Dave Malloy - Letters lyrics

[ALL] In nineteenth-century Russia, we write letters We write letters We put down in writing What is happening in our minds Once it's on the paper, we feel better We feel better It's like some kind of clarity When the letter's done and signed [PIERRE] Dear Andrey, Dear old friend, How goes the war? Do we march on the French splendidly? Do our cannons crack and cry? Do our bullets whistle and sing? Does the air reek with smoke? I wish I were there, With d**h at my heels Dolokhov is recovering He will be all right, the good man It should have been me I am a most ridiculous man And Natasha is in town I hear she is more beautiful than ever How I envy you and your happiness Here at home I drink and read And drink and read And drink And I fill my mind with rot, While my heart is empty And I've been studying the Cabal And I've calculated the number of the beast It is Napoleon! I will k** him one day He is not a great man None of us are great men We are just caught in the wave of history Nothing matters Everything matters, It's all the same If only I could not see it, This dreadful, terrible "it" [ALL] In nineteenth-century Russia, we write letters We write letters We put down in writing What is happening in our minds [NATASHA] Dear Andrey— What more can I write After all that has happened? What am I to do If I love him, And the other one too? Must I break it off? These terrible questions [NATASHA & PIERRE] I see nothing but the candle in the mirror No visions of the future So lost and alone [NATASHA] And what of Princess Mary? [MARY] Dear Natasha, I am in deep despair At the misunderstanding there is between us, Whatever my father's feelings might be I beg you to believe That I cannot help loving you He is a tired old man and must be forgiven Please, come see us again [NATASHA] Dear Princess Mary— Oh, what am I to write? How do I choose? What do I do? I shall never be happy again! [PIERRE] These terrible questions [MARY] I'm so alone here [NATASHA & PIERRE] So alone in here [MARY] And I see nothing [NATASHA, PIERRE & MARY] I see nothing but the candle in the mirror No visions of the future So lost and alone [ALL] In nineteenth-century Russia, we write letters We write letters We put down in writing What is happening in our minds [ANATOLE] Dear Natalie, A love letter A love letter A love letter [NATASHA] A letter from him, From the man that I love [DOLOKHOV] A letter which I composed [ALL] A love letter A love letter A love letter A love letter A love letter A love letter A love letter A love letter [ANATOLE] Natalie, Natalie, Natalie, I must love you or die Natalie, Natalie, Natalie, If you love me, say yes, And I will come and steal you away Steal you out of the dark Natalie, Natalie, Natalie, I want nothing more Natalie, Natalie, Natalie, I must love you or die Natalie, Natalie, Natalie, If you love me, say yes And I will come and steal you away Steal you out of the dark Natalie, Natalie, Natalie, I want nothing more Just say yes Just say yes Just say yes [NATASHA] Yes, yes, I love him! How else could I have his letter in my hand? I read it twenty times, Thirty times, forty times! Each and every word I love him, I love him