Roger Waters
“But the Marquis of Boulli Has a Trump Card up His Sleeve...”
KING & QUEEN
But the Marquis of Boulli had a trump card up his sleeve
RINGMASTER
The Marquis of Boulli a good General
And fiercely loyal to the crown
With his army in the East
Hatched a plan to see the King released
QUEEN
The Queen assuming the title Baroness Korrf
Her papers signed by the King of course
Set forth before the break of day
To join up with Boulli in Alsace Lorraine
OFFICER
From the shadows King Louis disguised as a humble valet
Sneaks out to make his getaway
With a small entourage of course
OFFICER & CHORUS
Just a few hundred light horse
TROUBLEMAKER
Well let him go, let him run, with his Austrian whore
TROUBLEMAKER & MALE CHORUS
Let him go to Prussia
OFFICER & MALE CHORUS
Let him go to Austria
Let him go and die there
TROUBLEMAKER & MALE CHORUS
Let him go
OFFICER & MALE CHORUS
Let him go
TROUBLEMAKER, OFFICER & MALE CHORUS
Let him rot wit his Austrian Queen
CHORUS
That the Republic at last can come into being
But wait, fate would intervene
OFFICER
A keen-eyed postmaster by chance
OFFICER & CHORUS
Recognized the King and Queen and
CHORUS
Rode ahead to raise the alarm
RINGMASTER
In Parliament the moderates have their say
CONDORCET
The King has not fled
He was kidnapped instead
And spirited away
OFFICER
To suggest that the King would run is a damnable lie
CONDORCET
It sticks in our throats and conflicts with our national pride
OFFICER
But the Austrian court
And Brunswick of course
Say they'll declare war
If the King's not restored
TROUBLEMAKER (mimicking Brunswick)
You must leave the King alone
Or all of Paris will be torn down
Down to the very last stone
TROUBLEMAKER & OFFICER
Paris will be pulverized
Down to the very last bone
QUEEN
When the carriage returned
The acrid smoke of bridges burned
Hung heavy like a stifled sigh
And they say the Queen had a tear in here eye
OFFICER
When through the carriage window
Louis turned to face his peers
A loyal friend, the Comte de Dampierre
Doffed his cap with elegance
In deference to the King
A brave and foolish thing to do
In light o f the prevailing mood
QUEEN
Witness the act of an honest man
To stand with cap in hand
Before the baying throne
Was a brave gesture of a foolish one
RINGMASTER & CHORUS
The crowd in a gesture less than elegant
Brutally remove his head
RINGMASTER
Brutally remove his head
CHORUS
Brutally remove his head