The Mikado by W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan

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No. 12: Duet (Katisha & Ko-Ko)
"There is beauty in the bellow of the blast"

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Katisha.

There is beauty in the bellow of the blast,
There is grandeur in the growling of the gale,
There is eloquent outpouring
When the lion is a-roaring,
And the tiger is a-lashing of his tail!

Ko-Ko.

Yes, I like to see a tiger
From the Congo or the Niger,
And especially when lashing of his tail!

Katisha.

Volcanoes have a splendour that is grim,
And earthquakes only terrify the dolts,
But to him who's scientific
There's nothing that's terrific
In the falling of a flight of thunderbolts!

Ko-Ko.

Yes, in spite of all my meekness,
If I have a little weakness,
It's a passion for a flight of thunderbolts!

Click on picture to enlarge — Henry Lytton & Bertha Lewis, c. 1920

Both.

If that is so,
Sing derry down derry!
It's evident, very,
Our tastes are one.
Away we'll go,
And merrily marry,
Nor tardily tarry
Till day is done!

Ko-Ko.

There is beauty in extreme old age —
Do you fancy you are elderly enough?
Information I'm requesting
On a subject interesting:
Is a maiden all the better when she's tough?

Katisha.

Throughout this wide dominion
It's the general opinion
That she'll last a good deal longer when she's tough.

Ko-Ko.

Are you old enough to marry, do you think?
Won't you wait till you are eighty in the shade?
There's a fascination frantic
In a ruin that's romantic;
Do you think you are sufficiently decayed?

Katisha.

To the matter that you mention
I have given some attention,
And I think I am sufficiently decayed.

Both.

If that is so,
Sing derry down derry!
It's evident, very,
Our tastes are one.
Away we'll go,
And merrily marry,
Nor tardily tarry
Till day is done!

Sing derry down derry!
We'll merrily marry,
Nor tardily tarry
Till day is done!

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