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 that we never can 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 whine 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 aah
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 it simply a game for rich young boys to play?
The color of the world are changing day by day
Red, the blood of angry men
Black, the dark of ages past
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 the 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 toward a larger goal
Our little lives don't count at all
Red, the blood of angry men
Black, the dark of ages past
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 (Listen)
Grantaire, put the bottle down
Do we have the guns we need? (Listen to me)
Give me brandy on my breath
And I'll breathe them all to death
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 honor his name
With the light of rebellion ablaze in their eyes
From their candles of grief we will kindle our flame
On the tomb of Lamarque shall our barricade rise
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