Lyrics

(Grandpa:) Way, way back when,
Way back in them good old days,
Got me my brother's tooth,
Put it under my pillow.
"Tooth Fairy, come pick up your tooth,
And by the way, bring a nice taffy
For this nice young fellow."

(Okie:) Grandpa told a lie, bold and blatant lie.
(Grandpa:) No! No! No! It was just a joke!
(Dokie:) Lie, fib, trick, jest or joke--
(Kids:) Gramps' fairy got provoked.
(Fairy:) Shame on you, Grandpa!
(Goblin:) Hee-hee! Hoo-hoo!
(Fairy:) Now you're gonna pay like all your type will pay.
(Goblin:) Naa-naa! Yaa-yaa!
(All:) Me oh my oh, what a sorry guy, oh!
Try to trick the fairy? Well!
Bettor eat your taffy fast!

(Grandpa:) What could I do?
I was asleep when that goblin came,
Sent by my fairy to
Teach me a little lesson.
Planted this bag
And gave me my claim to fame.
Left me a sausage from
Baek's delicatessen.

(Dokie:) Soon the word got out, round and round about.
Grandpa's wen got famous far and wide.
So he got appellafied
(All:) Old Grandpa Lopside.
(Fairy:) Gramps learned his lesson.
(Goblin:) Oh-ho! Yo-ho!
(Fairy:) Straight from out of a delicatessen yet!
(Goblin:) Hee-dee-haw! Yaw-haw!
(All:) Oh me oh my, what a way to beautify!
But that's just why we all LOVE
Grandpa Lopside.

Way Back Wen, with melody
melody from three Korean taryeong, arrangement and lyrics by John Holstein (copyright 1992 John Holstein)
piano accompaniment by Kim Mi-jin

Way Back Wen, accompaniment only
melody from three Korean taryeong, arrangement and lyrics by John Holstein (copyright 1992 John Holstein)
piano accompaniment by Kim Mi-jin

When You Begin to Sing

Grandpa Lopside has been kept in the mountains overnight by a
rain storm, and takes shelter in a deserted, dilapidated cabin. He
starts this song to calm his fears and ends it in a joyful threesome
with the goblins.

Lyrics

(Woodcutter:) When I was a little boy,
Nights like this were scary.
It seemed the stormy darkness had no end.
Then I figured out a way
To get me through the bad times,
And it's proved to be an everlasting friend.

I finally cheered up when I began to sing.
Songs soon banished my gloomy ways.
I never gave up once I began to sing.
Music's with me for all of my days.

Life's bright and happy when you begin to sing.
Songs will banish every care and woe.
Music will bless you if you begin to sing.
Joy will follow wherever you go.

(Bass goblin:) Boom, biddy ding dong.
Scatty wack shack bing bong. (Repeats beneath rest of song.)

(Woodcutter, over bass scat:) I never gave up once I began to sing.
Music's with me for all of my days.

(Treble goblin:) Beskattle lee dot doo loppa deeta.
Petittle teetle locka diddle-um beeta.
Scootely doopee dooey doppy diddledy dum.
Shoobedy boobedy bambalom beedle-um bum. (Repeats beneath rest of song.)

(Woodcutter, over scat:) You'll find you cheer up when you begin to sing.
Songs will banish every care and woe.
Music will bless you if you begin to sing.
Joy will follow wherever you go.

When You Begin to sing, accompaniment only
words and music by Gary Rector (copyright 1989 Gary Rector)

When You Begin to sing, with voice
words and music by Gary Rector (copyright 1989 Gary Rector)

An Unreformed Country Bumpkin

Grandpa Lobside's wife is not happy with Grandpa Lopside's refusal
to put on the airs that his newly found wealth require.

Lyrics

(Wife:) Before we chose to join the best,
Before we rose us over the rest.
Slop, spit, slurp, then grunt, snort, burp!
How unexaltedly low can you go!
A beggar could . . . Oh, what's that word!
(Grandpa:) Usurp?
(Wife:) Right! Your place for all the couth that you show.
It's Mother got me to marry you.
"He's got the world's most beautiful song!"
But she never saw how you eat your stew.
She'd have tired of your song before long!
Now I'm stuck with this primitive
Who can't tell his sleeve from a napkin.
With all of your money you still only look
Like an unreformed country bumpkin!

An Unreformed Country Bumpkin, with melody
words and music by John Holstein (copyright 1990 John Holstein)

An Unreformed Country Bumpkin, accompaniment only
words and music by John Holstein (copyright 1990 John Holstein)

With a Song on Your Cheek

The play's finale. Grandma Lopside has got his second wen. Grandpa
Lopside and the cast join him a philosophical reverie about the
vicissitudes of life.

Lyrics

(Grandma:) Cheeky they called me when I was a kid,
Then Lopside they changed it to, Heaven forbid!
But whatever they called me it all meant the same--
A rose is a rose by any damned name.
(All:) A song bag he's had most all of his days,
But sing it did not so he tried many ways
To rid himself of his cumbersome weight,
But it just hung around and refused to vacate.
(Grandpa:) His fate drove him to it,
He cheated and lied.
We know it's not right, but we know why he tried
To cheat the goblins and get ahead,
And how he got stuck with TWO songbags instead.
So I've got the money and you've got the fun.
(Grandma:) That's true my friend, but what's done is done.
(Grandpa:) I'll give you my gold if you sing all day.
(Grandma:) Keep all your gold, I'll sing anyway.
(Wife does cadenza adlib.)
(All:) Life is bleak when things go wrong,
But it looks much better when you've got a song.
A bag on the left or a bag on the right,
A song bag will chase your woes right out of sight.
(Grandma:) And a song bag on each cheek . . .
(All:) Life's just one big delight!

With a Song on Your Cheek, with melody
lyrics by John Holstein and Jim Cunningham, music by Gary Rector (copyright 1990 John Holstein)

With a Song on Your Cheek, accompaniment only
lyrics by John Holstein and Jim Cunningham, music by Gary Rector (copyright 1990 John Holstein)

The Gourds' Rewards

Wealthy Father has died, and first son Nolbu has control of the entire
inheritance. This mean and greedy Nolbu can't stand the idea of
sharing the inheritance with his virtuous younger brother Hungbu. So
he kicks Hungbu and Hungbu's whole family out of the house. They
barely survive a year of hand-to-mouth existence. Then a swallow whose
broken leg Hungbu has fixed returns the next spring with a reward of
magic gourd seeds, and when Hungbu harvests them in the autumn they
yield a cornucopia which makes Hungbu even richer than Nolbu. Nolbu
and his wife hear about this and hunt down a swallow, then break its leg
and fix it so they can reap the same reward. The reward they finally get,
though, is not exactly what they had in mind. Virtuous Hungbu, of course,
comes to the rescue, and Nolbu turns over a new leaf - in his own way.

Bbongjak Blues

Nolbu's wife complains about the heavy responsibilities involved in
being rich, and Nolbu complains about the noble responsibilities of
being eldest son and eldest brother. And both of them complain about
Nolbu's younger brother, Hungbu.

Lyrics

(Nolbu's wife:) Oh me, oh my! Oh my, oh me!
Days like this make me forget
How pleasant being rich can be.
This big old place,
With all its slaves and space.
Don't know where I am
Or who I'm talking to.
Mama said he'd care for me.
That just ain't so.
Body and soul do crave him,
But he doesn't even know,
Or his libido is awfully low.
His empty heart, oh Lord,
My empty arms a-waiting
For him to come and fill them.
Oh me, oh my!

(Nolbu:) Blue, so blue you sky, you,
But no bluer than this heart of mine.
They say we gentry
Are rich and carefree,
Lazy, greedy, serpentine.
Ha! Ever hear about noblesse oblige?
And then I'm the eldest son,
And male, too.
Add a sense of duty and what have you,
Me forever blue.
Daddy told me, "You're the boss now,
You're eldest son and a man, Boy.
Your brother's counting on you."
Ha! Little did my daddy know
How much Hungbu and his family eat.
And then there's the wife--oh Lord!--
Utterly dependent on me.
All alone with my responsibilities.
But that's the way life is
And how it's gonna be.

(Nolbu:) Independence,
That's the difference
Between a man and his wife.
(Wife:) Fourteen and going on fifteen!
He could use a heavy dose of whatever you've got.
(Nolbu:) Yes, he's got to learn self-control!
(Wife:) Got to learn some independence.
(Both:) And we're the ones to teach it.
Hungbu, out you go!
And take your family with you!

Bbongjak Blues, with melody
words and melody by John Holstein, piano accompaniment by Kim Mi-jin (copyright 1993 John Holstein)

Bbongjak Blues , accompaniment only
words and melody by John Holstein, piano accompaniment by Kim Mi-jin (copyright 1993 John Holstein)

In This Kind of World

Poor Hungbu has lost the chance to earn some money for his starving
family, and protests the cruel ironies that life has dumped on him.

Lyrics

(Hungbu:) So even the king, in all his generosity,
Sends me this sting to add to my adversity.
No way to fight it, no way to win.
Why not just give in?
No one to turn to--their charity does not include me.
What, oh what did I do? Where have I gone wrong?
In this kind of world I do not belong.
This world's not for me.
How alone can one be!
Where's that rainbow they promise after the storm?
Where's that sun to warm cold hopes
Whose embers died so long ago?
Don't know, don't know, don't know.
What, oh what did I do?
Where have I gone wrong?
In this kind of world I do not belong.
This world's not for me.
How absolutely alone can one be?

In This Kind of World, with melody
words and music by John Holstein (copyright 1990 John Holstein)

In This Kind of World, accompaniment only
words and music by John Holstein (copyright 1990 John Holstein)

Enough's Never Enough

Righteous Hungbu has told his wife not to be greedy with the reward
that Heaven has sent them, but his wife views their reward from a
different perspective.

Lyrics

(Hungbu's wife:) Husband says enough's enough.
Confucius says enough's too much.
Jesus tells you it's all up there,
And Buddha claims it's not anywhere.
So what are you supposed to do
With all that life offers you
If it's too much, up there, or only hearsay?
I mean, why bother showing it anyway?

I say enough's never enough!
I'll take as much as life offers,
Good with the bad, the happy and the sad.
Life's here to live.
All we see is to be had.
And I'm going to have it all!

Even if you live like others tell you to,
You won't end up like they want you to,
Much less live your life your way.
While you've got the sun, you'd better make hay-yay-yay!

Enough's never enough!
I'm takng all that life offers,
Good with the bad, the happy and the sad.
Life's here to live.
All we see is to be had.
And I'm going to have it all!
I'm going to have it all!

Enough's Never Enough, with melody
words and music by John Hostein (copyright 1990 John Holstein)

Enough's Never Enough, accompaniment only
words and music by John Hostein (copyright 1990 John Holstein)

Without Us Two

Nolbu and his wife discover that, after all, they haven't lost everything.
They find comfort in realization of the love that they have for each other.

Lyrics

(Nolbu and Nolbu's wife, alternating lines, Nolbu starting:)
The more I see of you, dear,
The longer I'm with you,
The very less I could do
Without us two.
Whatever could we do?

Things can go terribly wrong, dear,
But not for awfully long,
'Cause you and I got a song
Of two great friends
Who'll keep each other strong.

(Wife:) Without us two, me and you,
(Together:) Whatever could we do?

Without Us Two, with melody
words and music by John Holstein (copyright 1990 John Holstein)

Without Us Two, accompaniment only
words and music by John Holstein (copyright 1990 John Holstein)

Finale Fallace

And they all lived happily ever. . . Whoops!

Lyrics

(Narrator:) Well, what do you think of that?
Don't it take the hat!
From bad to good to mischievous as he could,
Nolbu's idea of brotherhood.
(All joining in:) Bu-u-u-u-ut
(All:) Nolbu finally came to see
That money's not the only thing.
And he and his kin are happy as can be,
And so this happy song we sing.
Let's never forget what Nolbu learned:
In the end the greedy get burned . . . and how!
And he who grabs for the best gets the worst.
The golden rule is to put others first.
So Nolbu's kin--who could forget them!
Their place in history's permanent.
Each one of them's a real gem,
Not one excep--
(Nolbu's wife:) Except my pendant!

Finale Fallace, with melody
words and music by John Holstein (copyright 1990 John Holstein)

Finale Fallace, accompaniment only
words and music by John Holstein (copyright 1990 John Holstein)

Finale

And they all lived happily ever after. And you will too if you take this
advice offered by the whole cast.

Lyrics

(Nolbu's wife:) Blue, so blue, you sky, you!
Haven't seen a nicer hue hitherto.
(Nolbu:) Twice as nice as gold!
(Nolbu and wife:) You've been up there all this time
While I've been down here
Looking for a pot of gold
And never even saw a rainbow.
(Narrator:) But now blue skies are overhead,
(All:) And sunny weather's predicted
For the rest of our days,
Give or take a day of haze.
(Hungbu:) But don't you know fair weather never stays?
Life's capricious, things can turn grim.
(All:) All one's hopes can dim.
Older or younger, male or not,
Gloom can be your lot.
(Hungbu's wife:) But then when things get their worst,
And worst can't get any worser,
What you have to do is
(All:) Show your stuff and try once more.
So much is out there just waiting for your call,
And you can have it all. (Hungbu:) Not all!
(All:) Yes, you can have it all!
(Nolbu:) But all I want is you, dear.
(Nolbu and wife:) All I need is right here.
(All:) A friend like you, tried and true.
With me and you there's nothing we can't do.
(Narrator:) So now at last they've got things straight
And know what's what.
(All:) It's not too late to like
To a golden age that's happy and as full as life can be.
(Narrator:) We hope as much for all of you,
(All:) Even more if it could possibly come true.
So please remember Hungbu's and Nolbu's gourds,,
And when you act consider those gourds' rewards.

Finale, with melody
words and music by John Holstein (copyright 1990 John Holstein)

Finale, accompaniment only
words and music by John Holstein (copyright 1989 John Holstein)

Chun Hyang Song

When Mong Yong, the son of an aristocrat, falls into true love with
Chun Hyang, the daughter of a gisaeng, there is no way that trouble
is not going to happen. And it does. Chun Hyang's mother allows
the two lovers to marry. Too soon, though, Mong Yong has to leave
for Seoul to take the higher civil service exam. He vows his undying
love and loyalty. When the unprincipled local magistrate Byon Satdo
sets eyes on Chun Hyang, the term undying love takes on special
meaning: she has to choose between Mong Yong and life.

Overture: If I Look Once

Lyrics

If I look once, I see my love.
If I look ten times, I see my love.
A thousand times that I see my love,
She will always be my love.

If I Look Once, piano accompaniment
words and music by Wm. H. Cleary (copyright 1965 Wm. H. Cleary)

Spring Song for Dano

Lyrics

Spring! the time when my heart is swinging.
Spring! that flings my heart in the air.
Birds and mountains sing to me and bring to me
New songs from everywhere.

Spring! when skies are blue and inviting.
Spring! I fly with nothing to fear.
How could I refuse to sing
The news that spring is here!

Spring Song for Dano, piano accompaniment
words and music by Wm. H. Cleary (copyright 1965 Wm. H. Cleary)

Spring Song, performance
words and music by Wm. H. Cleary (copyright 1965 Wm. H. Cleary)

Butterflies

Lyrics

Butterflies go flip, flip, flip!
Catching flowers every trip.
Flowers wait and hum, hum, hum!
Hoping butterflies will come.

(repeat as canon)

Butterflies, piano accompaniment
words and music by Wm. H. Cleary (copyright 1965 Wm. H. Cleary)

She's Everywhere

Lyrics

Love has stopped my education.
It's a hopeless situation.
She's not here or there,
She's everywhere.

Every book that I try reading,
It's her name I keep repeating.
She's not here or there,
She's everywhere.

Here's my "Universal Mirror."
(How I wish that she were nearer.)
Here, instead of wise Confucius,
Stands my darling, young and beauteous.

I can't study. I'm in trouble.
I'm in love. I'm seeing double.
She's not here or there.
She's everywhere.

She's Everywhere, piano accompaniment
words and music by Wm. H. Cleary (copyright 1965 Wm. H. Cleary)

For Only a Hundred Years

Lyrics

For only a hundred years,
To want to belong to you?
Far more than a hundred years of time
I could spend without end.

For only a hundred years?
That's only a touch of love.
That's not very much of love for me.

Only while birds still sing?
Only while sugar's sweet?
Only as long as flowers rise
To greet the springtime?

For only a hundred years?
That's only a touch of love.
That's not very much of love for me.

For Only a Hundred Years, piano accompaniment
words and music by Wm. H. Cleary (copyright 1965 Wm. H. Cleary)

For Only a Hundred Years, performance
words and music by Wm. H. Cleary (copyright 1965 Wm. H. Cleary)

Only for a Hundred Years

Lyrics

Only for a hundred years,
Only till our life is through,
Only while the sky's above you,
I'll love you, love you.

Only for a hundred years,
Only while the world goes on,
Only while the stars sing of you,
I'll love you, Chun Hyang.

Only while dawns still come,
Only while winter's cold,
Only as long as harvest fields
Turn gold in summer.

Only for a hundred years,
Only while the world goes on,
Only while the stars sing of you,
I'll love you, Chun Hyang.

Only For a Hundred Years, piano accompaniment
words and music by Wm. H. Cleary (copyright 1965 Wm. H. Cleary)

Stars in Your Eyes

Lyrics

When skies are dark
And heaven's far away,
I've learned to look at heaven
In my own special way.

Something almost holy
Happens when I do.
I let you look at heaven,
Then I look at you!

Stars in your eyes,
Moon on your face.
I never will forget
This time or place.

Ten thousand words you'd say
Would lack this thrill,
To see your face this way!
My heart stands still.

Up to those stars
Take me away.
I never care to see
Another day.

The candles in your eyes
The whole night through.
If moonlight ever fades,
My stars fade, too.

Stars in Your Eyes, piano accompaniment
words and music by Wm. H. Cleary (copyright 1965 Wm. H. Cleary)

Stars in Your Eyes, performance
words and music by Wm. H. Cleary (copyright 1965 Wm. H. Cleary)

Sobangnim

Lyrics

Sobahngnim, my love, my own.
Sobahngnim, where have you gone?
I ask the sky to find you,
Far or near.
May summer winds remind you
I am here, waiting.

Sobahngnim, my love, my own.
Sobahngnim, come home, come home.
Though the night may hide you,
I pray the stars may guide you home.

Sobangnim, piano accompaniment
words and music by Wm. H. Cleary (copyright 1965 Wm. H. Cleary)

Sobangnim, performance
words and music by Wm. H. Cleary (copyright 1965 Wm. H. Cleary)

Wolmae's Song

Lyrics

They say that when the world was made,
It all was made for men,
And women have the destiny
To keep it nice for them.

(Refrain:)
Ridiculous! Ridiculous!
That women have to crawl,
While menfolk get the best of it!
Oh, typhoid on them all!
Oh, typhoid on them all!

They say men give us leadership,
The hardest job to do,
While women do the heavy work,
And carry Baby, too!

(Refrain)

They say men should take the womenfolk
As one of heaven's joys,
While women should pray night and day
That babies all be boys!

(Refrain)

I say men should serve womenfolk,
Cook food and carry pails.
While women raise the daughters,
Let men raise the baby males!

(Refrain)

Wolmae's Song, piano accompaniment
words and music by Wm. H. Cleary (copyright 1965 Wm. H. Cleary)

Wolmae's Song, performance
words and music by Wm. H. Cleary (copyright 1965 Wm. H. Cleary)

No Finer Ruler

Lyrics

From the Yellow Sea to Pusan,
From Cheju-do to Seoul,
There's no finer ruler
Than Pyun Satdo.

We don't want a prince from Pusan.
We don't want a sage from Seoul.
There's no finer ruler
Than Pyun Satdo.
No finer ruler
Than Pyun Satdo.

No Finer Ruler, piano accompaniment
words and music by Wm. H. Cleary (copyright 1965 Wm. H. Cleary)

I Remember Well

Lyrics

(Spring)
I remember well. I remember well.
Late spring evening, weeding all day.
Home at last, we sing to the moon.
Wine is sweet and I hear farmers say,
"Weeding's finished soon!"
I remember well.

(Summer)
I remember well. I remember well.
Rain comes warm, the hoeing is done.
I lay down where the grass is deep.
Comes a youngster leading his cow.
Wakes me from my sleep.
I remember well.

(Fall)
I remember well. I remember well.
Chestnuts falling, harvest is through.
Crabs are crawling where the rice grew.
Food is sweet, the wine is new.
Hearts are warm and glad.
I remember well.

(Winter)
I remember well. I remember well.
Winter midnight, dogs far away
Bark to see the moonlight fade.
At my gate I wonder and say:
Why are dogs afraid?
I remember well.

(Spring)
I remember well. I remember well.
Melting snow half covers the hills.
Plum trees bud along the slope.
Bamboo's green, the wine cup fills.
Spring, there is new hope.
I remember well.

I Remember Well, piano accompaniment
words and music by Wm. H. Cleary (copyright 1965 Wm. H. Cleary)

I Remember Well, performance
words and music by Wm. H. Cleary (copyright 1965 Wm. H. Cleary)

Nongbu-ga

Lyrics

(Chorus:)
Oh-wa-oh-yo-ru! Sang-sa-dui-ya!
Oh-wa-oh-yo-ru! Sang-sa-dui-ya!

Farmer, farmer, why so tired?
Why such a tired old face do I see?
I've been pushing a plow all morning.
My wife has to pull. She's more tired than me!

(Chorus)

Farmer, farmer, why so skinny?
You are the skinniest man in the group!
My mother-in-law came to visit.
She eats the rice and I just get the soup.

(Chorus)

Farmer, farmer, why so gloomy?
Such a sad face I would hate to see twice!
Governor Pyun is a savage tiger.
How we would love to poison his rice.

(Chorus)

Traveler, traveler, give us wisdom.
How can we get Tiger Pyun into jail?
Ah, just pull out his teeth and his claws.
Tie a gag in his mouth and a knot in his tail.

(Chorus)

Traveler, traveler, you're a drunkard.
You drink enough wine for almost ten men!
Oh, my worms are all alcoholic!
Every few miles they are thirsty again.

Nongbu-ga, piano accompaniment
words and music by Wm. H. Cleary (copyright 1965 Wm. H. Cleary)

Nongbu-ga, performance
words and music by Wm. H. Cleary (copyright 1965 Wm. H. Cleary)

Poor Men

Lyrics

(Chorus:) Poor men, poor men.
It takes blood to fill a wine cup.
It takes bones to make a stew.
Blood of poor men. Bones of poor men.
Hear them singing, cursing you.
Wine cries out, "They have no water!"
Stew cries out, "They have no rice!"
Drink your wine. Eat your stew.
Hear them singing, cursing you.

Poor Men, piano accompaniment
words and music by Wm. H. Cleary (copyright 1965 Wm. H. Cleary)