Poor Wandering One

From Act 1 of the Pirates of Penzance, by Sirs William Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan

MABEL:
Poor wand'ring one!
Though thou hast surely strayed,
Take heart of grace,
Thy steps retrace,
Poor wand'ring one!

Poor wand'ring one!
If such poor love as mine
Can help thee find
True peace of mind-
Why, take it, it is thine!

GIRLS:
Take heart, no danger low'rs;
Take any heart but ours!

MABEL:
Take heart, fair days will shine;
Take any heart -- take mine!

GIRLS:
Take heart; no danger low'rs;
Take any heart -- but ours!

MABEL:
Take heart, fair days will shine;
Take any heart -- take mine!
Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!
Poor wand'ring one!
Though thou hast surely strayed,
Take heart of grace,
Thy steps retrace,

        MABEL                    GIRLS
               Poor wand'ring
               one!                 Poor wand'ring one!
               Ah, ah! Ah, ah,
               ah!                  Poor wandr'ing one!
               Ah, ah! Ah, ah, ah!
               Fair days will shine,Take heart,
               Take heart,          Take heart,
               Take mine!           Take any heart
               Take heart!          but ours!
                                    Take heart!
                                    Take heart!
               Take
               mine!                Take heart, no danger lowr's;
                                    Take any heart but ours!
               Ah, ah!              Take heart, take heart,
               Ah!                  Take any heart but ours,
               Take heart!          Take heart!

From Gilbert and Sullivan's Pirates of Penzance.

Back to 'Oh, Is There Not One Maiden Breast'
On to 'What Ought We To Do'

Frederic's all-purpose love song ("Oh, Is There Not One Maiden Breast") has just failed to win over even one of the girls -- but just as all seems to be lost, Mabel pops out of nowhere, and falls instantly in love! (Hey, it's a comic opera.) This is Mabel's song. You'll notice that Mabel's sisters chip in with an acerbic couplet towards the end...

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         RECIT -- MABEL

MABEL:
Oh, sisters, deaf to pity's name,
For shame!
It's true that he has gone astray,
But pray
Is that a reason good and true
Why you
Should all be deaf to pity's name?

ALL {meaning ALL GIRLS}:
(aside): The question is, had he not been
A thing of beauty,
Would she be swayed by quite as keen
A sense of duty?

MABEL:
For shame, for shame, for shame!

                SONG--MABEL

MABEL:
Poor wandering one!
Though thou hast surely strayed,
Take heart of grace,
Thy steps retrace,
Poor wandering one!
Poor wandering one!
If such poor love as mine
Can help thee find
True peace of mind--
Why, take it, it is thine!
Take heart, fair days will shine;
Take any heart -- take mine!

GIRLS:
Take heart; no danger lowers;
Take any heart -- but ours!

{Exeunt MABEL and FREDERIC.

(EDITH beckons her sisters, who form in a semicircle around her.)

Song: What Ought We To Do

Back to 'Oh, Is There Not One Maiden Breast'

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You might be wondering why my version of the lyrics are different from Evil Catullus', above. I assume that his is from the 1983 movie version of the Pirates of Penzance. Like any theatrical production, the movie did not stick exactly to the script (I think that, as far as this song is concerned, they improved it, although it does go on for a long time.)