At Notre Dame the sections are prepared At Rue de Bac they're straining at the leash Students, workers, everyone There's a river on the run Like the flowing of the tide Paris coming to our side The time is near, so near it's stirring the blood in their veins And yet beware, don't let the wine go to your brains For the army we fight is a dangerous foe With the men and the arms that we never can match It is easy to sit here and swat them like flies But the national guard will be harder to catch We need a sign To rally the people To call them to arms To bring them in line Marius you're late What's wrong today? You look as if you've seen a ghost Some whine and say what's going on A ghost you say, a ghost maybe She was just like a ghost to me One minute there, then she was gone I am agog I am aghast Is Marius in love at last? I've never heard him ooh and aah You talk of battles to be won And here he comes like Don Juan It is better than an opera It is time for us all to decide who we are Do we fight for the right to a night at the opera now? Have you asked of yourselves what's the price you might pay? Is it simply a game for rich young boys to play? The color of the world are changing day by day Red, the blood of angry men Black, the dark of ages past Red, a world about to dawn Black, the night that ends at last Had you been there tonight you might know how it feels To be struck to the bone in a moment of breathless delight Had you been there tonight you might also have known How the world may be changed in just one burst of light And what was right seems wrong, and what was wrong seems right Red I feel my soul on fire Black My world if she's not there Red The colour of desire Black The colour of despair Marius, you're no longer a child I do not doubt you mean it well But now there is a higher call Who cares about your lonely soul? We strive toward a larger goal Our little lives don't count at all Red, the blood of angry men Black, the dark of ages past Red, a world about to dawn Black, the night that ends at last Well, Courfeyrac, do we have all the guns? Feuilly, Combeferre, our time is running short (Listen) Grantaire, put the bottle down Do we have the guns we need? (Listen to me) Give me brandy on my breath And I'll breathe them all to death Listen everybody General Lamarque is dead Lamarque is dead Lamarque! His death is the hour of fate The people's man His death is the sign we await On his funeral day they will honor his name With the light of rebellion ablaze in their eyes From their candles of grief we will kindle our flame On the tomb of Lamarque shall our barricade rise The time is here! Let us welcome it gladly with courage and cheer Let us take to the streets with no doubt in our hearts But a jubilant shout They will come one and all They will come when we call