Album: Once on This Island Soundtrack

One Small Girl

[STORYTELLERS]
One small girl
In a tree
Torn from her mother
Crying in fright
One small girl
Tossed by sea
And left to face
The stormy night
Once small girl
Holding tight

[STORYTELLERS (Spoken in rhythm)]
At last the storm subsided.
And the morning sun glowed.
And two old peasants
came cautiously
down the road.

[TONTON JULIAN]
Mama Euralie!

[MAMA EURALIE]
Tonton Julian!

[MAMA (spoken)]
Asaka is smiling again, Julian.

[TONTON]
This morning she smiles. Last night she tried
to blow our heads off.

[MAMA]
Ah, Julian, just listen to those birds.

[BIRDS]
Coo coo coo coo coo
Coo coo coo coo coo

[LITTLE TI MOUNE]
Aaaahh!

[TONTON]
What kind of bird is that?

[MAMA]
Look! There!

[MAMA]
One small face
Two small knees

[TONTON]
Why are you up there?

[MAMA]
What is your name?

[MAMA]
The girl can't speak

[TONTON (Gesturing up)]
And they're to blame
Agwe probably meant to kill her

[MAMA (spoken in rhythm)]
The she'd be dead

[TONTON]
It's possible he forgot

[MAMA]
The god's don't forget

[TONTON]
Then they had some reason to spare
Her life

[BOTH]
It's best that we don't know what
One small girl...
Better not.

[TONTON (spoken)]
But we are too old for children

[MAMA]
We have no room, and no food...

[ERZULIE]
And not knowing why, they followed
their hearts back to the tree, gently lifted
the terrified child down...

[LITTLE TI MOUNE]
Noo!!!

[ERZULIE]
And discovered that she could speak after all.

[MEN]
One small girl

[WOMEN]
In the way

[MAMA]
Constantly hungry

[TONTON]
Learning too quick

[ALL (but little Ti Moune)]
One small girl
Hard at play

[TONTON]
She makes me smile

[MAMA]
She scares me sick!

[ERZULIE]
And they scolded and teased
And held her
And mended the clothes she tore

[ALL (but Mama, Tonton and Little Ti Moune)]
And the hut was crowded
And food was scarce
And somehow, their lives held more
One small girl
To live for.

[A STORYTELLER]
They named her Desiree Dieu-Donne or
God-Given Desire. But in their affection, they
simply called her Ti Moune.

[LITTLE TI MOUNE]
What does Ti Moune mean, Mama?

[MAMA]
It means little orphan. Saved by the gods for
something special!

[LITTLE TI MOUNE]
What is it?

[MAMA]
Ti Moune, if we knew why the gods did the
things they do, we would be gods ourselves!

[LITTLE TI MOUNE]
Someday I'm going to ask them, Mama!

[ALL (but Mama, Tonton and Little Ti Moune)]
Sweet as a eucalyptus
And terrible as a tempest
Banging a drun
And humming a tune...
Ti Moune
Falling
And running
And calling
And growing
And growing
And growing
And growing...up too soon...

[TONTON]
One small girl

[MAMA]
Not so small

[TONTON]
Lost in those daydreams

[MAMA]
Day after day
[STROYTELLERS]
Ooh way ooh

[TONTON]
Call her name

[MAMA]
No, don't call
[STROYTELLERS]
Ooh way ooh

[BOTH]
Her ears
Don't hear
She's far away

[TONTON]
And I know that
She's getting older

[MAMA]
I know that it's
Meant to be

[BOTH]
And my arms
Can't hold her
And keep her small
But all that my
Heart can see...
Aaahhh

[MAMA, TONTON]
Is one small
Girl
[MEN]
One small
Girl
[WOMEN]
One small
Girl
[MAMA, TONTON]
One small
Girl
[MEN]
One small
Girl
[WOMEN]
One small
Girl
[MAMA, TONTON]
One small
Girl
[MEN]
One small
Girl
[WOMEN]
One small
Girl

[MAMA, TONTON]
In a tree

[ALL]
Ooh, ooh way ooh
Ooh, ooh way ooh...