Stephen Sondheim - Someone In A Tree lyrics

[OLD MAN] Pardon me, I was there [RECITER] You were where? [OLD MAN] At the treaty house [RECITER] At the treaty house? [OLD MAN] There was a tree [RECITER] Which was where? [OLD MAN] Very near [RECITER] Over here? [OLD MAN] Maybe over there But there were trees then, everywhere May I show you? [RECITER] If you please [OLD MAN] There were trees Then, everywhere [RECITER] But you were there [OLD MAN] And I was there! Let me show you [RECITER] If you please [OLD MAN] (Old Man tries to climb the tree.) I was younger then… (Tries again.) I was good at climbing trees… (Tries again.) I was younger then… (Tries again.) I saw everything… (Tries again.) I was hidden all the time… (Tries again.) It was easier to climb… (Tries again.) I was younger then… (Tries again.) I saw everything… (Tries again.) Where they came and where they went I was part of the event I was someone in a tree! (Tries to climb once more.) I was younger then! (Suddenly, a young boy appears, scurries across the stage, and up the tree.) [BOY] (to the Old Man) Tell him what I see! [OLD MAN] I am in a tree I am ten I am in a tree [BOY] I was younger then [OLD MAN] In between the eaves I can see— (to the Boy) Tell me what I see (to the Reciter) I was only ten [BOY] I see men and matting Some are old, some chatting [OLD MAN] If it happened, I was there! [BOY] I see everything! [OLD MAN] I saw everything! [OLD MAN] I was someone in a tree [BOY] Tell him what I see! [OLD MAN] Some of them have gold on their coats [BOY] One of them has gold (to the Reciter) He was younger then [OLD MAN] Someone crawls around pa**ing notes— [BOY] Someone very old— [OLD MAN] (to the Reciter) He was only ten [BOY] And there's someone in a tree— [OLD MAN] —Or the day is incomplete [BOTH] Without someone in a tree Nothing happened here [OLD MAN] I am hiding in a tree [BOY] I'm a fragment of the day [BOTH] If I weren't, who's to say Things would happen here the way That they happened here? [OLD MAN] I was there then It's the pebble, not the stream. [BOY] It's the fragment, not the day I am here still [BOTH] It's the ripple, not the sea Not the building, but the beam Not the garden, but the stone Not the treaty house Someone in a tree [WARRIOR] (A Warrior slides the panel open underneath the house) Pardon me, I am here If you please, I am also here [OLD MAN] They kept drinking cups of tea [BOY] They kept sitting on the floor [BOTH] They drank many cups of tea (to each other) No, we told him that before [WARRIOR] If you please, I am here [RECITER] You are where? [WARRIOR] In the treaty house [RECITER] In the treaty house? [WARRIOR] Or very near [RECITER] Can you hear? [WARRIOR] I'm below [RECITER] So I notice [WARRIOR] Underneath the floor And so I can't see anything I can hear them But I can't see anything [RECITER] But you can hear? [WARRIOR] But I can hear Shall I listen? [RECITER] If you please [WARRIOR] I can hear them now… I shall try to shift my knees… I can hear them now… I hear everything… I'm the part that's underneath With my sword inside my sheath I can hear them now One is over me If they knock, then I appear I'm a part of what I hear I'm the fragment underneath... I can hear them now! [RECITER, OLD MAN, & BOY] Tell us what you hear! [WARRIOR] First I hear a creak and a thump Now I hear a clink Then they talk a bit Many times they shout when they speak Other times they think Or they argue it I hear floorboards groaning Angry growls, much droning Since I hear them, they are there As they argue it I'm the listener underneath [BOY] (Boy peers into the house.) Someone reads a list From a box [WARRIOR] Someone talks of laws [OLD MAN] Then they fan a bit [BOY] Someone bangs a fist [WARRIOR] Someone knocks [OLD MAN] Now there was a pause [ALL] Then they argue it: [WARRIOR] "But we want—" "No, you can't And we won't—" "But we need it And we want—" "Will you grant —" "If you don't—" "We concede it" [OLD MAN] And they sat Through the night And they lit Yellow tapers I was There Then If I Weren't, who's to Say Things would Happen here the Way That they're Happening? [WARRIOR] I can hear Them I'm a Fragment of the Day If I Weren't, who's to Say Things would Happen here the Way That they're Happening? [BOY] And they Chat And they fight And they sit Signing papers I am There Still If I Weren't who's to Say That they're Happening? [ALL] It's the fragment, not the day It's the pebble, not the stream It's the ripple, not the sea That is happening Not the building but the beam Not the garden but the stone Only cups of tea And history And someone in a tree