The Bells of Notre Dame

Olim

Olim Deus accelere

Hoc sæculum splendidum

Accelere fiat venire olim

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 soft as a psalm

And some say the soul of the city's

The toll of the bells

The bells of Notre Dame

Listen, they're beautiful, no?

So many colours of sound, so many changing moods

Because you know, they do not ring all by themselves

They don't?

No, silly boy

Up there, high, high in the dark bell tower

Lives the mysterious bell ringer

Who is this creature?

Who?

What is he?

What?

How did he come to be there?

How?

Hush, and 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

Kyrie Eleison

Judge Claude Frollo longed to purge the world

Of vice and sin

Kyrie Eleison

And he saw corruption everywhere

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

Dies iræ (Dies iræ)

Dies illa (Dies illa)

Solvet sæclum in favilla

Teste David cum Sibylla

Quantus tremor est futurus

Dies iræ

Quando Judex est venturus

Sanctuary, please give us sanctuary!

Quantus tremor est futurus

Dies iræ

Quando Judex est venturus

Dies iræ

Baby? A monster!

Solvet sæclum in favilla

Dies iræ, dies illa

Stop!

Cried the Archdeacon

This is an unholy deamon

I am sending it back to Hell, where it belongs

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 can 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

Kyrie Eleison

And for one time in his life of power and control

Kyrie Eleison

Frollo felt a twinge of fear

For his immortal soul

What must I do?

Care for the child, and raise it as your own

What? I'm to be saddled with this misshapen...?

Very well, let him live with you in your church

Live here? Where?

Anywhere

Just so he's kept locked away where no one else can see

The bell tower, perhaps

And 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

Now here is a riddle to guess if you can

Sing the bells of Notre Dame

Who is the monster and who is the man?

Sing the bells, bells, bells, bells

Bells, bells, bells, bells

Bells of Notre Dame