Mass - A Theatre Piece for Singers, Players and Dancers I: VIII. Epistle: "The Word of the Lord" - Leonard Bernstein

Dear Brothers: This is the gospel I

Preach;

and in its service I have suffered

Hardship like a criminal;

yea, even unto

Imprisonment;

but there is no imprisoning

The word of God …

(speaking)

Dearly Beloved: Do not be surprised if the

World hates you.

We who love our brothers

Have crossed over to life, but they who

Do not love, abide in death.

Everyone who

Hates his brother is a murdrer

(speaking)

Dear Mom and Dad.

Nothing will mak me

Change.

Do not feel badly or

Worry about me.

Try to understand: I am now a

Man

(sung)

You can lock up the bold men

Go and lock up your bold men and hold

Men in tow

You can stifle all adventure

For a century or so

Smother hope before it’s risen

Watch it wizen like a gourd

But you cannot imprison

The Word of the Lord

No, you cannot imprison

The Word of the Lord

For the Word was at the birth of the

Beginning

It made the heavens and the earth and set

Them spinning

And for several million years

It’s endured all our forums and fine ideas

It’s been rough but it appears to be

Winning!

There are people who doubt it and shout

It out loud

Oh they bellow and they bluster 'til they

Muster up a crowd

They can fashion a rebuttal that’s as subtle

As a sword

But they’re never gonna scuttle the Word

Of the Lord

No, they’re never gonna scuttle the Word

Of the Lord!

(speaking)

Dear Brothers: I think that God has made

Us apostles the most abject of mankind

We hunger and thirst, we are naked, we

Are roughly handled, and we have no fixed

Abode.

They curse us and we bless.

They

Persecute us and we suffer it.

… They

Treat us as the scum of the earth, the

Dregs of humanity, to this very day

(speaking)

Dear Folks: Jim looked very well on my

First visit.

With his head cleanshaven, he

Looked about nineteen years old.

He says

The prison food is very good.

For the first

Few days he is not allowed any books

Except his Bible.

When I hugged him he

Smelled so good, a smell of plain clean

Soap;

he smelled like a child when you put

Him to bed

(sung)

All you big men of merit who ferret out

Flaws

You rely on our compliance with your

Science and your laws

Find a freedom to demolish while you

Polish some award

But you cannot abolish the Word of the

Lord

No, you cannot abolish the Word of the Lord

For the Word created mud and got it going

It filled our empty brains with blood and

Set it flowing

And for thousands of regimes

It’s endured all our follies and fancy schemes

It’s been tough, and yet it seems to be

Growing!

O you people of power, your hour is now

You may plan to rule forever, but you never

Do somehow!

So we wait in silent treason until reason is

Restored

And we wait for the season of the Word of

The Lord

We await the season of the Word of the Lord

We wait, we wait for the Word of the Lord.

…