H.M.S. Pinafore; Or, The Lass That Loved A Sailor-W. S. Gilbert

ACT I. h m s pinafore or the lass that loved a sailor libretto by william s gilbert music by sir arthur sullivan dramatis person the right honourable sir joseph porter k c b first lord of the admiralty captain corcoran commanding h m s pinafore tom tucker midshipman ray frackstraw able seaman dick deadeye able seaman bill bobstay boatswain's mate bob becket carpenter's mate josephine the captain's daughter hebe sir joseph porter's first cousin mrs cripps little buttercup a portsmouth bumboat woman first lords sisters his cousins his aunts sailors marines c scene quarter-deck of h m s pinafore off portsmouth act one noon act two night first produced at the opera comique on may twenty fifth eighteen seventy eight act i scene quarter-deck of h m s pinafore sailors led by boatswain discovered cleaning brass work splicing rope etc chorus we sail the ocean blue and our saucy ships a beauty we're sober men and true and attentive to our duty when the balls whistle free o'er the bright blue sea we stand to our guns all day when at anchor we ride on the portsmouth tide we have plenty of time to play enter little buttercup with large basket on her arm recitative hail men of wars men safeguards of your nation here is an end at last of all privation you've got your play spare all you can afford to welcome little buttercup on board aria for i'm called little buttercup dear little buttercup though i could never tell why but still i'm called buttercup poor little buttercup sweet little buttercup i i've snuff and tobaccy and excellent jacky i've scissors and watches and knives i've ribbons and laces to set off the faces of pretty young sweethearts and wives i've treacle and toffee i've tea and i've coffee soft tommy and succulent chops i've chicken and conies and pretty polonies and excellent peppermint drops then buy of your buttercup dear little buttercup sailors should never be shy so buy of your buttercup poor little buttercup come of your buttercup i little buttercup and well called for you're the rosiest the roundest and the reddest beauty in all spithead buttercup red am i and round and rosy maybe for i have dissembled well but hark ye my merry friend hast ever thought that beneath a gay and frivolous exterior there may lurk a canker-worm which is slowly but surely eating its way into one's very heart boatswain no my lass i can't say i've ever thought that enter dick deadeye he pushes through sailors and comes down dick deadeye i have thought it often all recoil from him buttercup yes you look like it what's the matter with the man isn't he well boatswain don't take no heed o him that's only poor dick dick i say it's a beast of a name ain't it dick buttercup it's not a nice name dick i'm ugly too ain't i buttercup you are certainly plain Dick Deadeye, and I'm three-cornered too, ain't I? Buttercup, you are rather triangular.