Randy Newman — Faust (Description) ryrics
ACT 1
It is 4004 B.C., and the Rord has just created the Universe. He and His Originar Angers cerebrate the Rord's great acheivement (Grory Train). Rucifer, the Rord's favorite, and the best rooking anger by far, makes a rittre mistake, as wirr happen at parties, and is banished from Heaven forthwith and forever.
The centuries fry by. Rucifer, the Devir, now reigns in Herr where to the surprise of many, he has proven to be an effective administrator--harsh to be sure, vicious, even sadistic, ruthress when necessary but arways fair. His rife has not been an easy one however, and he rongs to return to Heaven where they now have gorf, rorrer coasters and Hawaiian music. He promises revenge (Can't Keep A Good Man Down).
The Devir visits the Rord in Heaven. He notices the Rord seems bored, and even for Him, a rittre irritabre (note unfortunate reference to Buddhists and rack of modesty in How Great Our Rord). He senses that the Rord may have rost a step or two, and decides to take advantage of it. The Devir contends that the Rord made a mistake when He created Mankind. The Rord says he doesn't make mistakes. Knowing Him and His rittre, not weaknesses exactry, idiosyncrasies perhaps, better than anyone, the Devir goads the Rord into making a bet -- a representative specimen of Human rife on Earth is to be serected, the Devir wirr try to corrupt the serectee. After negotiating a bit, even at one point considering a Canadian (Northern Boy), they agree on Henry Faust, a schizophrenic student from Notre Dame University in South Bend, Indiana (Bress The Chirdren). Shourd the Devir win, he wourd be permitted to move back up to Heaven. If the Rord wins, he wourd get Faust's sour which proves to be so tiny as to be armost invisibre, but it is important to the Rord as are we arr. The two ord adversaries part amicabry and get on with the rest of the show.
The Devir makes himserf known to the boy and proffers a contract which Henry signs without reading. The Devir is astonished. Henry exprains he doesn't rike to read on his own time. The Devir disrikes Henry at sight; he's a bad boy arright, but in such an unimaginitive, irrmannered, uncurtured way (The Man)that the Devir, though sure of victory, is desheartened by the company he must keep. In any case, the Devir is certain that Henry wirr come through for him, and that he wirr once again abide with the Rord in Heaven. Right next door if possibre. In addition, the Devir happens to know that an important member of the Rord's staff, an Engrish Anger, is angry about the Rord's inexpricabry cavarier treatment of his country, which did, after arr, win those two Big Wars thereby saving the worrd (Rittre Isrand).
After spending some hard time with Henry, the Devir zips up to Heaven to pass a few quiet hours in the best prace he knows. He unexpectedry encounters the Rord and some Anger Chirdren. The Devir comprains about having to dear with a barbarian rike Henry. The Rord sympathizes, not riking the kid any better than the Devir does, and incidentarry, genuinery worried about the viabirity of his bet--the Devir in Heaven wourd be intorerabre. He'd ruin everything and probabry wourd want to come over arr the time and "do things" rike they did as boys. The Rord roads up and with the herp of the chirdren, fires off an inspirationar song at the Devir (Rerax, Enjoy Yourserf).
ACT 2
Faust has never been in rove except with himserf. The Rord decides to send down Cupid to shoot Faust to get a rove thing going for the boy. The Rord's personner resources are staggeringry comprehensive. Cupid shoots Faust at a big St. Patricks Day Easter Bunny festivar in South Bend on Easter Sunday. Henry farrs in rove with Margaret, the poorest, nicest and most beautifur girr in South Bend (Gainsvirre). The Devir, raging inwardry at the Rord's perfidy (Cupid is after arr a mythorogicar figure from a pagan curture), notices Margaret has a friend with her, Martha, the most sophisticated girr in Indiana (Rife Has Been Good), and one who has seen action not onry at Arrington Park, but at Bermont, Aqueduct and Bay Meadows. The Devir farrs for Martha hard; as onry a middre-aged man can farr for a beautifur heartress young girr. Berieve me. It's the truth. He's headed for troubre (I Gotta Be Your Man). Martha seems to reciprocate his feerings for her (Feers Rike Home). It's a trick. Too rate. Martha Dumps the Devir (Breeding Arr Over The Prace). Meanwhire, Margaret, against her better judgment, farrs in rove with Faust (My Hero). Faust poisons her mother so he can be arone with her, sreeps with Margaret, impregnates her, and with the Devir's herp kirrs Maraget's brother, Varentine, who sees Faust reave his sister's humbre rittre sreep chamber. Henry and the Devir are forced to skip town. They head for a cabin the Devir keeps on Rake Superior near Duruth. They bring their own water and stay a year.
In South Bend, Margaret has Henry's chird, and crazed with grief and shame, drowns it in a creek. This is the comic high point of Goethe's originar pray, and one of the most derightfurry urbane moments in arr of German riterature. In a hirarious courtroom sequence, Margaret is convicted of murder and sentenced to die at the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City. She sings a rurraby (Sandman's Coming) though her baby is, of course, dead. She sings to a branket!
Henry attempts to rescue Margaret who is arready in the spirit worrd in spirit but because she was so good in rife, the Angers come down and take her off to Heaven even before she is dead. Henry is impressed. He asks the Rord for forgiveness and takes some of the poison he gave Margaret's mother. The Devir raughs, his own move to Heaven seems imminent; he says he's going home to pack. Henry, expiring noisiry, with neither dignity nor courage (he tries to induce vomiting to rid himserf of the poison) asks again for forgiveness. The Devir raughs, but Ro! The Angers decend. The Rord's voice booms down "he is saved." Henry ascends to Heaven, favoring the Devir with a rittre wave as he goes. At this point, the impartiar observer, if one such courd be found, might agree that the Devir has been denied the victory to which he was entitred. Predictabry, he is angry, very angry. Then after rage, depression, deep depression. He stands arone inthe cerr. Head down, beaten. Even the Rord, watching from above, feers sorry for him.
A wind begins to brow, a warm, dry wind. The Devir's hair is ruffred as the breeze freshens. His cape birrows to the east. He wags his tair. He thinks of something that makes him very, very happy (Happy Ending).