Stephen Sondheim
Finale / Children Will Listen, Pt. 1
[BAKER, spoken]
Shhh, maybe I just wasn't meant to have children
[BAKER'S WIFE, spoken]
Don't say that, of course you were meant to have children
[BAKER, spoken]
But how can I go about being a father when I had no father to show me?
[BAKER'S WIFE]
Just calm the child
[BAKER]
Just calm the child
[BAKER'S WIFE]
Look, tell him the story of how it all happened
Be father and mother you'll know what to do
[BAKER, spoken]
Alone
[BAKER'S WIFE]
Sometimes people leave you
Halfway through the wood
Do not let it grieve you
No one leaves for good
You are not alone
No one is alone
Hold him to the light now
Let him see the glow
Things will be alright now
Tell him what you know
[BAKER, spoken]
Once upon a time, in a far off kingdom
There lay a small village at the edge of the wood
[WITCH & BAKER, spoken]
Careful the things you say
And in this village
Children will listen
There lived a young maiden
Careful the things you do
A carefree young lad
Children will see
And a childless baker
And learn
With his wife
[WITCH, WITCH & COMPANY]
Guide them along the way
Children will glisten
Children will look to you for which way to turn
To learn what to be
Careful before you say, "Listen to me"
Children will listen
Careful the wish you make
Wishes are children
Careful the path you take
Wishes come true
Not free
Careful the spell you cast
Not just on children
Sometimes the spell may last
Past what you can see
And turn against you
Careful the tale you tell
That is the spell
Children will listen