Notre Dame
Clopin (Paul Kandel) Frollo (Tony Jay) Archdeacon (David Ogden Stiers) & Chorus Lyrics

Olim, olim deus accelere
Once, oh once, may God hasten

Hoc saeculum splendidum
This splendid age

Accelere fiat venire olim
May it quickly come to pass

Morning in Paris, the city awakes
As the sun rises over Paris, the city begins to stir

To the bells of Notre Dame
To the beautiful sound of the bells ringing from Notre Dame

The fisherman fishes, the bakerman bakes
The fisherman goes out to catch fish, the baker begins to bake

To the big bells as loud as the thunder
To the large bells that resound like thunder

To the little bells soft as a psalm
To the small bells that ring gently like a psalm

And some say the soul of the city is the toll of the bells
There are those who believe that the essence of the city can be felt in the sound of the bells

The bells of Notre Dame
The magnificent bells of Notre Dame

Listen, they're beautiful, no?
Do you hear? They are truly breathtaking, don't you think?

So many colors of sound, so many changing moods
The bells produce a wide range of harmonious tones, evoking various emotions

Because you know, they don't ring by themselves (they don't?)
You see, someone must ring them, right? They don't ring on their own, do they?

No, silly boy
No, my naive friend

Up there, high, high in the dark bell tower
In the lofty, dark bell tower above

Lives the mysterious bell ringer
Resides the enigmatic person who rings the bells

Who is this creature? (Who?) What is he? (What?)
Who is this being? What is his nature?

How did he come to be there? (How?)
How did he end up in that place?

Hush (oh), and Clopin will tell you
Be still, and Clopin will reveal the answer to you

It is a tale, a tale of a man and a monster
This is a story, a story about a man and a creature

Dark was the night when our tale was begun
The night was filled with darkness when our story began

On the docks near Notre Dame
By the docks close to Notre Dame

Shut it up, will you? We'll be spotted
Quiet down, can't you? We'll be discovered

Hush, little one
Be quiet, young child

Four frightened gypsies slid silently under
Four terrified gypsies stealthily moved beneath

The docks near Notre Dame
The docks in close proximity to Notre Dame

Four guilders for safe passage into Paris
Four coins in exchange for a secure journey into Paris

But a trap had been laid for the gypsies
However, a snare had been set up for the gypsies

And they gazed up in fear and alarm
And they looked upward with terror and distress

At a figure whose clutches
At the hands of a figure

Were iron as much as the bells
That were as strong as the bells themselves

Judge Claude Frollo
Judge Claude Frollo

The bells of Notre Dame
The bells of Notre Dame

(Kyrie eleison) Judge Claude Frollo longed
(Lord, have mercy) Judge Claude Frollo desired

To purge the world of vice and sin
To cleanse the world of wickedness and wrongdoings

(Kyrie eleison) and he saw corruption
(Lord, have mercy) and he witnessed corruption

Ev'rywhere except within
In every place except within himself

Bring these gypsy vermin to the palace of justice
Take these gypsy pests to the palace of justice

You there, what are you hiding?
Hey you, what are you concealing?

Stolen goods, no doubt
Most likely stolen items

Take them from her (she ran)
Confiscate them from her (as she attempted to flee)

Dies irae (dies irae), dies illa (dies illa)
Day of wrath (day of wrath), that day (that day)

Solvet saeclum in favilla
Will dissolve the world into ashes

Teste David cum sibylla
As David and the sibyl testify

Quantus tremor est futurus
What trembling there will be

Quando Judex est venturus
When the Judge is to come

Sanctuary, please, give us sanctuary
Sanctuary, we beg you, grant us refuge

Stop, cried the Archdeacon
Cease, cried the Archdeacon

This is an unholy demon
This is a wicked monster

I'm sending it back to hell where it belongs
I will send it back to hell, where it rightfully belongs

See there the innocent blood you have spilt
Look at the innocent blood you have shed

On the steps of Notre Dame
On the stairs of Notre Dame

I am guiltless, she ran, I pursued
I am innocent, she fled, and I chased after her

Now you would add this child's blood to your guilt
And now you want to add the blood of this child to your wrongdoing

On the steps of Notre Dame
On the stairs of Notre Dame

My conscience is clear
I have a clear conscience

You can lie to yourself and your minions
You can deceive yourself and your followers

You can claim that you haven't a qualm
You can assert that you have no remorse

But you never can run from
But you can never escape from

Nor hide what you've done from the eyes
Nor conceal your actions from the gaze

The very eyes of Notre Dame
The very eyes of Notre Dame herself

(Kyrie eleison)
(Lord, have mercy)

And for one time in his life of power and control
And for once in his life of authority and dominance

Frollo felt a twinge of fear
Frollo experienced a sudden feeling of fear

For his immortal soul
For his everlasting soul

What must I do?
What should I do?

Care for the child and raise it as your own
Take care of the child and raise it as if it were your own

What? I'm to be saddled with this misshapen-
What? I am to be burdened with this deformed-

Very well, but let him live with you, in your church
Alright, but allow him to live with you, within your church

Live here? Where? Anywhere
Live here? Where? Anywhere at all

Just so he's kept locked away
As long as he is kept isolated and confined

Where no one else can see
Where no one else can catch sight of him

The bell tower perhaps
Maybe the bell tower

And who knows, our Lord works in mysterious ways
And who knows, our Lord acts in inscrutable ways

Even this foul creature may yet prove one day to be
Even this repulsive creature may someday demonstrate

Of use to me
To be useful to me

And Frollo gave the child a cruel name
And Frollo bestowed upon the child a harsh name

A name that means 'half-formed', Quasimodo
A name that signifies 'partly-formed', Quasimodo

Now here is a riddle to guess if you can
Now, here is a puzzle for you to solve, if you can

Sing the bells of Notre Dame
Listen to the bells of Notre Dame as they ring

Who is the monster and who is the man?
Which one is the monster and which one is the man?

Sing the bells, bells, bells, bells
Hear the sound of the bells, bells, bells, bells

Bells, bells, bells, bells
Bells, bells, bells, bells

Bells of Notre Dame
The magnificent bells of Notre Dame