Prelude and Good Morning, Good Day Lyrics

ARPAD:
Good morning!

SIPOS:
Good day!

ARPAD:
How are you this beautiful day?
Isn't this a beautiful morning?

SIPOS:
Very!

ARPAD:
Hey, Sipos, how's this?...

SIPOS:
That's a very elegant pose,
But is all that elegance necessary?

ARPAD (speaking): And why not? I represent Maraczek, don't I?
We're not a butchershop or a hardware store--we're a parfumerie!
And that means we're...we're...

SIPOS (singing):
We're stylish.

ARPAD:
That's it!

SIPOS:
With a quiet dignity.

ARPAD:
Yes, and we get the tilt of our hats right.

SIPOS:
That's right!

ARPAD:
When I ride my bike,
People see what Maraczek's like,
So I think it's very important that I look my best.

[ILONA enters.]

ILONA:
Good morning!

SIPOS & ARPAD:
Good day!

ILONA:
How are you this glorious day?
Have you seen a lovelier morning?

SIPOS & ARPAD:
Never!

ILONA:
It's too nice a day to be inside shuffling soap;
I have no more energy whatsoever.

[KODALY enters]

KODALY:
Good morning!

SIPOS, ARPAD & ILONA
Good day!

KODALY:
How are you this radiant day?
What a rare magnificent morning!

SIPOS & ARPAD:
Is it?

KODALY (to ILONA):
Good morning, my dear! How are you this ravishing day?
Do you know, you've never looked more exquisite.

ILONA:
Thank you, kind sir.

KODALY (speaking): What a lovely dress!

ARPAD: It's the same one she had on yesterday, Mr. Kodaly.

[GEORG enters]

GEORG (singing):
Good morning!

THE OTHERS:
Good day!

GEORG:
Isn't that a beautiful sky?
What a perfect sample of summer weather!
It's too nice a day to be indoors counting out change.
What a waste of holiday weather!
All together,
Let's all run away.

ILONA:
Wouldn't it be something if we all took off from work?

SIPOS:
Leaving Mr. Maraczek without a single clerk!

ARPAD:
Why not have a picnic?

SIPOS:
I could bring my wife's preserves.

KODALY:
Champagne might be nice with hot hors d'oeuvres!

ALL:
It's too nice a day to be stuck inside of a store.
We could all be getting our summer suntan!
It's so nice a day to be dozing under a tree--

SIPOS:
And we'll all be out of a job--

ILONA:
If it costs that much to get suntanned--

SIPOS:
I'll stay untanned.

KODALY:
Pale, but solvent.

ALL:
A picnic--a picnic--
Oh, well.