Ring of Stones by Stephen Schwartz Lyrics
[CAIN]
Abel! Momma! Poppa!
Come, Abel, quick, Abel, wait 'til I show you what I found!
[ADAM]
Cain! Before you say another word--
[CAIN]
No, Poppa, now Poppa, it's a thing that will astound you!
When I show you what I found, you won't believe!
[ADAM]
Eve!
[STORYTELLERS]
Over river wide and mountain tall
They traveled far beyond the waterfall
To a place and a day that would change them all
In the wasteland
[ABEL]
What are they?
[CAIN]
Stones! It's a ring of giant stones!
All of my life I think it's this I've been seeking
Pent up inside me like an underground spring
Finally a future, finally an answer
Written in a ring of stone
Finally proof of what I've always known:
We are not alone
Damned we may be
But we are not alone
[EVE]
All of a sudden, I can feel the old tingling
The urge to question, the itch to explore
I feel it once more
[CAIN]
Stones the size of giants
In a perfect circle
[EVE]
What could be their purpose
What could be their meaning?
[CAIN]
In a perfect circle
[EVE]
How could they have raised them?
[ABEL]
Must have taken hundreds
[CAIN]
Stones the size of giants
[ABEL]
How long have they been here?
Could we find the people?
[CAIN, EVE, AND ABEL]
Think about their knowledge, think about their science
[CAIN]
Think about their strength and skill
Scary they may be but still
I will never rest until
[CAIN, EVE, AND ABEL]
We have found these strange, bewildering
People who would build a ring of giant stone
[CAIN]
All of my life I think it's this I've been seeking
We are not alone
[ADAM]
The rain will be here soon
We'd best get back to the shelter of our glen
[CAIN]
But...what about these people?
[ADAM]
We will never speak of them again
[EVE]
Adam!
[CAIN]
Poppa, listen to me. For once, listen!
[ADAM]
Tear it all down, is that what you want?
Tear down everything we've worked to build
Trust our lives to a bunch of ragged strangers
You see the promise, Cain, but not the dangers
You think they're so wise, you think they're so skilled
But you've never heard them chanting in their ring of stones
Never seen them dancing here among the bones
Of a beast they've killed
[CAIN]
How do you know what they are?
[ADAM]
Because I've been here! I have seen them
[EVE]
Adam!
[CAIN]
When were you here?
[ADAM]
The two of you were babies still
A long, long time ago
[EVE]
You never told me
[ADAM]
It was better not to know
It would still be better not to know
[CAIN (simultaneously)]
All these years you've lied to us
All these years denied to us our future
[EVE (simultaneously)]
All these years you never told, never discussed
After all these years, couldn't you trust me?
Couldn't you trust me?
After all these years
[ADAM (simultaneously)]
We don't even know who their father was
Would our Father feel betrayed?
What if these are people he never made?
After all these years, to lose the chance he might forgive
[ABEL (simultaneously)[
Everybody, stop fighting!
[EVE]
All I see is you are still afraid
There was a time once, you were so brave then
[ADAM]
And look what we got, look what it brought us
Look at the lesson our bravery taught us
We are lost in the wilderness
We belong out here in the wilderness
[CAIN]
Well then stay here forever!
If that's how you want to live
But Abel and I could find comrades and wives
And learn what it is to have hope in our lives
Be part of a tribe, part of a clan
Not just one family
But a family of man
Come on, Abel!
[ADAM]
Abel! If you go now, you will never see me again
[ABEL]
Oh Cain, please don't make me choose
Either way, it's more than I could bear to lose
Either way, it's ripping out my heart
This choice is tearing me apart
[CAIN]
Is this what it means to be a father?
Crushing the spirit of your children like an egg
Is that what it means to be a father?
Binding them to you with a chain around the leg!
Abel! Momma! Poppa!
Come, Abel, quick, Abel, wait 'til I show you what I found!
[ADAM]
Cain! Before you say another word--
[CAIN]
No, Poppa, now Poppa, it's a thing that will astound you!
When I show you what I found, you won't believe!
[ADAM]
Eve!
[STORYTELLERS]
Over river wide and mountain tall
They traveled far beyond the waterfall
To a place and a day that would change them all
In the wasteland
[ABEL]
What are they?
[CAIN]
Stones! It's a ring of giant stones!
All of my life I think it's this I've been seeking
Pent up inside me like an underground spring
Finally a future, finally an answer
Written in a ring of stone
Finally proof of what I've always known:
We are not alone
Damned we may be
But we are not alone
[EVE]
All of a sudden, I can feel the old tingling
The urge to question, the itch to explore
I feel it once more
[CAIN]
Stones the size of giants
In a perfect circle
[EVE]
What could be their purpose
What could be their meaning?
[CAIN]
In a perfect circle
[EVE]
How could they have raised them?
[ABEL]
Must have taken hundreds
[CAIN]
Stones the size of giants
[ABEL]
How long have they been here?
Could we find the people?
[CAIN, EVE, AND ABEL]
Think about their knowledge, think about their science
[CAIN]
Think about their strength and skill
Scary they may be but still
I will never rest until
[CAIN, EVE, AND ABEL]
We have found these strange, bewildering
People who would build a ring of giant stone
[CAIN]
All of my life I think it's this I've been seeking
We are not alone
[ADAM]
The rain will be here soon
We'd best get back to the shelter of our glen
[CAIN]
But...what about these people?
[ADAM]
We will never speak of them again
[EVE]
Adam!
[CAIN]
Poppa, listen to me. For once, listen!
[ADAM]
Tear it all down, is that what you want?
Tear down everything we've worked to build
Trust our lives to a bunch of ragged strangers
You see the promise, Cain, but not the dangers
You think they're so wise, you think they're so skilled
But you've never heard them chanting in their ring of stones
Never seen them dancing here among the bones
Of a beast they've killed
[CAIN]
How do you know what they are?
[ADAM]
Because I've been here! I have seen them
[EVE]
Adam!
[CAIN]
When were you here?
[ADAM]
The two of you were babies still
A long, long time ago
[EVE]
You never told me
[ADAM]
It was better not to know
It would still be better not to know
[CAIN (simultaneously)]
All these years you've lied to us
All these years denied to us our future
[EVE (simultaneously)]
All these years you never told, never discussed
After all these years, couldn't you trust me?
Couldn't you trust me?
After all these years
[ADAM (simultaneously)]
We don't even know who their father was
Would our Father feel betrayed?
What if these are people he never made?
After all these years, to lose the chance he might forgive
[ABEL (simultaneously)[
Everybody, stop fighting!
[EVE]
All I see is you are still afraid
There was a time once, you were so brave then
[ADAM]
And look what we got, look what it brought us
Look at the lesson our bravery taught us
We are lost in the wilderness
We belong out here in the wilderness
[CAIN]
Well then stay here forever!
If that's how you want to live
But Abel and I could find comrades and wives
And learn what it is to have hope in our lives
Be part of a tribe, part of a clan
Not just one family
But a family of man
Come on, Abel!
[ADAM]
Abel! If you go now, you will never see me again
[ABEL]
Oh Cain, please don't make me choose
Either way, it's more than I could bear to lose
Either way, it's ripping out my heart
This choice is tearing me apart
[CAIN]
Is this what it means to be a father?
Crushing the spirit of your children like an egg
Is that what it means to be a father?
Binding them to you with a chain around the leg!