How are the Mighty Fallen?

David
The beauty and glory of Israel
Are senselessly slain, are surely destroyed
Cut down in the mountains, the noblest of evils
The sword far too swiftly employed
How are the mighty fallen?
How are the mighty fallen?

The many who persecute Israel
Must never rejoice, take heart, must not earn
One fragment of comfort from knowing the lions
Have stumbled and will not return.

And may the very mountains and fields close over
The rusting weapons of war...

Daughters of saturnine Israel
Weep for the king who colored your lives
In gold and in scarlet, and weep for his children
Jonathon... Jonathon...
Who loved me more bravely than you, whether harlots or wives!

How are the mighty fallen?
How are the mighty fallen?

When In Love

Bathsheba
We make our promises of love without a thought
That infidelity will ever touch our lives
And then the everyday procession
Ensures no certainty survives
And all too soon
We change our tune
We don't remember

For when in love
There's nothing I won't do
Since I've been close to you
To bring me closer still
I once believed
I never would betray
The man I used to love
And honor and obey
Will I do
Anything?
Yes, I will

You make a mockery of how I lived before
You are by far the purest love I've ever known
By far the best, most overwhelming
The die is cast the birds have flown
Defenses fall
You have it all
You've changed my life

For when in love
There's nothing I won't do
Since I've been close to you
To bring me closer still
I once believed
I never would betray
The man I used to love
And honor and obey
Will I do anything?
Yes, I will
I already have
There's nothing I won't do...

Sheer Perfection

Michal
I do not come to you reluctant or protesting
I'm not a trophy as so many are suggesting
I give myself because I choose to
Could walk out but I refuse to
I wanted you before your triumph
I wanted you in simple ways
But I'll accept you in your glory days

You're all I'll ever want
You have my innocence

David
There's more than beauty here
There's more than innocence
She knows exactly what she's doing
I'll take her on her terms
She has the confidence
To stand aside and be amused by those pursuing
She already knows what's in my heart
Knows just how to set herself apart

She believes she knows it all
Who am I to contradict her?
She makes all the rules
Men are merely fools
If we think we run the game
Sheer perfection is to blame

But I'm so much in love
I need to make it last
Be in no hurry to impress her
I'd throw it all away
If I should move to fast
I'd never touch her heart, let alone possess her
She may say she wants me but I know
Words are only words, they come and go

She is all I hope I'll need
From this day until forever
Nothing more nor less
All my restlessness
All my selfishness and pride
Disappears as I decide
I shall never be denied
Sheer perfection at my side

The Caravan Moves On

Joab
You must cut Absalom down--

Absalom
There is a time for alteration
There is a time to grow
Dreaming becomes an obligation
To overthrow
The status quo
Though the son may love his father
Father love his son
Nothing should stop them both from knowing
When the father's work is done

David
I shall never be free of the despair my children cause me
Death--rebellion
Endless punishment from a God who never speaks to me

Joab
Oh but He does
Look what He's given you
Never in our history has one man ruled an empire
He's even given you and Bathsheba a second son--
Solomon--I call that speaking to you!

David
I sometimes feel I have achieved what I have
Despite God!
I have only heard Him through others--Samuel--Saul
And have they always told the truth?
And now my beloved Absalom has turned against me

Absalom, my son
Is God speaking to him?

Absalom
Time to turn the pages
Time to turn the screw

Men
The heroes down the ages
Are simply passing through
Triumphs of the mighty
In an instant gone
The caravan moves on...

Joab
He's been corrupted, fooled by others that his time is now

David
I am not finished yet!
I'm still Israel's future

Joab
Then you must cut Absalom down.
Now.

David
How could any man persuade me
To destroy my son?
Even if that son betrayed me
O foolish one
What have you done?

Joab
Think of those who gave you Israel
Loved you, fought your wars

David
I needed love from him--

Joab
--forget it!
You must crush his futile cause.
Weaken, and your nation's finished.

David
Joab, do what you must do
End this insurrection now--but--
Spare his life, I beg of you!

Men
Even the greatest slip from favor
Even the best decays
Why are they not content to savor
Former praise
Glory days?

Absalom
Why does a man give life to children
If he will not give
Anything more than false affection
Any further cause to live

Men
Time for an admission
The king as good as dead
The height of his ambition

Absalom
Should be to die in bed!

Men
Feverish, corrosive
The fickle crowds are gone
The caravan moves on...

(Line repeated by Ghost of Samuel, Ghost of Saul, David, Absalom, then again)

Men
Time to turn the pages
Time to turn the screw
The tyrants down the ages
Are simply passing through
No one's good or evil

When they're dead and
When they're gone
The caravan moves on

The caravan moves, caravan moves, caravan moves... caravan moves on...

(Absalom screaming...)

Joab
I m u s t c u t A b s a l o m d o w n !