The Court Of Miracles
Disney Lyrics


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Clopin and Gypsies:
Maybe you've heard of a terrible place
Where the soundrels of Paris
Collect in a lair

Maybe you've heard of that mythical place
Called the Court of Miracles
Hello, you're there!
Where the lame can walk
And the blind can see
But the dead don't talk
So you won't be around
To reveal what you've found
We have a method for spies and intruders
Rather like hornets protecting their hive
Here in the Court of Miracles
Where it's a miracle if you get out alive!

Clopin:
Justice is swift in the Court of Miracles
I am the lawyers and judge all in one
We like to get the trial over with quickly
Because it's the sentence that's really the fun!

Now that we've seen all the evicence

Puppet:
Wait! I object!

Clopin:
Overruled!

Puppet:
I object!

Clopin:
Quiet!

Puppet:
Dang!

Clopin:
We find you totally innocent
Which is the worst crime of all





All:
So you're going to hang!

Overall Meaning

The Court of Miracles, from Disney's "The Hunchback of Notre Dame," is a song sung by Clopin and the gypsies as they're in the underground hideout where they gather. The song paints a picture of a secret place in Paris, 'The Court of Miracles,' where people belonging to the criminal fraternity come to save themselves from the law enforcement authorities. The place, mythical by nature, is a perfect hideout for the wicked, and no one can reveal what they've seen or heard in the Court of Miracles. The place is famous for the disabled people who visit it, and it is believed that the lame can walk and the blind can see in the lair. Still, the dead can't 'talk,' meaning that one can't reveal the secrets of the place, or else it can be dangerous.


The song takes the audience on a tour of the secret hideout known as the Court of Miracles. The place serves as an underground court where the judge, lawyer, and executioner are all one - Clopin. He states that the justice system is swift, and what's more fun than the trial is the sentence. The show has a moment of humor when the trial objective advocate - a puppet - objects, but it is of no use. In the end, the verdict is of innocence with the sentence being hanging, only adding to the song's dark, satirical humor.


Line by Line Meaning

Maybe you've heard of a terrible place
Perhaps you know of a dreadful place


Where the soundrels of Paris
Where the scoundrels of Paris


Collect in a lair
Gather in a hideout


Maybe you've heard of that mythical place
Possibly you heard of that fictitious place


Called the Court of Miracles
Named the Court of Miracles


Hello, you're there!
Welcome, here you are!


Where the lame can walk
A place where the disabled can move


And the blind can see
Where the visually impaired can see


But the dead don't talk
Although, the deceased one cannot speak


So you won't be around
You won't survive


To reveal what you've found
To expose your discoveries


We have a method for spies and intruders
There are ways to deal with spies and intruders


Rather like hornets protecting their hive
Similar to hornets protecting their nest


Here in the Court of Miracles
This place referred to as the Court of Miracles


Where it's a miracle if you get out alive!
Leaving here alive is a miracle!


Justice is swift in the Court of Miracles
Justice is rapid in the Court of Miracles


I am the lawyers and judge all in one
I am the lawyer and judge simultaneously


We like to get the trial over with quickly
We prefer to complete trials promptly


Because it's the sentence that's really the fun!
As sentencing is entertaining for us!


Now that we've seen all the evicence
Since we have examined all the evidence


Wait! I object!
Wait! I disagree!


Overruled!
Your objection is dismissed!


Quiet!
Silence!


Dang!
Darn it!


We find you totally innocent
We affirm you are entirely blameless


Which is the worst crime of all
However, that's why you'll be sentenced to death


So you're going to hang!
Consequently, you will be executed!




Contributed by Henry F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
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Most interesting comments from YouTube:

@koshavinka2995

It's actually a very, VERY common trope in animated movies or series that it'll be set in a specific country, yet only the comic relief, the villain or both will actually have the country's accent
Like Vladimir in "Anastasia"
Stromboli in "Pinocchio"
Lumiรจre in "Beauty and the Beast"
Rafiki in "Lion King"
Etc.
I could go on and on, it's a trope you can't unsee once you notice it
"An American Tail" is the one animated film off the top of my head where the Protagonist speaks in the accent he's supposed to have
(Love all of these movies and Hunchback doe, absolutely no dirt)



@jesuis6068

Rewatching this song, I realize that it's actually even deeper than it seems. The second half isn't just about Clopin being happy to hang Quasi and Phoebus, it is Clopin making an entire satire of Frollo's justice. Think about it :
-"Justice is swift in the Court of Miracles I am the lawyer and judge all in one" : People who are judged by Frollo don't have any lawyer to help them defend themselves. Frollo has a totalitarian power, he judges people without giving them a chance to defend themself, making him both the judge and the one and only lawyer.
-"We like to get the trial over with quickly because it's the sentence that's really the fun" : Frollo, for how much of a judge he is, rushes the "trials" (if we can even call them that), as seen with the miller for exemple. And he rushes them because what really matters to him is when he gets rid of the accused. He won't bother himself with an actual trial if he can execute them on spot without anyone having the power to disagree.
-"Any last word ?/That's what they all say" : Frollo has no respect for the accused. We have never, ever seen him asking them if they have any last word. People can say whatever they want, he won't care, even if that's the last thing they'll ever say.
-"Now that we've seen all the evidence etc" : Here we go back to the whole thing about judge and lawyer. Justice is supposed to allow people to express their disagreements with the judge. But Frollo has control over absolutely everything and he won't let anyone get in the way. If someone disagrees, he will make them shut up.
-"We find you totally innocent which is the worst crime of all" : This line is indeed a reference to the novel, but I really think there's more to that. Of course, among Frollo's victims there has to be some who deserved it, but the huge majority of them were innocents because Frollo will execute anyone no matter who they are. Men, women, elders, even babies. And the only one he considers to be righteous is none other than himself, who's the most guilty of them all. So this line is also there to point out that if we follow Frollo's twisted logic, the conclusion is that innocence is a crime.

And the best argument I can use to support this theory is the fact that this song is sung by none other than Clopin, who has always been established as a particularly lucid as well as provocating character. Furthermore he is a king of the gypsies, that's his own people that is the biggest victim of Frollo's flawed sense of justice.

Another thing I wanted to add is that this song implies something tragic about the gypsies : they've become used of executing spies. After all Frollo has been looking for the Court of Miracles for 20 years, and it's pretty clear that in 20 years, spies finding the Court is an event that regularly occured. And the gypsies have no choice but to make sure spies won't get out of here alive if they don't want for Frollo to go genocidal. So here we can see that it happened so many times, they've become desensitized, or to be more precise, they forced themselves to become desensitized, through turning the execution into a party because considering how many times it probably happened, if they didn't do that that's how they would've gone insane. (And this is something implied in "As Long as There's a Moon", the cutscene that is supposed to take place right after this song, and that tells us how the gypsies manage to handle the misery they're in : by staying true to themselves.)
That's very messed up when you think about it...



@Gabriel60464

You know an detail i realized?

Clopin seems to have an preference on tormenting Phoebus when they get to the hang instead of focusing on both him and Quasi.

Like how he gives a "taste" of the hang by pulling his rope instead of quasi's rope, or how he directly looks and touchs on Phoebus whem singing the "worst crime of all" portion.

It honestly seems like this is triyng to keep in line with Clopin being the narrator who knows Quasi story, as if he still feels obligated to kill him but give him an break cause he knows he's also victim of Frollo in some level, while he focus on prpboking Phoebus cause he is the main agent of Frollo on opressing hos people...

... O maybe i just overthought it..



@spongeyspikes09

@@lorelaimorace-kk1xz I saw someone made a Joke once that Clopin was secretly God since he knows waay too much, for example

1. Quasi's family
2. His Mother's Death/Murder
3. Frollo's attempted murder of him
4. The Archdeacon stopping him
5. Quasi's existence
6. His name

the list goes on



All comments from YouTube:

@isabelled.7732

Can we talk about how the guy who tried to kill off two of the main characters less than two minutes after meeting them is also the narrator of the movie?

@LucarioBot

Only at the beginning

@aneutralgood3119

Imagine him talking to the kids: โ€œAnd I absolutely would have murdered these guys if Esmeralda hadnโ€™t showed up, but thatโ€™s not the point.โ€

@moonstone6133

@@aneutralgood3119 "and i would've gotten away with it if it weren't for that meddling Esmeralda!"

@clayandros2038

@@aneutralgood3119 he knew they were innocent too

@Josku2411

@@clayandros2038 I think he was moreso mocking the court system of Paris considering even if one of his people was innocent they'd be judged and blamed for something anything atleast that's how i interpreted it also in my opinion he had from his POV every reason in to try and kill them considering how close the both of the two were to Frollo since despite being the narrator he doesn't actually know either of the two and if they'd go tattle to Frollo if they managed to slip away so like he's doing what he has to in order to protect his people and perhaps he isn't as trigger happy with anyone who isn't as obiously connected to Frollo we never got to see that

9 More Replies...

@tjstarblood624

"You know, a guard, a booby trap..."
lights go out
"Or a musical number."

@angelicabomination1699

I know where you got that comment from...

@Callmekatielee

@@angelicabomination1699 Yep. About five scrolls down.

@angelicabomination1699

@@Callmekatielee truth xD

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