The Bells of St. Sebastian Lyrics - Nine Soundtrack

Guido I remember St. Sebastian with a memory most unkind.
I can hear the bells I heard when I went there
Inside the church, inside my mind.
The bells of St. Sebastian only ring once in your
ears,
But if you’re very young when you hear them,
Their sound can last a hundred years.
All But the music of the ringing
Was the music of our singing
When we were singing Kyrie Eleison,
Kyrie Eleison, Kyrie Eleison.
Guido (echoed by All) Each day at lauds, (Each day at
lauds)
Each night at vespers, (Each night at vespers)
From every tower the hour would be tolled
For those of us at St. Sebastian,
No longer young and not yet old.
Guido’s Mother But why did you go to this woman?
Little Guido To see what she was like!
Guido Each day at St. Sebastian in the classroom we would
hear
That devils lurked behind every corner.
If you tried to look, they would disappear.
The nuns of St. Sebastian tried to teach the facts
of life,
Explaining there are two kinds of women
One was a whore, one was a wife.
All But the music of the ringing
Was a different world that opened through our
singing
When we were singing Kyrie Eleison,
Kyrie Eleison, Kyrie Eleison.
Guido (echoed by All) They rang at dawn (They rang at
dawn)
They rang at midnight (They rang at midnight)
In tones well-rounded they sounded down the nave
For all the souls of little boys at St. Sebastian
Too young to save.
All Kyrie Eleison, Eleison, Christe Eleison, Eleison.
Guido’s Mother You’ve brought such shame on us!
Little Guido But Mama, I didn’t know!
All For lunch at St. Sebastian, country cheese and
buttered bread,
Guido A prayer we never learned sung in latin,
Then a midday nap in a makeshift bed,
All Then the music of the ringing,
Then the music of our singing,
And we were singing Kyrie Eleison,
Kyrie Eleison, Kyrie Eleison.
Guido (echoed by All) We should have known. (We should
have known)
They should have warned us. (They should have warned
us)
At St. Sebastian they never spared the rod,
(At St. Sebastian they never spared the rod)
Guido But in the music of the bells at St. Sebastian
We looked for God.
Little Guido Kyrie Eleison...

As the Music continues, Little Guido steals away and starts
running.

Guido’s Mother Guido, where are you running to?

Little Guido has run back to wave at Sarraghina. She
returns his wave as the curtain falls to end Act One.