Lyrics

(Paris. Montmartre. Just after the second world war The Ministry of Post. DUSOLEIL, a minor civil servant, types while his four colleagues sing:) [EMPLOYEES] Oh, life is thoroughly delightful Stuck in the office all day long [BERTRAND AND CHARLES] You might expect it to be frightful [CLAIRE AND MADELEINE] But, on the whole, you would be wrong [EMPLOYEES] Oh, what a lovely sense of freedom [BERTRAND] Hundreds of letters flooding in [BERTRAND AND CHARLES] Nobody ever gets to read'em They go directly in the bin [EMPLOYEES] Yes, in the bin So, life is marvelously simple No intervention from the boss [CLAIRE] Am I dеveloping a pimple? [BERTRAND] I'm stuck on 25 across! [EMPLOYEES] That's what we do, and who can blamе us? That's how we make it through the day Still, someone manages to shame us Who's always scribbling away? It's Dusoleil! [CLAIRE AND MADELEINE] While we're relaxing, what does he do? [BERTRAND AND CHARLES] Works through his lunch break and his tea [CLAIRE AND BERTRAND] He's doing twice as much as we do [EMPLOYEES] Boy, he's a busy little bee! [BERTRAND AND CHARLES] Oh, it is clear [EMPLOYEES] That we dislike him Strangely, he never says a word [CLAIRE AND MADELEINE] Difficult not to want to strike him [BERTRAND AND CHARLES] Well, what the hell He's just a nerd! [EMPLOYEES] The office nerd! [DUSOLEIL] (typing) "Dear Mama, it's been ages since I dropped a line to you I wrote to you on Wednesday, and I know today is Friday But the office has been crazy with a thousand things to do So everything's been busy And my head is going dizzy I'm as jumpy as a monkey in a zoo But though it's nearly five o'clock, and I have found the time to write to you It's really yours sincerely who's been doing all the work As usual, the others have been driving me berserk By shirking Not working Their dedication's minimal, they're criminally slow And counting off the minutes til it's time for them to go." [BERTRAND] It's two minutes to five! [DUSOLEIL] "The reason it's so busy here is simple to relate You know Monsieur Lacrosse? The man who's always been the boss Well, he is leaving here today As he is over sixty-eight He's like a mad professor And I'm hoping his successor Is a little more severe and less sedate And apropos the other questions that you asked about my life Yes, my cat is doing fine, and no, I haven't found a wife You ask me if I'm seeing someone - in a sense I am I'm gazing In wonder At someone unattainable whom I don't even know I've seen her in the square, but never dare to say hello With filial devotion, your son, Marcel Dusoleil Dated 1950 on the 25th of May."