The Winds May Take You

The Winds May Take You

(A theoretical missing song from H.M.S. Pinafore)

SCENE. The quarterdeck of H.M.S. Pinafore. Sailors lounge about. Ralph Rackstraw stands apart. Enter Josephine.

JOSEPHINE:

Ralph, you forget yourself. This presumption cannot be endured. You are beneath me.

RALPH:

Madam, I had supposed affection might elevate us both.

JOSEPHINE:

It cannot. The gulf between us is fixed.

RALPH:

Then I shall not attempt to cross it.

(He bows with quiet dignity.)

VerseYou say that I am lowly and my rank is far too small
That birth and proper breeding are the truest marks of all
But I have heard a doctrine that I venture to prefer
That worth is not a title nor a coronet nor spur

ChorusSo go your way where the trade winds blow
Where the polished people preen and show
You may have rank and a grand display
I'll take a heart that can find its way

VerseYou speak of condescension as a kindness I should prize
But charity from hauteur is a thinly veiled disguise
If love must ask permission from a ledger or a name
Then keep your gilded favor I decline it all the same

ChorusSo go your way where the trade winds blow
Where the titled breezes come and go
You may be queen of a narrow sea
But you are quite too small for me

BridgeFor a man may be a sailor and a modest one at that
Yet possess a certain quality no rank can make or pat
And if you cannot value what is plain for all to see
Then I'll wish you pleasant sailing
But you'll not be sailing with me

OutroSo go your way where the trade winds blow
And leave me here with what I know
A steady course a simple plea
A heart unranked and running free

(During the final refrain, Ralph indicates the gangway with courteous finality. The sailors exchange delighted glances.)

JOSEPHINE:

He rejects me! And with propriety!

FIRST SAILOR:

A most superior article, when he chooses!

JOSEPHINE:

This is insupportable... and yet remarkably well expressed.

(She withdraws. Ralph remains composed but thoughtful as the sailors gather about him.)

CHORUS OF SAILORS:

A heart unranked and running free!