Elton John, Tim Rice

While you've been away cavorting Matters here have moved apace Now I need you home supporting All the plans I've put in place
First of all this means your wedding You'll recall your future bride For the way that Pharaoh's heading Time's no longer on our side
According to the hawk god, Horus Our most regal invalid Is not that much longer for us Build another pyramid!
There are many who'll be tearful As our leader fades away But our architects are cheerful And each dog must have its day
If our country is to flourish Then my son must take the lead Be our inspiration, nourish All our hopes our dreams our creed
Soon our monarch will have filled a Tomb just like his fathers did Summon Egypt's greatest builders another pyramid
Build it, build it Another pyramid
There will be a time for mourning But for now put plans on hold
Hold
For I give the nation warning That before the corpse is cold
Cold
We'll extend fair Egypt's power Egypt's glory strength and style We shall have our finest hour Far beyond the mighty Nile
He must have a vault that's grand by Any standards, floor to lid Put five thousand slaves on stand by Build another pyramid!
Build it, build it Build it, build it Build it, build it Build it-
Build it, build it Build it-
He must have a vault that's grand by Any standards, floor to lid Put five thousand slaves on stand by Build another pyramid!

It's knowing what they want
of me that scares me
It's knowing having followed that I must lead
It's knowing that each person
there compares me
To those in my past whom I now succeed
But how can whatever I do for them now
Be enough
Be enough
Aida! Aida!
All we ask of you
Is a lifetime of service, wisdom, courage
To ask more would be selfish
But nothing less will do
Aida! Aida!
You robe should be golden,
your robe should be perfect
Instead of this ragged concoction of thread
But may you be moved by
its desperate beauty
To give us new life for we'd rather be dead
Then live in the squalor
and shame of the slave
To the dance!
To the dance!
Aida! Aida!
All we ask of you
All we ask is a lifetime of
Service, wisdom, courage
To ask more would be selfish
But nothing less will do
Aida! Aida!

Aida! Aida!
Aida! Aida! Aida!
I know expectations are wild and almost
Beyond my fulfillment but they won't hear
A word of a doubt or see signs of weakness
My nigh on impossible duty is clear
If I can rekindle my ancestors' dreams
It's enough
It's enough
It's enough Aida!
Aida! Aida!
Aida! Aida! Aida!
It's enough
Ah,ah,ah,ah,ah,ah

This is the moment when the gods expect me To beg for help but I won't even try I want nothing in this world but myself to protect me But I won't lie down, roll over and die All I have to do is to forget how much I love him All I have to do is put my longing to one side Tell myself that love's an ever-changing situation Passion would have cooled and all the magic would have died It's easy, it's easy All I have to do is to pretend I never knew him On those very rare occasions when he steals into my heart Better to have lost him when the ties were barely binding Better the contempt of the familiar cannot start It's easy, It's easy Until I think about him as he was when I last touched him And how he would have been were I to be with him today Those very rare occasions don't let up they keep on coming All I ever wanted and I'm throwing it away It's easy, it's easy as life But then I saw the faces of a worn , defeated people A father and a nation who won't let a coward run is this how the gods reward the faithful through the ages ? Forcing us to prove the hardest thing we've done Are easy So easy And though I'll think about him til the earth draws in around me And though I choose to leave him for another kind of love There is no denial, no betrayal but redemption Redeemed in my own eyes and in the pantheon above It's easy It's easy as life It's easy as life It's easy as life

We all lead such elaborate lives Wild ambitions in our sights How an affair of the heart suvives Days apart and hurried nights Seems quite unbelievable to me I don''t want to live like that Seems quite unbelievable to me I don't want to love like that I just want our time to be Slower and gentler,wiser, free
We all live in extravagant times Playing games we all can't win Unintended emotional crimes take some out take others in
Too many choices tear us apart I don't want to live like that Too many choices tear us apart I don't want to love like that I just want to keep your heart May this confession be the start
I know you'll give me courage to face what I must face with all these complications in another time and place
We all lead such elaborate lives We don't know whose words are true An affair of the heart survives All the pain the world can do
I'm so tired of all we're going through I don't want to live like that
I'm so tired of all we're going through I don't want to love like that I just want to be with you Now and forever peaceful,true

We all lead such elaborate lives wild ambitions in our sights How an affair of the heart survives days apart and hurried nights Seems quite unbelievable to me I don't want to live like that seems quite unbelievable to me I don't want to love like that I just want our time to be slower and gentler, wiser,free
We all live in extravagant times playing games we can't all win Unintened emotional crimes Take some out, take others in
I'm so tired of all were going through I don't want to live like that I'm so tired of all were going through I don't want to love like that I jsut want to be with you Now and forever ,peaceful,true This may not be the moment to tell you face to face But I could wait forever for the perfect time and place
We all lead such elaborate lives We don't know whose words are true Strangers, lovers, husbands, wives Hard to know who's loving who
Too many choices tear us apart I don't want to live like that
Too many choices tear us apart I don't want to love like that I just want to touch your heart May this confession
be the start

To sail away to half discovered places To see the secrets so few eyes have seen To see moments of enchantment on our faces The moments when we smile and those in between
If I could leave this place then I'd be sailing To corners of my land where there would be Sweet southern winds of liberty prevailing The beauty so majestic and so free
There'd be no ties of time and space to bind me And no horizon I could not pursue I'd leave the world's misfortunes far behind me I'd put my faith and trusting in something new
But why should I tell you this A stranger I just met A woman whom I hardly know at all and should forget
A journey we can only dream of Enchantment passing through And how is it I say these things So easily to you  But why did I tell her this? A stranger I've just met A woman who I hardly know at all and will forget Anonymous and gone tomorrow Enchantment passing through And all I've done is tell her things she already knew She knew ...She knew....

AMNERIS
Every story, tale or memoir
Every saga or romance
Whether true or fabricated
Whether planned or happenstance

Whether sweeping through the ages
Casting centuries aside
Or a hurried brief recital
Just a thirty-minute ride

(AMNERIS steps off of the pedestal and stands before the audience.)

Whether bright or melancholy
Rough and ready, finely spun
Whether with a thousand players
Or a lonely cast of one

Every story, new or ancient
Bagatelle or work of art
All are tales of human failing
All are tales of love at heart

(The lights change violently with a rock and roll chord. Frozen on stage:
the Man staring at a model of the boat. The WOMAN looks at the figure of
the Archer.)

This is the story
Of a love that flourished
In a time of hate

Of lovers no tyranny could separate
Love set into motion on the Nile's shore
Destiny ignited by an act of war

Egypt saw the mighty river as its very heart and soul
Source of life for all her people
That only Egypt could control
Destruction of her southern neighbor justified
Nubia exploited, left with little more than pride
Ohhhhhhhhhh.

Every story, tale or memoir Every saga or romance Whether true or fabricated Whether planned or happenstance Whether sweeping through the ages Casting centuries aside Or a hurried brief recital Just a thirty-minute ride Whether bright or melancholy Rough and ready, finely spun Whether with a thousand players Or a lonely cast of one Every story, new or ancient Bagatelle or work of art All are tales of human failing All are tales of love at heart This is the story Of a love that flourished In a time of hate Of lovers no tyranny could separate Love set into motion on the Nile's shore Destiny ignited by an act of war Egypt saw the mighty river as its very heart and soul Source of life for all her people That only Egypt could control Destruction of her southern neighbor justified Nubia exploited, left with little more than pride

Oh, Oh Fortune Favors the Brave Oh, Oh Fortune Favors the Brave
We have swept to glory, Egypt's mastery expands From the Nile's northern most delta To the dry, dry southern sands
The more we find, the more we see, The more we come to learn The more that we explore, The more we shall return
Oh, oh Fortune favors the brave
It's all worked out, my road is clear The lines of latitude extend Way beyond my wildest dreams Toward some great triumphant end
We seize the day We turned the tide We touched the stars We mocked the grave We moved into uncharted lands
Fortune favors the brave
The more we find, the more we see The more we come to learn The more that we explore The more we shall return
Nothing is an accident We are free to have it all We are what we want to be It's in ourselves to rise or fall
This is easy to believe When distant places call to me It's harder from the palace yard Fortune favors the free
Oh, oh
Fortune favors the young!
Oh, oh
Fortune favors the brave!
 

There is a time there is a place When love should conquer all The rest of life is pushed aside as truth and reason fall But only if that selfishness can lead to something good I thought I knew you princess But I never understood I don't know you I don't know you

I grew up in your hometown At least began to grow I hadn't got to my first shave before the body blow Egyptians in the courtyard
My family in chains You witnessed our abduction Which possibly explains How I know you How I know you
Before that fateful morning My family enjoyed A privileged existence For my father was employed As advisor to the King no less Which surely rings a bell
For as your are his daughter You probably can tell How I know you Yes I know you
You know too much and what you say Is better left unknown And now I'm just a slave like you Our lives our not our own
I never have abandoned And nor I think could you That spark of hope for freedom No terror can subdue
My only hope is silence You've never seen my face
No you remain a princess In any time or place
You don't know me
Yes, I know you
You don't know me
How I know you How I know you

How did I come to this? How did I slip and fall? How did I throw half a lifetime away Without any thought at all?
This should have been my time It's over, it never began I closed my eyes to so much for so long and I no longer can
I try to blame it on fortune Some kind of shift in a star But I know the truth and it haunts me it's flown just a little too far I know the truth and it mocks me I know the truth and it shocks me It's flown just a little too far.
Why do I want him still? Why when there's nothing there? How to go on with the rest of my life To pretend I don't care This should've been my time It's over-It never began I closed my eyes to so much for so long and I no longer can
I try to blame it on fortune Some kind of twist in my fate But I know the truth and it haunts me I learned it a little too late
Oh I know the trth and it mocks me I know the truth and it shocks me I learned it a little too late Too late
 

Don't come on so cocksure boy, you can't escape your genes No point in feeling pure boy, your background intervenes Listen good and listen straight, you're not the master of your fate To this you must be reconciled, you'll always be your father's child At times acclaimed, at times reviled You'll wind up doing just what I've done Like father, like son
Don't assume your vices get handed down the line That a parent's blood suffices to condemn the child's design I've done wrong, I can't deny, but at least I know that I Shouldn't blame that on my stock, this may come as quite a shock I'm no chip off any block, I wouldn't wish those words on anyone Like father, like son
Son you're nervous, take my hand All is settled,all is planned You've got the world at your command I don't think you understand
I appreciate too well The squalor at which you excel it isn't very hard to tell Evil's a distinctive smell
He's lost all sense of reason, and why? Some foreign slut That is the road called treason, Some doors are slamming shut Just like me he's found that flesh can excite but will enmesh Once we rid him of this blight. Once this harlot's out of sight. Then I think he'll see the light. He won't walk back to daddy he will run. Like father, like son...

I may leave a great impression As I race through a succession Of the latest crazes, chase the newest fad I feel better when beguiling Find that fashion keeps me smiling But in my heart I know it's rather sad That a life of great potential Is dismissed, inconsequential  And only ever seen as being cute So I'll flutter to deceive Oh no you must believe That one day you're bound to find A Stronger Suit

In life one has to face a huge assortment Of nauseating fads and good advice There's health and fitness Diet and deportment And other pointless forms of sacrifice Conversation? Wit? I am a doubter Manners? Charm? They're no way to impress So forget the inner me , observe the outer I am what I wear and how I dress Oh now I believe in looking Like my time on earth is cooking Whether polka dotted Striped or even checked With the some glamour guaranteeing Every fiber on of my being Is displayed to quite remarkable effect From your cradle via trousseau Ah To your deathbed you're on view, so Ah Never compromise, accept no substitute Ah I would rather wear a barrel Ah Than conservative apparel Ah For my dress has always been Ah My strongest suit Ah Overwear Underwear Anytime Anywhere Staying in or hitting town wards Ooh ooh ooh ah From the top and working downwards Ooh ooh ooh ah I ensure that every stitch Ooh ooh ooh ah Is stitched in time Whether wig or hat or turban Is stitched in time Whether clad boudoir or urban Ooh ooh ooh ah Not to strut your stuff Ooh ooh ooh ah Outrageously's a crime Ooh ooh ooh ah Such a crime And the few who are invited Oooh overwear To my wardrobe are delighted Oooh underwear As they wander through my things Oooh anytime To find en route We're wandering through your things Ooh negligee That in negligee or formal Ooh anything but normal normal I am anything but normal Ooh ah For my dress has always been Overwear, underwear My strongest suit Anytime, anywhere Overwear, underwear Anytime, anywhere I am what I wear Overwear, underwear Anytime, anywhere Overwear,underwear I said anytime Anytime Anywhere Finest Divinest So bring me all my finest Most audacious, my divinest Most revealing most Most revealing expensive Most expensive and to boot Most arresting Most heartstopping Most arresting Most heart-stoping Overwear Most heartstopping Underwear Most free-flowing Anytime Most eye-popping Most arresting Anywhere Most heart-stopping Dress has always been Dress has always been I am what I wear My strongest suit I am what I wear My strongest suit I am what I wear You know that I am what I wear Dress has always been My strongest Dress has always been My strongest My strongest My strongest suit My strongest My strongest My strongest My stroooooooooongest suit My strongest My strongest suit My strongest suit!

I once knew all the answers I stood on certain ground A picture of true happiness Confidence so effortless No brighter could be found  Oh No
I never asked the questions That trouble me today I knew all there was to know Love worn lightly Put on show
My conquests on display (I can't believe He's changing)
And who'd have thought that (Oh, no) Confidence could die? Not me , Not me (Not me, not me) That all I took for granted was a lie
Not me, Not me And who'd have guessed I'd throw my world away
To be with someone I'm afraid will say (This can never) Not me,not me (Be)
He's in love But he's not the only one Who'll be changed
I shall not envy lovers But long for what they share
An empty room is merciless Don't be surprised if I confess I need some comfort there
And who'd have thought That love could be so good? Not me, not me And show me things I never understood Not me, not me
Who'd have guessed he'd Throw his world away To be with someone til his dying day Not me, not me
And who'd have thought that love Could be so good Not me, not me (Not me, not me) My his secrets & My his passions understood Not me, not me (Not me, not me)
Who'd have guessed I'd he throw My his world away To be with someone til my his dying day Not me not me (This can never be)

Radames: I'm sorry for everything I've said And for anything I forgot to say When things get so complicated I stumble at best muddle through I wish that our lives could be simple I don't want the world only you
Oh I wish I could tell you this face to face But there's never the time never the place So this letter will have to do I love you....

I am here to tell you we can never meet again Simple really, isn't it, a word or two and then A lifetime of not knowing where or how or why or when You think of me or speak of me and wonder what befell The someone you once loved so long ago so well Never wonder what I'll feel as living shuffles by You don't have to ask me and I need not reply Every moment of my life from now until I die I will think or dream of you and fail to understand How a perfect love can be confounded out of hand Is it written in the stars Are we paying for some crime Is that all that we are good for Just a stretch of mortal time For some God's experiment In which we have no say In which we're given paradise But only for a day Nothing can be altered, there is nothing to decide No escape, no change of heart, no anyplace to hide  You are all I'll ever want, but this I am denied Sometimes in my darkest thoughts, I wish I'd never learned What it is to be in love and have that love returned Is it written in the stars Are we paying for some crime Is that all that we are good for Just a stretch of mortal time For some God's experiment In which we have no say In which we're given paradise But only for a day