Maria - 1959 - Sound of Music

Dr. Pitt-Payne in London UK - 15 Nov 2001

[Berthe] She climbs a tree
and scrapes her knee,
her dress has got a tear.
[Sophia] She waltzes on her way to Mass
and whistles on the stair.
[Berthe] And underneath her wimple
she has curlers in her hair.
[Sophia] Maria's not an asset to the Abbey.
She's always late for chapel
but her penitence is real.
She's always late for ev'rything
except for ev'ry meal.
[Mother Abbess] From all of which,
I take it,
that you very firmly feel
Maria's not an asset to the Abbey.
[Margaretta] I'd like to say a word
on her behalf
[Mother Abbess spoken:]
Then say it, Margaretta!
[Margaretta] Maria makes me laugh!

[Sophia] How do you solve
a problem like Maria?
[Mother Abbess] How do you catch a cloud
and pin it down?
[Margaretta] How do you find a word
that means Maria?
[Berthe] A flibberty gibbet!
[Sophia] A willothewisp!
[Margaretta] A clown!

[Mother Abbess] Many a thing
you know you ought to tell her;
Many a thing she ought to understand.
[Margaretta] But how do you
make her stay
and listen to all you say?
[Mother Abbess] How do you
keep a wave upon the sand?
[Margaretta] Oh, how do you
solve a problem like Maria?
[Mother Abbess] How do you hold
a moonbeam in your hand?

[Margaretta] When I'm with her
I'm confused, out of focus and bemused,
and I never know exactly where I am.
[Sophia] Unpredictable as weather,
she's as flighty as a feather,
[Margaretta] She's a darling,
[Berthe] She's a demon,
[Margaretta] She's a lamb.

[Sophia] She'll outpester any pest,
drive a hornet from his nest,
[Berthe] She could throw
a whirling dervish out of whirl.
[Margaretta] She is gentle,
she is wild,
[Sophie] She's a riddle,
[Margaretta] She's a child.
[Berthe] She's a headache!
[Margaretta] She's an angel,
[Mother Abbess] She's a girl.

[All] How do you solve
a problem like Maria?
How do you catch a cloud and pin it down?
How do you find a word that means Maria?
A flibberty gibbet!
A willothewisp!
A clown!

Many a thing
you know you ought to tell her;
Many a thing she ought to understand.
But how do you make her stay
and listen to all you say?
How do you keep a wave upon the sand?
Oh, how do you solve a problem like Maria?
How do you hold a moonbeam in your hand?

Soft karaoke
Words
synth str 1 treble
synth str 1 bass
synth str 1 mid range
fr hrn
Lyric Line
brass
pizz str
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Maria 1959 Sound of Music
Music by Richard Rodgers
Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II
© Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II
Williamson Music
sequenced by Dr. Pitt-Payne in London UK
on Thursday 15 Nov 2001 at 18.09
in association with Doug Grierson
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© James Pitt-Payne, London UK, 2001
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