Tell me about Florence
and the Renaissance,
tell me about Bramante
and the Stilnovo and Dante.
In Florence they say
that the earth is round
and there may be new lands
at the end of the world.
Ships will go there, and look
for a new passage to India.
Luther will write a New Testament
and we're at the dawn of a divided world.
A certain Gutenberg
is changing the events,
with his presses in Nuremburg
he's printing the future.
Poems on paper,
theses, satires and heresies,
New ideas
for a new world.
The small things will overcome the big things,
literature will be the death of architecture
Death will be engraved in stone,
the Bible will destroy the Church, and men will kill God.
This will destroy that.
Ships will go there, and look
for a new passage to India.
Luther will write a New Testament
and we're at the dawn of a divided world.
New ideas
for a new world.
The bells are quiet,
the cathedral is silent,
Quasimodo is ill.
Maybe he's in love...
For the last three days
he hasn't rung the bells,
he's suffering, he's sad
he's going insane
because he's lovesick.
These bells I ring,
are my love and my lovers.
I wish I could hug them,
make them dance and sing.
If it's snowing or raining,
in windy or sunny weather,
I ring the bells,
in joy and torment.
Those that ring for the newborn, those that ring for the dead,
those that ring everyday, every night, every hour,
for those who pray or cry, or get up early and come here
when it's time for Mass.
For Palm Sunday or Christmas,
for Assumption, All Saints and Epiphany,
for Annunciation,
for New Year's Day,
for processions and celebrations,
for sunny Easter with its roses and the sun,
the day of the kings and full of joy,
for Pentecost with its burning tongues,
for communion and confirmation,
for the Saints who protect us from every disease,
and for every proud Sunday,
for all the hosannas, hallelujahs and immortality.
But the ones that I prefer
among these iron ladies,
are the Three Marias.
Those are my dearest friends.
Little Maria
rings for the children who've just died.
Big Maria
rings for the sailors overseas,
but when I ring the Biggest Maria
for the lovers to be wed,
my heart breaks,
I get sad and I wish I could die.
Seeing the joy and the happiness
that no woman will ever find into my eyes,
I watch the newly wed fly away,
as shiny as the stars in the sky.
I ring the bells, Kyrie Eleison,
hosanna, hallelujah, dies irae, dies illa.
Bells of love and yet bells of pain,
bells which never rang for me.
Bells, my friends,
show me all your love,
ring and cry out loud
that if Esmeralda lives I'll live too.
Tell the world that Quasimodo loves Esmeralda.
Gringoire, where is your wife?
We haven't seen her dance in Notre Dame for a while.
I'm just a poet, I know nothing.
You're a priest, and as regards women we're at a crossroads here:
religion on the one side, poetry on the other.
But where is your Esmeralda?
We miss her
everything turned sad when she left.
She is alone, she's cold in the dark,
locked up and accused
of witchcraft.
What do you mean, poet? You are mysterious.
Are you making fun of us?
Answer me, have you seen her?
Where is she, my Esmeralda?
The "Court" has lost its queen.
She is like a swallow
whose wings
have been chopped off.
You will find her in the prison of La Santé.
If you don't save her she'll be sentenced.
The rope is ready.
Tell me no more.
Where is she, our Esmeralda?
We miss her,
everything turned sad when she left.
She is like a swallow
whose wings
have been chopped off.
Will a caged bird with wild eyes
ever fly again?
Can a violated child
ever love again?
What am I guilty of?
I danced in the streets
and sang for the people
my gipsy songs.
Where are you, bell ringer?
I'm calling you, Quasimodo.
Come to set me free,
let me out or I'll die.
Where are you, my Esmeralda?
Where are you hiding?
What life are you living?
Reality is a nightmare,
maybe you left
with your beloved captain
without getting married,
like the pagans do.
Don't tell me that you're dead
without a tear or a flower.
Don't let a priest
crucifix the love you have inside.
Remember that day
when they hang me to the wheel,
I gave you some water.
It was like a kiss,
something happened between us
something for life, till we die.
Something bound
us, something very strong.
Caged bird with wild eyes,
will you ever fly again?
Can a violated child
ever love again?
I am
a revolutionary,
a rebel,
I don't compromise,
yet I kneeled down,
humiliated myself
bent down
tore myself apart
for your skin,
which isn't
better
than mine.
My voice
can't
tell anyone that
it's your voice too.
This town
which
hurts me,
is your town too.
How to make a world
without
outsiders?
How to make a world
without misery or borders?
I got dispersed,
I got lost,
tore myself apart.
I was damned
and tortured,
anguished,
breathless,
in tears.
My country,
my heart,
I feel
homesick.
Your land
is the land
of the death
which you gave to me.
My warm heart
met
the cold air
which froze it.
How to make a world
without misery or borders?
How to make a world
without
outsiders?
I am
a revolutionary,
a rebel,
I don't compromise.
Yet this world
humiliated me,
made me kneel down,
tore me apart,
condemned me.
Condemned me.
You stand accused, it's useless for you to deny
that you have wounded the captain.
If he is wounded, he's still alive,
and if he's alive, I wish he were here.
You seduced and bewitched him,
then you stabbed him with a knife!
I did not do it, I swear!
But you were alone with him, in bed!
A diabolic priest is harassing me,
he's haunting me, I know who he is.
Those are hallucinations
in your crazy imagination.
But he looks like you!
Look at the fire in her eyes!
They shine like the eyes of a witch!
She's a pagan, a gipsy and a foreigner.
Confess to the crime of which you are accused!
I am a victim, you know I have nothing to confess!
Torture her,
we'll solve the problem
if she speaks out of fear. But if she resists,
put her little foot in the vice and tighten it.
Tighten it!
Do you confess?
I confess that I love him!
You confess then!
Murderer! Murderer!
Gipsy girl
you have confessed to your deeds of magic,
prostitution, harassment, seduction and killing of Phoebus de Chateaupers.
You will be taken in chemise, barefoot, your neck in a noose,
to the Place de Greve. Then you will die
on the gallows of the city.
I was a happy man before I met you.
Chastity was like a deep sea for me
into which I poured all my teenage blood.
I only had two lovers, religion and science.
Oh! I'm a priest and I'm in love
with you, you're the air that I breathe.
I avoided women not to suffer,
I was as strong as a cathedral,
Then you came like a hurricane
and a fire burst inside me.
Oh! I'm a priest and I'm in love
with you, you're the air that I breathe.
My flesh is tortured, you have no idea!
You have my unwanted love and I get your despise.
I know jealousy deep inside my broken heart.
I know you aren't mine, I know you hate me.
Oh! I'm a priest and I'm in love
with you, yes, with you. You're the air that I breathe.
Oh! I'm a priest and I'm in love
Touch me with one hand, torture me with the other.
You mean more than God to me, I don't know who I am anymore.
I'll go to hell with you but I'll never do without you,
and hell will be my paradise.
Oh! I'm a priest and I'm in love
with you, yes, with you. You're the air that I breathe.
Oh! I'm a priest and I'm in love
with you.
Phoebus!
If by chance he's still alive tell him that I love him still.
Phoebus!
If you hear me, come and save me, tell them the truth.
Phoebus,
how could I ever hurt you?
Phoebus,
someone stole my knife and stabbed you.
Phoebus,
a man in black followed us, I saw him hit you.
Phoebus,
he stabbed you with my knife.
Phoebus,
promise me you'll always remember Esmeralda,
Phoebus,
she, who danced in the square and gave her life to you.
Phoebus...
Oh! Take me away from here
to the hills of Andalusia.
Phoebus.
I was bewitched in body and mind,
that gipsy cast a spell on me.
I lost my head, I was like an animal,
trapped in a mortal game.
I was out of my mind when I cheated on you.
I love you, and you are my life.
My heart and soul are wounded.
Forgive me, let me come back to you.
I was bewitched in body and mind
that gypsy only wanted my money.
I was like a brutal animal,
but now I'm back to normal life.
I was bewitched in body and mind,
the gypsy was condemned to death.
She did me wrong, and I hate her.
Now I know it's you that I love.
I swear that I love you, I only love you.
When you pass by on your horse,
perfectly erected,
you ride, but you're the stallion who can satisfy my lust.
What's under that armour? Is your heart a sword?
My heart is still pure, let it heal your wounds.
I'll be yours, I'll love you if you swear
that they will hang
Esmeralda.
You broke my dreams,
so listen to me now.
I want to get dirty with you,
so hold me tight.
Your proclamations are insults, your words of love are false,
but I'll back that hardened heart of yours against the wall.
Rip off my belt and let dirt slip inside me.
Teach me the ways of lust, I'll love you if you swear
that they'll kill
Esmeralda.
I'll love you if you swear I'll love you if you swear
that they will hang Esmeralda!
That the gipsy will die.
I'm the priest who arrives when it's time to die.
I'm cold, I'm hungry, let me go.
I've never hurt anyone.
Hear the bell ring, it's five in the morning.
Soon this door will open, within an hour you'll be dead.
Within an hour I'll be fine!
We shall see if you still dance
on the gallows.
What have I done to you
to make you hate me so much?
You don't get it. I don't hate you, I love you!
I love you...
But what did I do
to make you love me?
Me, a poor gypsy and you, the parson of Notre Dame...
One morning you were dancing.
I looked at you and felt
something which
made me shiver, and then
I started wanting your body.
My obsession, you danced and got me obsessed
you, who'll never feel
pity on me,
me, who love you angrily.
And so I was damned!
I'm here, and he will come
my Phoebus, my sun.
He'll be my love,
my wonderful man.
You are the murderer!
Jealousy will lead you to madness and death.
I'll never give you the treasures of my heart.
I don't want your heart, I want pleasure,
and I'll give you a choice.
What's better for you,
the gallows or me?
Death or love?
The rope or my bed?
Life or death? You only need to say yes
and I'll let you go,
and if you want, I'll follow you
to hell, which is
like heaven to me.
Go away!
Free
is what you are,
men
who are free.
And with you
here I am,
I'm setting you
free.
Freedom is anger,
call it freedom.
Freedom is like a fire,
call it freedom.
Hold it tight,
live it to the full.
Freedom is like a dream,
take your freedom.
Men who were born free,
return to freedom again.
Men, I'm setting you
I'm setting you free.
Freedom is anger, call it freedom (I demand...)
Freedom is like a fire, call it freedom. (...asylum)
Hold it tight, live it to the full. (The right...)
Freedom is like a dream, take your freedom. (...to asylum)
Freedom
is my life,
it's my dream.
Freedom!
Hold it tight, live it to the full. (I demand...)
Freedom is like a dream, take your freedom. (...asylum)
Freedom! Freedom! Freedom!
Moon
Shiny and lonely moon,
fly
over the roofs,
see
how a man can die for love,
Shine
solitary
till
the coming of day.
But now,
if you are this earth's moon,
listen to the cry
of a man who's lost his way
because
the whole universe
means nothing compared
to his immense love
for her,
who'll never love him.
Moon...
Moon,
you're so far away...
So
silent and vane,
hear
the howling heart of the human beast.
Can't you see
that Quasimodo went crazy?
Can't you hear
him cry in despair?
His song
flies high violently,
upwards,
to the sky and to you.
Moon!
You stand
above this strange world
which sends
its voice towards the sky.
Moon,
half moon or full moon,
quietly
you pass by then disappear.
See
how a man can die for love
down here.
Are you afraid of me, little Esmeralda?
No, I know you are my friend forever.
I'll leave you a whistle so you can call me.
By day I'll hide in here, but I'll walk out at night,
on the roofs of the cathedral under the stars.
I'll watch over you even in my sleep.
If by chance you see my Phoebus,
tell him to come and rescue me.
Even when your eyes are shut, Esmeralda
they shine like the sun...
God, this world is unfair he's so handsome and I'm so ugly.
Even if I gave you the moon you'd still refuse to love me.
He's cold and doesn't love you,
yet, there's tenderness for him in your black eyes.
You'll give yourself to him and believe his oaths,
You love him for his aspect, but there's nothing inside him.
God, this world is unfair he's a lord and I am nothing.
He'll give you the moon when you ask for nothing.
God, this world is unfair. Go and love your knight,
your velvet skin is not made for tramps.
My ugliness is an insult to your brazen beauty
I'm a freak of nature, nature hurt me and forgot me.
God, this world is unfair nothing to us, everything to them.
We may be the scum of earth, but their hearts are made of stone.
They were born in comfort, to make love and war,
but also we, poor earthworms, would like to live a good life.
And on which side is God? On the side of the monstrances,
or on the side of those who pray him day and night?
Has that Jesus we adore ever preferred
the Three Kings and their gold over us poor earthworms?
God, the world is cruel if it cannot link two hearts.
I'm so ugly and you're so fair... How could you possibly love me?
The night is so lovely
and I am so lonely.
I don't want to die,
I want to sing again, and laugh and dance.
I don't want to die,
die
before loving.
To live
for the one you love...
To love him
to death...
To die
wanting to live
a life
with no prohibition,
with no interdiction.
Where is that life?
To live
even without a country,
even without a God...
I love you, my life.
To live
for the one you love,
to love him
to death...
To die
wanting to live.
Our worlds are now apart
but one day they'll be together.
I want to believe it
and I'd give my life for that.
I would do it,
to change the course of history.
To live
for the one you love,
to love him
to death...
To die
wanting to live...
To love
to devote your own soul to life itself...
To die
wanting to live,
willing to live.
Asylum!
(Asylum!) The right was not granted. Soldiers of the king, come in!
(Asylum!) You are allowed to come in, have no fear!
(Asylum!) You can use violence, I'll grant you the right
(Asylum!) to break their right
(Asylum!) to asylum!
Away! Sweep them away!
Away! Away!
Away! (We are the foreigners)
Clean up this place! (without passports)
Away! (Men and women)
With violence! (all we have is our life)
Away! (Oh! Notre Dame, we beseech you)
Away! (asylum, asylum)
Away! (We are the foreigners)
Sweep them away! (The outlaws)
Away! (Men and women)
Break their bones! (The poor)
Away! Away! (Oh! Notre Dame, we beseech you)
(Asylum! Asylum!)
Away! (We are the foreigners)
Clean up this place (without passports)
Away! (We are nothing)
With violence! (Less than zero)
Away! (Oh! Notre Dame, we beseech you)
Away! (Asylum! Asylum!)
Away! (We are the foreigners)
Clean up this place (without passports)
Away! (We're the outcast)
Break their bones! (The unlawful)
Away! (Oh! Notre Dame, we beseech you)
Away! (Asylum! Asylum!)
Away! (We are the foreigners)
Clean up this place! (without passports)
Away! (Wherever we go)
With violence! (We're outsiders)
Away! (Oh! Notre Dame, we beseech you)
Away! (Asylum! Asylum!)
Esmeralda I'm dying.
Little sister,
you'll live for me.
Listen to my prayer...
You grew up here,
you belong in here.
Cry it out loud
for me, Esmeralda.
We are the foreigners
without passports,
men and women,
all we have is our lives.
There's a thousand of them,
more than a thousand.
Soon they'll be 10,000
and then 100,000.
The world will change
and intermix.
There'll be millions of them soon,
who will demand
asylum, asylum!
In the name of the King, the Court of Paris
here states:
Esmeralda is condemned
to be hanged for the crime of witchcraft.
As for you, outlaws,
you'll be expelled,
isolated,
avoided,
cleared up,
refused,
slaughtered,
annihilated,
cancelled,
deported!
Annihilated,
cancelled,
deported!
Frollo!
My master and my saviour,
priest of the Lord,
you have a heart after all!
A heart...
A heart which can love
and weep...
And bleed!
Then kill!
Look at her,
look at fair Esmeralda!
Look at her, Quasimodo!
She danced and sang right there.
I handed her to the hangman
because she didn't want me.
You did that, you!
She will die like Jesus on the cross!
Look over there,
on Place de Greve the gallows awaits
your Esmeralda.
She'll be hanged at the break of dawn!
Ha ha ha ha...
Frollo!
Give her to me,
return her to me.
I want her, she's mine,
only mine.
My little Esmeralda,
don't leave me!
Stay with me!
In a few years
they'll find
our two skeletons entwined,
and all the world will know
how much Quasimodo loved Esmeralda,
and that he finally held her in his arms
breathless,
but after her death he returned to life,
because love never dies.
I don't need my body anymore.
It's all yours, vultures!
Because death is what linked me to her.
It linked our two names.
Let my soul fly away
from the misery of the world.
Let my love be a trail of light
in the light of the universe,
in the light of the universe.
Dance, my Esmeralda.
Sing, my Esmeralda.
Dance once more, my love.
I feel so desperate and lonely.
Dance, my Esmeralda.
Sing, my Esmeralda.
I'm dying too
because I want you to death.
Dance, my Esmeralda.
Sing, my Esmeralda.
Life passes by,
love never dies, but it can kill us.
Dance, my Esmeralda.
Sing, my Esmeralda.
Beyond what's beyond
love will never
die.
Dance, my Esmeralda.
Sing, my Esmeralda.
I'll live with you forever,
because to die for you is not
death.
# Translated and adapted: lyliakar #