Clopin
Morning in Paris, the city awakes
To the bells of Notre Dame
The fisherman fishes, the bakerman bakes
To the bells of Notre Dame
To the big bells as loud as the thunder
To the little bells as soft as a psalm
And some say the soul of the city's
The roll of the bells
The bells of Notre Dame
Listen, they're beautiful
So many colors of sounds, so many changing moods
But you know they don't ring by themselves
They don't?
No, silly boy...
Up there high, high in the dark bell tower
Lives the myterious bell ringer
Who is this creature?
Who?
What is he?
What?
How did he come to be there?
How?
Hush... Clopin will tell you
It is a tale
A tale of a man and a monster
Dark was the night when our tale was begun
On the docks near Notre Dame
Shut it up, will you!
We'll be spotted!
Hush, little one
Four frightened gypsies slid silently under
The docks near Notre Dame
Four guilders for safe passage into Paris
But a trap had been laid for the gypsies
And they gazed up in fear and alarm
At a figure whose clutches
Were iron as much as the bells
Judge Claude Frollo!
The bells of Notre Dame
Chorus
Kyrie Eleison (Lord have mercy)
Clopin
Judge Claude Frollo longed to purge the world of vice and sin
Chorus
Kyrie Eleison (Lord have mercy)
Clopin
And he saw corruption ev'rywhere except within
Bring these gypsy vermin to the palace of justice
You there, what are you hiding?
Stolen goods, no doubt. Take them from her
She ran...
Chorus
Dies irae, dies illa (Day of wrath, that day)
Solvet saeclum in favilla (Shall consume the world in ashes)
Teste David cum sibylla (As prophesied by David and the sibyl)
Quantus tremor est futurus (What trembling is to be)
Quando Judex est venturus (When the Judge is come)
Sanctuary, please give us sanctuary!
A baby? A monster!
Stop!
Cried the Archdeacon
This is an unholy deamon
I'm sending it back to hell, where it belongs
Archdeacon
See there the innocent blood you have spilt
On the steps of Notre Dame
I am guiltless. She ran, I pursued
Now you would add this child's blood to your guilt
On the steps of Notre Dame
My conscience is clear
You can lie to yourself and your minions
You cam claim that you haven't a qualm
But you never can run from
Nor hide what you've done from the eyes
The very eyes of Notre Dame
Chorus
Kyrie Eleison (Lord have mercy)
Clopin
And for one time in his life of power and control
Chorus
Kyrie Eleison (Lord have mercy)
Clopin
Frollo felt a twinge of fear for his immortal soul
What must I do?
Care for the child, raise it as your own
What! I am to settle for this misshapen...
Oh well, let him live with you in your church
Live here? Where?
Anywhere
Frollo
Just so he's kept away
Where no one else can see
The belltower, perhaps
Who knows? Our lord works in mysterious ways
Even this foul creature may
Yet prove one day to be
Of use to me
And Frollo gave the child a cruel name
A name that means half-formed, Quasimodo
Clopin
Now here's a riddle to guess if you can
Sing the bells of Notre Dame
Who is the monster and who is the man?
Clopin and Chorus
Sing the bells, bells, bells, bells
Bells, bells, bells, bells
Bells of Notre Dame