Album: Paul McCartney's Liverpool Oratorio (1991)

Movement VII - Crises

[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 till 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.