Stravinsky: The Soldier's Tale, K29 (Translation: Flanders & Black): No. 10, Narration. He Took the Book

He took up the book and began to read

And the words meant money, more money

And still more money, as much as a man could need

He used it first to set right his affairs

And became a peddler, a seller of wares

Come along, ladies, come buy

For there's all shades and sizes

Black, navy, pale blue, Prussian blue

Pastel, sky blue, beige, chocolate, fawn

Dark grey, grey, grey, pale grey, silver grey

Russet, maroon, brown, khaki

Unbleached linen by the yard

Printed cottons, crepe de chine

Silks and satins, pre-war prices

A peddler first, a seller of wares for a start

Then he needed no goods, he knew all the tricks by heart

Things go the way I make them go

For others only guess, I know

It's more than a book, it's wealth untold

You've only to open it, lo and behold

You can have all you want, your heart's desire

All the best things in life, anything you require

While you have time, quick, grab all you can

One day you'll be dead, you're only a man

No, my old friend, you didn't lie

Because in the end we've all got to die

First one thing, another

I've only to say this, that and the other

Because I can pay, it's mine, all

He stops

All?

Nothing

All nothing

Nothing at all

What have I said? What's the matter with me?

I have everything

Nothing

Now he can see

All you want, all the time

All wealth can provide

And they don't mean a thing

They are empty inside

False things, dead, rotten

You buy and sell

They are nothing, just an empty shell

Oh, to have still the things you had before

The real, the true, good things

That everybody has but you

That you have no more

The only things worth having