No Place Like London Lyrics
Stephen Sondheim
Lyrics
I have sailed the world,
beheld its wonders
from the Dardanelles,
to the mountains of Peru,
But there's no place like London!
No, there's no place like London...
(spoken)
Mr. Todd?
(sung)
You are young...
Life has been kind to you...
You will learn.
There's a hole in the world like a great black pit
and the vermin of the world inhabit it
and its morals aren't worth what a pig can spit
and it goes by the name of London...
At the top of the hole sit a privileged few
Making mock of the vermin in the lower zoo
turning beauty to filth and greed...
I too have sailed the world and seen its wonders,
for the cruelty of men is as wondrous as Peru
but there's no place like London!
(spoken)
Is everything alright Mr. Todd?
(spoken)
I beg your indulgence, Antony,
But my mind is far from easy.
In these once familiar streets
I feel shadows, everywhere
(spoken)
Shadows?
(sung)
There was a barber and his wife
and she was beautiful...
a foolish barber and his wife.
She was his reason and his life...
and she was beautiful,
and she was virtuous.
And he was naive.
There was another man who saw
that she was beautiful...
A pious vulture of the law
who, with a gesture of his claw,
removed the barber from his plate!
Then there was nothing but to wait!
And she would fall!
So soft!
So young!
So lost
and oh, so beautiful!
(spoken)
The lady, sir, did she succumb?
(sung)
Oh, that was many years ago...
I doubt if anyone would know.
(spoken)
I'd like to thank you, Anthony.
If you hadn't spotted me,
I'd be lost on the ocean still.
(spoken)
Will I see you again?
(spoken)
You might find me,
If you like,
Around Fleet Street.
I wouldn't wonder...
Till then, my friend.
(sung)
There's a hole in the world like a great black pit
and it's filled with people who are filled with sh*t,
And the vermin of the world inhabit it.