"Empty Chairs at Empty Tables" | |
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"Empty Chairs at Empty Tables" is Marius' solo after the battle. Sitting alone at the café, knowing he's the only one to survive, other than Jean Valjean, he regrets and reminisces the loss of his friends.
The lyrics were written by Herbert Kretzmer.
Lyrics[]
[Marius is sitting alone in the cafe.]
Marius:
There's a grief that can't be spoken
There's a pain goes on and on
Empty chairs at empty tables
Now my friends are dead and gone
Here they talked of revolution
Here it was they lit the flame
Here they sang about tomorrow
And tomorrow never came
From the table in the corner
They could see a world reborn
And they rose with voices ringing
And I can hear them now
The very words that they had sung
Became their last communion
On the lonely barricade at dawn
[Marius imagines Enjolras and the students around him once again.]
Oh, my friends, my friends, forgive me
That I live and you are gone
There's a grief that can't be spoken
There's a pain goes on and on
Phantom faces at the window
Phantom shadows on the floor
Empty chairs at empty tables
Where my friends will meet no more
Oh, my friends, my friends, don't ask me
What your sacrifice was for
Empty chairs at empty tables
Where my friends will sing no more
Trivia[]
- The song uses similar tunes from Prologue: Valjean Arrested, Valjean Forgiven.
- In the Polish version the track is called: "Pusty stół i puste krzesła", what means: "Empty table and empty chairs"
- In the original French version the song doesn't appear.
- In 1991 Parisian Revival Version the song is titled: "Seul devant ces tables vides", which means "Alone in Front of These Empty Tables"
- In the 2012 movie, the spirits of Enjolras and the students do not appear during this song.