From the Beginning
Original Off-Broadway Cast of Nevermore
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Lyrics
From the beginning!
Let the music swell
Let the players delight!
And let dreams come alive
Ominous lighting please
Once upon a cold and stormy wet and miserable winter's day
Under inauspicious skies that were ghastly, gloomy, and gray
A troupe of travelling players
One of considerable renown
Brought their not-insignificant talents
To a certain significant town
Boston!
Their play, the Spoiled Child
Starred the great Eliza Poe
Very graceful
In the role
Of Little Pickle
It was really quite a show
For halfway through Act One
Eliza Poe began to crow
And during intermission she
(Ha! Ha! Ha!)
Popped out a little Poe
But as everybody knows
Both amateurs and pros
The show, it simply must go on
And so the dresser nursed the babe
Until the final act was played
And all Eliza's gushing fans were gone
Now doubt, now pain
Come never again
For his soul gives me sigh for sigh
And all the day long shines bright
Above me in the sky
Ladies and gentlemen, Missus Eliza Poe!
As for the dresser, she'd done this before
For the babe had an Elder Brother
Henry!
And before the year was out
Along would come another
Rosalie!
But was on this night our tale truly began
This tale of a heart forlorn
For this, the loneliest, darkest of nights
Was the night Edgar Poe was born
All our days are trances
And all our nights are dreams
So we all play our little part
On this tiny little stage
Where nothing's ever really as it seems
Now, Edgar's mother loved her babes
Loved them with all of her heart
Edgar!
But by far the greatest love of her life
Was the passion she felt for her art
For you see, life just never quite measured up
When compared with her time on the stage
And she dreamed, day and night
Of becoming the greatest
Oh go on
Actress of her day and age
And when work was steady
Her eyes sparkled bright
And her face a most radiant glow did assume
But when roles were few and far between
She was lost in a shadow of gloom
At times such as these she would lay in her bed
Night and day she would rarely get up
For weeks she would lie and just stare at the wall
And drink tea from her favourite cup
At such times Edgar would pull up a chair
Sit down, place his hand on her arm
And he'd watch her intently and try to ensure
That his mother would come to no harm
And though from that chair Edgar never did budge
And though she from her bed ne'er did stray
Edgar could see that actually
She was dreadfully far away
Sometimes tears would roll down her cheeks
And he'd listen for the tone
As each one fell into a salt-water pool
Just over her collarbone
At other times
Though Edgar's mother was different
Her mood became sunny and bright
Edgar!
And danced around their tenement flat
And sang songs late into the night
Here we go!
All our days are trances (trances)
And all our nights are dreams (are dreams)
So we all play our little part
On this tiny little stage
Where nothing's ever really as it seems
And Edgar, who loved her with all of his might
Was delighted to see such a sight
And his mother's sweet laughter
At least for one night
Made everything seem alright
Showtime!
Wait for me!
Got to dash, darling, see you at the theatre!
Now Edgar's father
Shared his wife's love
He'd abandoned his study of law
To pursue his dream of a life on the stage
A plan with just one little flaw
(Places please!)
An irremediable, chronic, a crippling case
The worst of all kind
(Mr. Poe!)
Of stage fright
Which led him to mumble or rush
Or forget every one of his lines
(You're on!)
The critics mocked
The crowds, they jeered
With laughter they howled and they screamed
And soon he shared the fame of his wife
Though not quite in the way he had dreamed
And again!
All our days are trances
And all our nights are dreams
So we all play our little part
On this tiny little stage
Where nothing's ever really as it seems
Over time his appearances moved from the stage
Next door to the Drum and Fife
(Dave!)
Where each night he could hear as he coiffed one more beer
The audience cheer for his wife
(She's great!)
And at night he'd come home
Stinking of booze
And he'd wake up young Edgar to say
The name of Poe it's cursed my boy
And things never go our way
He'd go on to say
Good things don't come to those who wait
And the best things in life are not free
Today's blue skies
Are grim harbingers
Of tomorrow's adversity
And then he said
So whatever good my boy
Comes your way, don't expect it to last
For the name of Poe it's cursed my boy
And you'll never escape your past
For a while, for the sake of the children
The Poes tried to lead a conventional life
"My darling, I'll return to the legal profession!"
"And I will play mother and wife!"
But
"Eliza?"
No matter how hard they tried
In the end you can't fight who you are
(I'm sorry)
Soon Edgar's mother was back on the stage
(Thank you, Baltimore!)
And his father was back at the bar
(Thank you Baltimore!)
And there the poor man slowly faded away
Until one day he just disappeared
And Eliza Poe was left all alone
With three little children to rear
(Send money!)