Lovely Ladies

[The docks. Sailors, whores and their customers, pimps, etc. Fantine wanders in] [SAILOR ONE:] I smell women Smell 'em in the air Think I'll drop my anchor In that harbor over there [SAILOR TWO:] Lovely ladies Smell 'em through the smoke Seven days at sea Can make you hungry for a poke [SAILOR THREE:] Even stokers need a little stoke! [WOMEN:] Lovely ladies Waiting for a bite Waiting for the customers Who only come at night Lovely ladies Ready for the call Standing up or lying down Or any way at all Bargain prices up against the wall [OLD WOMAN:] Come here, my dear Let's see this trinket you wear This bagatelle [FANTINE:] Madame, I'll sell it to you [OLD WOMAN:] I'll give you four [FANTINE:] That wouldn't pay for the chain! [OLD WOMAN:] I'll give you five. You're far to eager to sell It's up to you [FANTINE:] It's all I have [OLD WOMAN:] That's not my fault [FANTINE:] [OLD WOMAN:] No more than five My dear, we all must stay alive! [WOMEN:] Lovely ladies Waiting in the dark Ready for a thick one Or a quick one in the park Whore 1 Long time short time Any time, my dear Cost a little extra if you want to take all year! [ALL:] Quick and cheap is underneath the pier! [CRONE:] What pretty hair! What pretty locks you got there What luck you got. It's worth a centime, my dear I'll take the lot [FANTINE:] Don't touch me! Leave me alone! [CRONE:] Let's make a price I'll give you all of ten francs Just think of that! [FANTINE:] It pays a debt [CRONE:] Just think of that [FANTINE:] What can I do? It pays a debt Ten francs may save my poor Cosette! [SAILOR THREE:] Lovely lady! Fastest on the street Wasn't there three minutes She was back up on her feet [SAILOR ONE:] Lovely lady! What yer waiting for? Doesn't take a lot of savvy Just to be a whore Come on, lady What's a lady for? [Fantine re-emerges, her long hair cut short] [PIMP:] Give me the dirt, who's that bit over there? [WHORE ONE:] A bit of skirt. She's the one sold her hair [WHORE TWO:] She's got a kid. Sends her all that she can [PIMP:] I might have known There is always some man Lovely lady, come along and join us! Lovely lady! [WHORE ONE:] Come on dearie, why all the fuss? You're no grander than the rest of us Life has dropped you at the bottom of the heap Join your sisters [WHORE TWO:] Make money in your sleep! [Fantine goes off with one of the sailors] [WHORE ONE:] That's right dearie, let him have the lot [WHORE THREE:] That's right dearie, show him what you've got! [WOMEN:] Old men, young men, take 'em as they come Harbor rats and alley cats and every kind of scum Poor men, rich men, leaders of the land See them with their trousers off they're never quite as grand All it takes is money in your hand! Lovely ladies Going for a song Got a lot of callers But they never stay for long [FANTINE:] Come on, Captain You can wear your shoes Don't it make a change To have a girl who can't refuse Easy money Lying on a bed Just as well they never see The hate that's in your head Don't they know they're making love To one already dead! [BAMATABOIS:] Here's something new. I think I'll give it a try Come closer you! I like to see what I buy The usual price, for just a slice of your pie [FANTINE:] I don't want you. No, no, m'sieur, let me go [BAMATABOIS:] Is this a trick? I won't pay more! [FANTINE:] No, not at all [BAMATABOIS:] You've got some nerve, you little whore You've got some gall It's the same with a tart as it is with a grocer The customer sees what he gets in advance It's not for the whore to say `yes sir' or `no sir' It's not for the harlot to pick and to choose Or lead me to a dance! [He hits her with his stick, she claws at his face, drawing blood] [FANTINE:] I'll kill you, you bastard Try any of that! Even a whore who has gone to the bad Won't be had by a rat! [BAMATABOIS:] By Christ you'll pay for what you've done This rat will make you bleed, you'll see! I guarantee, I'll make you suffer For this disturbance of the peace For this insult to life and property! [FANTINE:] I beg you, don't report me sir I'll do whatever you may want [BAMATABOIS:] Make your excuse to the police! [Javert enters, accompanied by constables] [JAVERT:] Tell me quickly what's the story Who saw what and why and where Let him give a full description Let him answer to Javert! In this nest of whores and vipers Let one speak who saw it all Who laid hands on this good man here? What's the substance of this brawl? [BAMATABOIS:] Javert, would you believe it I was crossing from the park When this prostitute attacked me You can see she left her mark [JAVERT:] She will answer for her actions When you make a full report You may rest assured, M'sieur That she will answer to the court [FANTINE:] There's a child who sorely needs me Please M'sieur, she's but that high Holy God, is there no mercy? If I go to jail she'll die! [JAVERT:] I have heard such protestations Every day for twenty years Let's have no more explanations Save your breath and save your tears `Honest work, just reward That's the way to please the Lord.' [Fantine gives a last despairing cry as she is arrested by the constables Valjean emerges from the crowd] [VALJEAN:] A moment of your time, Javert I do believe this woman's tale [JAVERT:] [VALJEAN:] You've done your duty, let her be She needs a doctor, not a jail [JAVERT:] But M'sieur Mayor! [FANTINE:] Can this be? [VALJEAN:] Where will she end This child without a friend? I've seen your face before Show me some way to help you How have you come to grief In a place such as this? [FANTINE:] M'sieur, don't mock me now, I pray It's hard enough I've lost my pride You let your foreman send me away Yes, you were there, and turned aside I never did no wrong [VALJEAN:] Is it true, what I have done? [FANTINE:] My daughter's close to dying [VALJEAN:] To an innocent soul? [FANTINE:] If there's a God above [VALJEAN:] Had I only known then [FANTINE:] He'd let me die instead [VALJEAN:] In His name my task has just begun I will see it done! [JAVERT:] But M'sieur Mayor! [VALJEAN:] I will see it done! [JAVERT:] But M'sieur Mayor! [VALJEAN:] I will see it done! [VOICES:] Look out! It's a runaway cart! [A man is trapped under a cart. Valjean (Monsieur Mayor) saves the man] [JAVERT:] Can this be true? I don't believe what I see A man your age To be as strong as you are A memory stirs You make me think of a man From years ago A man who broke his parole He disappeared Forgive me sir I would not dare [VALJEAN:] Say what you must Don't leave it there [JAVERT:] I have only known one other Who can do what you have done He's a convict from the chain gang He's been ten years on the run But he couldn't run forever We have found his hideaway And he's just been rearrested And he comes to court today Well of course he now denies it You'd expect that of a con But he couldn't run forever No not even Jean Valjean [VALJEAN:] You say this man denies it all With no sign of understanding or repentance And that's he's sure to be returned To serve his sentence? Come to that, can you be sure That you have got your man? I have known the thief for ages Tracked him down through thick and thin And to make the matter certain There's the brand upon his skin He will bend, he will break This time there is no mistake! [Javert Leaves]