Go and Catch a Falling Star [Overlap]

[Adapted from John Donne’s poem “Go and Catch a Falling Star”] [Performed by the Velvet Abyss Barbershop Quartet] [Spoken Word] “Go… and catch a falling star, Wonder at the impossible, the unattainable… and love’s cruel truth.” [Verse 1: Quartet in Full Harmony] Go and catch a falling star, Get with child a mandrake root, Tell me where all past years are, Or who cleft the Devil’s foot. If you can find what’s strange and rare, Why hear the mermaids’ song in air. [Chorus: Upbeat and Layered] [Baritone]: “True love’s a dream!” [Bass]: “A dream!” [Tenor]: “A fleeting gleam!” [Lead]: “Oh, love’s a dream, a fleeting gleam, no one can claim!” [All Together]”No one can claim!” [Verse 2: Softer, With Bass Highlight] Ride ten thousand days and nights, Till age and snow-white hairs appear, You’ll swear no woman’s faithful plight, Not in this world, not anywhere. Though you meet her, pure and fair, Truth and trust will vanish there. [Chorus: Layered with Growing Intensity] [Baritone]: “True love’s a lie!” [Bass]: “A lie!” [Tenor]: “A whispered sigh!” [Lead]: “Oh, love’s a lie, a whispered sigh, that fades and dies!” [All Together]: “That fades and dies!” [Bridge: Spoken Word] “So tell me, friend, if you have seen, A love so pure, untouched, serene. It’s a fable, a fleeting spark, Lost forever in the dark.” [Final Verse: Slow and Dramatic] Go and catch a falling star, But truth will crush your tender heart. Love’s a trick, a bitter game, A fleeting glow that burns to flame. (All Together) And leaves… only… ash… [Outro: A Hum of Haunting Chords, Soft humming, fading into silence, as if the echoes linger in the smoky air.] [End]