No Place Like London is the second song of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street and first to contain lyrics.
Role[]
The scene shows Anthony Hope and Sweeney Todd arriving by ship in a London harbor. For Anthony, this is assumingly his first visit to London, and he paints it in a romantic, idealistic tone. But for Sweeney, it's an uneasy return to a place that he once called home after spending fifteen years in exile on a false charge. Sweeney has nothing but contempt for the city, as evidenced by his dark reprise of Anthony's hopeful lyrics.
Lyrics[]
ANTHONY:
I have sailed the world, beheld its wonders
From the Dardanelles to the mountains of Peru,
But there's no place like London!
SWEENEY:
No, there's no place like London...
ANTHONY:
"Mr. Todd?"
SWEENEY:
You are young.
Life has been kind to you.
You will learn.
There's a hole in the world like a great black pit
And the vermin of the world inhabit it
And its morals aren't worth what a pig could spit
And it goes by the name of London.
At the top of the hole sit a privileged few,
Making mock of the vermin in the lower zoo,
Turning beauty into filth and greed;
I too have sailed the world and seen its wonders
For the cruelty of men is as wondrous as Peru,
But there's no place like London...
ANTHONY:
"Is everything all right, Mr. Todd?"
SWEENEY:
"I beg your indulgence, Anthony. My mind is far from easy.
In these once familiar streets, I feel shadows...everywhere."
ANTHONY:
"Shadows?"
SWEENEY:
"Ghosts."
There was a barber and his wife,
And she was beautiful.
A foolish barber and his wife,
She was his reason and his life,
And she was beautiful,
And she was virtuous,
And he was...naive...
There was another man who saw
That she was beautiful.
A pious vulture of the law,
Who, with a gesture of his claw,
Removed the barber from his plate,
Then there was nothing but to wait,
And she would fall,
So soft,
So young,
So lost,
And oh so beautiful!
ANTHONY:
"And the lady, sir...did she succumb?"
SWEENEY:
Oh, that was many years ago.
I doubt if anyone would know.
"I'd like to thank you, Anthony. If you hadn't spotted me, I'd be lost on the ocean still..."
ANTHONY:
"Will I see you again?"
SWEENEY:
"You may find me if you like.
Around Fleet Street, I wouldn't wonder."
ANTHONY: "Until then, my friend."
SWEENEY:
There's a hole in the world like a great black pit
And it's filled with people who are filled with shit
And the vermin of the world inhabit it...