Pulp Musicals
I Could Get Used To Adventure
NARRATOR:
Ten days on the ocean
Nothing but the Atlantic
For as far as the eye can see
And the sound of sailing
Samuel Stratford
Stands on the bow at dawn
Watching the waves ripple and fade
As the lights of the world come on
He couldn’t help but imagine
What his younger self would say
He never could help but imagine
It was just his way
SAMUEL:
I could get used to adventure
This feeling of freedom, the beat of my heart
I could get used to adventure
After years of living at the beginning
Now I am ready to start
ROSE:
‘Morning, Samuel
SAMUEL:
Ahoy, Rose! Are we feeling better this morning?
ROSE:
Listen, just because I got sea-sick, doesn’t mean
I’m a bad sailor!
NARRATOR:
Rose and Samuel Stratford
Twins from New York City
First time on a boat in twenty years
HERSCHEL:
Your sister has gotten sick the last ten days
ROSE:
Thanks for noticing, John
NARRATOR:
Invited by John Herschel
Scientist of great renown
Successful in his myriad careers
MARGARET:
We’ve been sailing for ten days, Rose
ROSE:
Margaret, whose side are you on?
NARRATOR:
And Margaret Cavendish
Closer than she’s ever been
To something lost, but something near
ROSE:
Sailing for South America
For an experiment undefined
MARGARET:
There’s no time for second guessing
It’s too late to change our minds
SAMUEL:
Can’t stop now
ROSE:
Don’t look back
ROSE, SAMUEL:
Leave the past far behind
COMPANY:
I could get used to adventure
Charting a course for a future unknown
I could get used to adventure
By land or by sea
With good company
Together, we’ll make it our own
SAMUEL:
Ten days on the ocean
Ten days away from familiar shores
ROSE:
We’ve traded our printing press for a crow’s nest
ROSE, SAMUEL:
We’re not in New York anymore
MARGARET:
Ten days on the ocean
HERSCHEL:
Ten days of meals, of midnight talks
NARRATOR:
You learn a lot
When sharing a cot
Passing the time between docks
SAMUEL:
Thousands of miles from the Paper Stand
ROSE:
Leaving behind the things we wrote
HERSCHEL:
Not another word about your hoax
It isn’t welcome on this boat
ROSE:
Not even the lunar buffalo?
SAMUEL:
Or the bat-people?
MARGARET:
Don’t push your luck, Stratfords
On my rooftop
Before our ship set its heading south
You spoke of a quest, with me as your guest
Now can you share what it’s about
HERSCHEL:
It’s a secret
For three years, this plan has been concealed
We are on our way, and in less than a day
I promise you, all will be revealed
Until then
I trust you will use your imaginations
SAMUEL:
Rose is about to use her printing press plate
ROSE:
You’ve got that right
HERSCHEL:
Man your stations
The wind is at our backs
Our aim is strong and true
The die is cast, so scale the mast
Let’s show what we can do
ROSE:
Sailing for British Guiana
For an experiment undeclared
HERSCHEL:
There’s no time for second guess-
Wait, Rose, how did you know we were going to
British Guiana?
ROSE:
(laughs)
SAMUEL:
Can’t stop now
ROSE:
Don’t look back
ROSE, SAMUEL:
Leave the past far behind
MARGARET:
I could get used to adventure
Answering questions that nobody knows
I could get used to adventure
ROSE:
After years of waiting
SAMUEL:
The world was rotating
ROSE, SAMUEL:
Now I am ready to go
COMPANY:
I could get used to adventure
A galaxy brimming with new ports of call
I could get used to adventure
The journey we’re on
Between and beyond
Is the greatest adventure of all
(cheers)
NARRATOR:
The earth turns
At a thousand miles an hour
Chasing the sun away
The stars burn
The moon appears and glimmers
At the end of the day
ROSE:
Is the boat rocking more than usual?
HERSCHEL:
I don’t think so…
ROSE:
It’s very windy
HERSCHEL:
Miss Stratford, we’re sailing
NARRATOR:
Rose and John
Have come up with a routine
They spend evenings on the deck
Staring at specks of light