Movement VII - Crises

(album: Paul McCartney's Liverpool Oratorio - 1991)

[Mary Dee and Shanty's home]

[Mary Dee (alone in bedroom):]
The world you're coming into
Is no easy place to enter
Every day is haunted
By the echoes of the past
Funny thoughts and wild; wild dreams
Will find their way into your mind

The clouds that hang above us
May be full of rain and thunder
But in time they slide away
To find the sun still there
Lazy days and wild. Wild flowers
Will bring some joy into your heart
And I will always love you
I'll welcome you into this world

[Mary Dee and boy solo:]
You-re mine and I will love you

[Shanty:]
Where-s my dinner?
I've been working hard all day
And a man can work up quite an appetite that way

What's for dinner?
Something nourishing and hot?
I could tackle quite a lot of 'you know what'
And all I've got to say to you is 'Why no dinner?'

I've got nothing on my plate
It's expected of a mate
Why'd 'ya have to make me wait?
Where's my

[Mary Dee:]
This is the way we put out the candle
Farewell to childhood
Deep in the wild wood a fire goes out
And what are we left with
Now we are grown up?

[Shanty:]
This is the way we pull up the anchor
Goodbye to romance
Out on the ocean a good ship is lost
And what are we left with
Now we are grown Up?

[Mary Dee:]
Time to be thinking of real life feelings
I must get on

[Shanty:]
Time to be buying those little trinkets
I can't afford
Lord knows
I want to give her the best
But where will
I find the rest of the cash?

[Mary Dee:]
It's one mad dash
To fame and fortune
The cymbals clash
And then you're gone

[Shanty:]
So what are my chances
Of getting promotion?
The way things are going
It doesn't look good

[Mary Dee:]
What good is complaining
It's getting you nowhere
And I'm in the middle of your whirlwind
In the eye of your storm

[Shanty:]
Let's not argue

[Mary Dee:]
Spare me your excuses

[Shanty:]
No excuses

[Mary Dee:]
Pardon my anger

[Shanty:]
Why are you driving me so hard?

[Mary Dee:]
I can't believe what I'm hearing

[Shanty:]
You didn't cook any dinner

[Mary Dee:]
I'm not a slave
I work for a living
I can command the respect of my peers
Where did you go?
You were out with the boys

[Shanty:]
So what if I went for a drink?
You'd think to listen to you
It was some sort of crime

[Mary Dee:]
I needed someone to talk to
But all I could find was myself
If you were the same man I married
You'd know that your woman needs love

[Shanty:]
And what about me?
I suppose I don't matter
I'm not even sure
If you ever loved me

[Mary Dee:]
Right!
That's it!
I'm off!

Oh, and by the way...you're about to become a father

[She rushes our into the street]

[Chorus:]
Stop
Wait
Hold on
Hold on to life

Stay

[Hospital:]

[Nurse:]
Do you know who you are
As you lie there sleeping?
Take the time to rest your troubled head
I will watch over you 'til the moment you awake

Can you hear what I say
As you lie there sleeping?
When misfortunes crowd into your day
And the dark side of life
Has become too much to bear
I will stay by your side
Though we don't yet know if there's something wrong
You were brought in from the street
And a witness said you gave a shout
As you fell down at his feet

We are running tests
And soon the results will be known
But I feel I have to warn you
There may be complications

But we don't yet know if your child is in danger
We shall have to wait and see
In the meantime
There is nothing more for you to do
But sleep

[Boys:]
Ghosts of the past left behind

[Men's chorus (ghosts):]
You're sleeping
Amongst us
We're in your dream

[Nurse:]
You're dreaming. try to rest, my child

[Men's chorus (ghosts):]
You called us
We heard you
And we are here

[Nurse:]
To save your child you must be still

[Men's chorus (ghosts):]
We're ready to listen
To what you ask

[Nurse:]
Go to sleep

[Women's chorus (ghosts):]
You're crossing
The water
The tide is strong

[Mary Dee:]
No!

[Women's chorus (ghosts):]
Your child is drawn to us
Into our throng

[Shanty:]
No!

[Full chorus (ghosts):]
This child is
Most welcome
Soon one of us

[Mary Dee:]
No, I tell you!
You'll never get through
I'll never let you
No-one is stealing this child
I'm not afraid of ghosts that the past left behind

[Shanty:]
Let her recover
Then let me love her
Until we run out of time
And in the future
I will promise to be the man
She had in mind

[Nurse:]
Be still
Be calm
Your child is safe

[Mary Dee:]
Do we live in a world
With an uncertain future
Where a man is unsure of his fate?
Will we come to our senses
Be fair to each other?
Can we turn it around
Before it's too late?

Do I know that we have the answer?
Yes, I know now we are together

So we must bear in mind
That the pages are turning
And the sand will run out of the glass
In the heat of the battle
We will drive out the demons
And we'll carry the day
For we must save the child

[Mary Dee and nurse:]
(Ah)

[Mary Dee and Shanty:]
We have come to our senses
We are part of each other
And we'll carry the day
For we must save the child

[Chorus:]
Do you know that you have the answer?

[Mary Dee and Shanty:]
Yes, we know now

[Chorus:]
We know now

[Mary Dee and Shanty:]
We know now
We are together