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Man of LaMancia



Man of LaMancha (I Am I, Don Quixote)

Lyrics by Joe Darion


Man of LaMancha (I Am I, Don Quixote)
From Man of LaMancha
Lyrics by Joe Darion
In this song -- whose words are spoken to music until it breaks into song after the first stanza -- Cervantes introduces the prisoners to the character of Don Quixote and assumes the role before their eyes. His associate becomes Sancho Panza.


I shall impersonate ... a man.
Come, enter into my imagination, and see him:
Boney, hollow faced, eyes that burn with the fire of inner vision.
He conceives the strangest project ever imagined ...
To become a knight errant
And sally forth into the world, righting all wrongs!

Hear me now, oh thou bleak and unbearable world
Thou art base and debauched as can be!
And a knight with his valors all bravely unfurled
Now hurls down his gauntlet to thee!

I am I, Don Quixote,
The Lord of LaMancha,
My destiny calls, and I go!
And the wild winds of fortune
Shall carry me onward ... To wither so ever they blow ...
Wither so ever they blow ...
Onward to glory I go!


I'm Sancho, yes, I'm Sancho
I'll follow my master till the end ...
I'll tell all the world, proudly,
I'm his squire ... I'm his friend.
Hear me heathens, and wizards, and servants of sin:
All your dastardly doings are past!
For a holy endeavor is now to begin
And virtue shall triumph at last!

I am I, Don Quixote,
The Lord of LaMancha,
My destiny calls, and I go!
And the wild winds of fortune
Shall carry me onward ... To wither so ever they blow ...
Wither so ever they blow ...
Onward to glory I go!

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A Glimpse Into Cervantes' Past
From Man of LaMancha
Written by Dale Wasserman
In this passage from mid play, an interuption has distracted the prisoners from Cervantes' acting out of Quixote's life. Two of the prisoners (the Duke and the Governor) question Cervantes about the setting of the play they've been participating in -- and about his own character. Cervantes' response provides an intriguing glimpse into his past and the philosophical origins of Don Quixote.


THE DUKE: (with violent contempt) This La Mancha - what is it like?
THE GOVERNOR: An empty place. Great wide plains.
PRISONER: A desert.
THE GOVERNOR: A wasteland.
THE DUKE: Which apparently grows lunatics.
CERVANTES: I would say, rather ... men of illusion.
THE DUKE: Much the same. Why are you poets so fascinated with madmen?
CERVANTES: I suppose ... we have much in common.
THE DUKE: You both turn your backs on life.
CERVANTES: We both select from life what pleases us.
THE DUKE: A man must come to terms with life as it is!
CERVANTES: I have lived nearly fifty years, and I have seen life as it is. Pain, misery, hunger ... cruelty beyond belief. I have heard the singing from taverns and the moans from bundles of filth on the streets. I have been a soldier and seen my comrades fall in battle ... or die more slowly under the lash in Africa. I have held them in my arms at the final moment. These were men who saw life as it is, yet they died despairing. No glory, no gallant last words ... only their eyes filled with confusion, whimpering the question: "Why?" I do not think they asked why they were dying, but why they had lived. (He rises, and through the following speech moves into the character of DON QUIXOTE as a musical underscore and change of setting begin) When life itself seems lunatic, who knows where madness lies? Perhaps to be too practical is madness. To surrender dreams -- this may be madness. To seek treasure where there is only trash. Too much sanity may be madness. And maddest of all, to see life as it is and not as it should be.
(The music has stated the "I Am I, Don Quixote" theme thinly during the preceding speech, and the prison and prisoners have disappeared. Cervantes is isolated in limbo; the "horses" have appeared. The lights change)
DON QUIXOTE: (Singing)I am I, Don Quixote ... The Lord of La Mancha ... Destroyer of evil am I ... I will march to the sound of the trumpets of glory ... Forever to conquer or die!

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Dulcinea

From Man of LaMancha
Lyrics by Joe Darion
Don Quixote sings to the sullen kitchen wench Aldonza, whom -- much to her surprise and initially, dismay -- he has discovered to be Dulcinea -- the lady he serves and adores, but has never met -- until now.


I have dreamed thee too long,
Never seen thee or touched thee, but known thee with all of my heart,
Half a prayer, half a song,
Thou has always been with me, though we have been always apart.


Dulcinea ... Dulcinea ...
I see heaven when I see thee, Dulcinea,
And thy name is like a prayer an angel whispers ...
Dulcinea ... Dulcinea!
If I reach out to thee,
Do not tremble and shrink from the touch of my hand on thy hair.
Let my fingers but see
Thou art warm and alive, and no phantom to fade in the air.


Dulcinea ... Dulcinea ...
I have sought thee, sung thee, dreamed thee, Dulcinea!
Now I've found thee, and the world shall know thy glory.
Dulcinea ... Dulcinea!
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What Do You Want Of Me?

From Man of LaMancha
Lyrics by Joe Darion
Aldonza sings this song, as she attempts to come to an understanding of this "knight" who has entered her life and begun to melt her heart by opening her eyes to a better life beyond her current state of despair. She tries to sort out why he does what he does -- and what he wants from her, because it is so different from anything she has ever experienced. (NOTE: this song does not appear as a musical number in the copy of the play I have, but is on the Kiley/Dierner soundtrack.)


Why do you do the things you do?
Why do you do these things?
Why do you march through that dream that you're in --
Covered in glory and rusty old tin --
Why try to be what nobody can be
And what do you want of me?
What do you want of me?

Why do you do the things you do?
Why do you do these things?
Why do you rush at the world all alone --
Fighting mad battles that aren't your own --
Why do you live in a world that can't be
And what do you want of me?
What do you want of me?

Why don't you know that you're laughed, at wherever you go?
But I ... cannot laugh with the rest ... and why, I don't know ...

Why do you do the things you do?
Why do you do these things?
Why do you batter at wall that won't break?
And why do you give when it's natural to take --
Where do you see all the good that you see --
And what do you want of me?
What do you want of me?

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To Each His Dulcinea (To Every Man His Dream)

From Man of LaMancha
Lyrics by Joe Darion
This song is sung by the Priest of the "middle level" of the play, where Cervantes is Alhonso Quiana who has come to believe that he is the knight Don Quixote and has devoted his life to justice in the lovely lady Dulcinea (who may only exist in his mind). The Priest is sympathetic to Quiana's state and sees both the comforts and the dangers of dedication to a dream.


To each his Dulcinea ...

That he alone can name,
To each a secret hiding place:
Where he can find the haunting face --
To light his secret flame ...

For with his Dulcinea beside him so to stand,
A man can do quite anything:
Outfly the bird upon the wing --
Hold moonlight in his hand ...

Yet if you build your life on dreams,
It's prudent to recall:
A man with moonlight in his hands --
Has nothing there at all ...

There is no Dulcinea ...

She's made of flame and air,
And yet how lovely life would seem:
If every man could weave a dream --
To keep him from despair.

To each his Dulcinea ...
Though she's only flame and air ...

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Quixote's Reflection On How Life Should Be Lived

From Man of LaMancha
Written by Dale Wasserman
Quixote delivers this monologue while standing solitary vigil in the moonlight of the courtyard the night before he is to be dubbed knight and enter in to battle with the Great Enchanter. He begins by reflecting on how historians will remember it all -- but catching himself in vanity, refocuses on how life should be lived.

Quixote is now pacing back and forth, lance in hand, holding vigil over his armor)
DON QUIXOTE: (Pausing) Now must I consider how sages of the future will describe this historic night. (He strikes a pose) "Long after the sun had retired to his couch, darkening the gates and balconies of La Mancha, Don Quixote with measured tread and lofty expression held vigil in the courtyard of a mighty castle!" (He hears the pompous echo of his voice, bows his head, ashamed) Oh, maker of empty boasts. On this, of all nights, to give way to vanity. Nay, Don Quixote -- take a deep breath of life and consider how it should be lived. (He kneels)

Call nothing thy own except thy soul.
Love not what thou art, but only what thou may become.
Do not pursue pleasure, for thou may have the misfortune to overtake it.
Look always forward; in last year's nest there are no birds this year.
(ALDONZA has entered the couryard en route to her rendezvous with Pedro. She stops, watching DON QUIXOTE and listening)
Be just to all men. Be courteous to all women.
Live in the vision of that one for whom great deeds are done ... She that is called Dulcinea.

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The Impossible Dream (The Quest)

From Man of LaMancha
Lyrics by Joe Darion
In this song, Quixote explains his quest and the reasons behind it ... in doing so, he captures the essence of the play and its philosophical underpinnings. (For me, it is absolutely magical.)


To dream ... the impossible dream ...
To fight ... the unbeatable foe ...
To bear ... with unbearable sorrow ...
To run ... where the brave dare not go ...
To right ... the unrightable wrong ...
To love ... pure and chaste from afar ...
To try ... when your arms are too weary ...
To reach ... the unreachable star ...

This is my quest, to follow that star ...
No matter how hopeless, no matter how far ...
To fight for the right, without question or pause ...
To be willing to march into Hell, for a Heavenly cause ...

And I know if I'll only be true, to this glorious quest,
That my heart will lie will lie peaceful and calm,
when I'm laid to my rest ...
And the world will be better for this:
That one man, scorned and covered with scars,
Still strove, with his last ounce of courage,
To reach ... the unreachable star ...