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from Act I of the English opera The Mikado by Arthur Sullivan
Libretto: W.S. Gilbert

Role: Nanki-Poo
Voice Part: tenor       Fach: lyric tenor
Setting: The courtyard of the palace of Ko-Ko.
Synopsis: Nanki-Poo explains to the lords of Titipu his job as a wandering ministrel and describes his large range of skills.
Range: Tessitura:
not enterednot entered
Translations/Aria Texts:
Libretto entered by Elise Curran (added 1998-10-04)
A Wand'ring Minstrel I, Nanki Poo's aria from The Mikado

A wand'ring minstrel I--a thing of shreds and patches,
of ballads, songs, and snatches, and dreamy lullaby!
My catalogue is long, through every passion ranging,
and to your humours changing I tune my supple song!

Are you in sentimental mood?  
I'll sigh with you,---Oh, sorrow, sorrow!
On maiden's coldness do you brood?
I'll do so, too---Oh, sorrow, sorrow!
I'll charm your willing ears with songs of lover's fears,
While sympathetic tears my cheeks bedew---Oh, sorrow, sorrow!

But if patriotic sentiment is wanted,
I've patriotic ballads cut and dried;
For where'er our country's banners may be planted,
all other local banners are defied!
Our warriors, in serried ranks assembled,
never quail--or they conceal it if they do--
and I shouldn't be surprised if nations trembled
before the mighty troops of Titipu!

chor:  We shouldn't be surprised if nations trembled in alarm
          before the mighty troops of Titipu!

And if you call for a song of the sea,
we'll heave the capstan round,
with a yeo heave ho, for the wind is free,
her anchor's a-trip, and her helm's a-lee,
hurrah for the homeward bound!

chor:  Yeo-ho----heave-ho, hurrah for the homeward bound!

To lay aloft in a howling breeze
may tickle a landsman's taste,
but the happiest hour a sailor sees
is when he's down at an inland town
with his Nancy on his knees--yeo ho!
and his arm around her waist!

chor:  Then man the capstan--off we go, as the fiddler swings us round,
          With a yeo heave ho, and a rumbelow, hurrah for the homeward bound!

A wand'ring minstrel I--a thing of shreds and patches,
of ballads, songs, and snatches, and dreamy lullaby!
Lullaby!
Sounds:
none
Sheet Music/Scores:
The Ultimate Tenor Aria Album (Version 2.0). Published by CD Sheet Music. Available at Amazon.com and Sheetmusicplus.com.
Recordings:
none
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