
Oh, god of love, and god of reason, say,
Which of you twain shall my poor heart obey!
SIR JOSEPH and CAPTAIN enter
SIR JOSEPH. Madam, it has been represented to me that you are
appalled
by my exalted rank. I desire to convey to you officially my
assurance,
that if your hesitation is attributable to that circumstance, it
is
uncalled for.
JOS. Oh! then your lordship is of opinion that married
happiness is not
inconsistent with discrepancy in rank?
SIR JOSEPH. I am officially of that opinion.
JOS. That the high and the lowly may be truly happy together,
provided
that they truly love one another?
SIR JOSEPH. Madam, I desire to convey to you officially my
opinion that
love is a platform upon which all ranks meet.
JOS. I thank you, Sir Joseph. I did hesitate, but I will
hesitate no
longer. (Aside.) He little thinks how eloquently he has pleaded
his
rival's cause!
TRIO
FIRST LORD, CAPTAIN, and JOSEPHINE
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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