KRISTINA

AT CARNEGIE HALL

1.01 OVERTURE (Prolog)

This is the story of a group of people

who in 1850 left their homes in Ljuder
in the province of Småland, Sweden,
and emigrated to North America.

They were the first of many to leave

and their names can still be read
on the crumbling tombstones
erected thousands of miles from
the places where they were born.

The tale of their emigration is now

part of saga and legend.

1.02 PATH OF LEAVES AND NEEDLES (Duvemåla Hage)

DUVEMÅLA 1844

Almost at the bottom of the garden

there's a ' Summer Rose' apple tree
and a bit further on behind it - an old gate.
It is Saturday evening and Kristina is waiting there
for her beloved - imagining each step
that brings Karl Oskar closer to her…

Kristina:
I see him leaving Korpamoen
Run the path down to Olsson's Landing
Resting, and not a breath too soon
He can see me from where he's standing

I see him crossing Devil's Glade

Where the giant old oak lies dying
Now he emerges from the shade
Faster now
And his footsteps flying!

Path of Leaves and Needles

Give his heels the spring and bounce to get here
Path of Leaves and Needles
It's been seven long days
Since we met here

And soon he's at Seven Farmers' gate

My most welcome and only caller
I'm early
And he's never late
For his true-love at Duvemåla
 1.03 WHERE YOU GO I GO WITH YOU (Min Lust Till Dig pt.1)

Karl Oskar:
Three years I have waited
For this very moment
Can you guess what I'm about to say?

Kristina:
Please, don't keep me waiting..!

Karl Oskar:
The farm is mine Kristina!
We have a home now
A farm that will feed us and clothe us
We will be married…
That's if you'll still have me?

Kristina:
You know I'll have you!
I've told you Karl Oskar,
I think about you only…
Go ask my father!
He'll give us permission
I know for certain he will

My man - my husband, finally!

I wished for this
All other thoughts forsaken
Now my wish is granted
The dream has come true
Now Where You Go I Go With You

With all my body and my soul

I crave you, each and every breath I'm taking
And I see that eagerness burning in you
Your soul, your heart
Your body too…

[ time passes, and there are wedding celebrations at Korpamoen ]

Wedding Guests:
She is young
But they were made for one another
They're happy
That's easy to see
She will surely be
A proper wife and mother
A worker
She'll have to be!

He will never
Ask for help from any quarter
There's no-one
Who's stubborn as he
He's a farmer's son
And she's a farmer's daughter
They know what
Their life will be
 But isn't she lovely?
Isn't she lively?
Look at her rushing
To and fro
Still a young girl

Yes isn't she lovely?

Look at her smiling
Look at her blushing
Head to toe
Still a young girl

Märta:
You were always such a headstrong boy
And you would never listen..!

Nils:
Since I taught you
That your fly must be unbuttoned
When you're p..! ( pissin' )

( embarrassed, Märta quickly clamps her hand over his mouth! )

Wedding Guests:
She is young
But they were made for one another
They're happy
That's easy to see
She will surely be
A proper wife and mother
A worker
She'll have to be!

But isn't she lovely?

Isn't she lively?
Look at her rushing
To and fro
Still a young girl

Yes isn't she lovely?

Look at her smiling
Look at her blushing
Head to toe
Still a young girl

Everybody knows
That times are getting harder
There's hard days
Ahead for this bride
Won't be easy
Putting something in the larder
She'll need a
Good man by her side
Who will plough
Every acre
And turn every
Stone to provide…
 Kristina:
How I used to beg you
- stay just a little longer with me!

Karl Oskar:
Having to leave you
Was almost unbearable

Kristina:
Every Sunday morning

Karl Oskar:
Stealing away before dawn
Not to wake up your parents

Kristina:
Then, one last kiss…

Karl Oskar:
Always time for that kiss!

Kristina:
Now I'll hold you forever
Always hold you like this

Kristina & Karl Oskar:

With all my body and my soul
I crave you
Each and every breath I'm taking
I am yours from this day
And all our days through
For Where You Go, I'll Go With You

1.04 STONE KINGDOM (Min Lust Till Dig pt.2)

Karl Oskar:
For the past three years
I've been listening to the tune
Of my crowbar striking another stone
The bitter song of Korpamoen
This is my domain
I'm the ruler of the land
Come behold my
Royal kingdom
Here's my subjects:
rock & rubble,
grain & gravel,
stone & shingle…

[ Kristina thinking she's alone, prays quietly… ]

Kristina:
Turn Your Grace upon us Lord
And protect our crops from ruin
And decay
Give us bread this day
Grant us now our harvest
Through Christ Almighty
our Lord
King in Heaven - Amen
[ Karl Oskar sneaks-up close, feeling amorous... ]

Kristina:
Wait..! and listen to me please

Karl Oskar:
What's the matter, something wrong?

Kristina:
I keep thinking about us
…the children going hungry

Karl Oskar:
I don't think I understand

Kristina:
Well, it's just
That if we don't
Then there'll be no new
Little mouths to feed

Karl Oskar:
So you
Would want us to deny
The joy of love
The sweetest joys
Forsaking not to touch
Or feel you
As years pass us by…
And soon the go!
Too soon they fly!

Both:
I feel you breathing peacefully
The two of us
At rest when day is breaking
All my heart I give you
And all my life through, and
Where You Go I Go With You
 1.05 DOWN TO THE SEA (Ut Mot Ett Hav)

Korpamoen is too rocky and barren to support the extended family,

so Robert is sent off to another farm to work for a wealthier landholder.
He dawdles along by a stream as he makes his way there, dreading
what is to come, and wishing for a different life - far, far away…

Karl Oskar -
" Robert, my younger brother. has been told time and time again
by our parents - that it's time he began earning his keep, and I'm not one
to disagree! But Robert, he has no heart for farming. Robert, is a dreamer… "

Robert:
We must not complain!
We who crawl upon the land
Though I sleep on dung
I must hold my tongue
Who cares about a farmer's hand?

I must know my place

Or be beaten for my pains
Shut my mouth and just be grateful
Answer never!

Yet this little stream

Can run its way to freedom
Run away from here, forever…

Down To The Sea

Hurry down, to the sea
Stopping for none
How you run
Little stream
Faster, and faster!

Free
You are free
Not a slave
Not like me
Choosing your way
As you please
At your ease
Your own master

Soon, you will ride

On the crest of a wave
To be one with the sea
Everlasting

On giant shoulders
You'll carry sailors
In tall white galleons
To far horizons

You are going

Where I long to be
Take me there
Little stream
To the sea...
 1.06 A BAD HARVEST (Missväxt)

Robert -
" Kristina is with child again. Karl Oskar, as sensitive as a rhino, tells her
this is ill advised, since they can barely feed the children that they have.

She erupts..!! "

Kristina:
And who are you to chide Almighty God in Heaven?!
Is it His fault you fill my empty womb with seed?

You go about in silence

Sullen and begrudging half the time
And - what is my crime??
You want to punish me
When all I've done is
Make a child
With you - we made these lives together
Bodies face to face
You seem to think that I'm to blame!
When things go wrong it's all my fault
You
Are so unfair!

Karl Oskar:
How can you think you are to blame?
You know I hold the children dear
But I can't help it
I still worry
That the crop may fail again...

Kristina:
Do you love me as you did?

Karl Oskar:
I always have
I really do

Kristina:
Are you saying that to please me?

Karl Oskar:
I'd never dare to lie to you

Kristina:
That is true - you're always honest
I'm just being vain and jumpy
I don't ever mean to blame you

Karl Oskar:
Dear Kristina, how you worry
We will always be together
No-one else we can rely on

Kristina:
Do you want me just as much?
 ( Karl Oskar whispers in her ear )

Kristina:
Goodness!
That's the second time
You speak of love
In one single day
It feels good to hear you say it
Was it just because we quarrelled?

Karl Oskar:
I'm too simple to deceive you

Kristina:
Let's say - I believe you…

[ their daughter approaches, carrying a bundle ]

Anna:
Look here papa, I just found it
Is it dead? It isn't moving
Will I die like this poor bunny?

Karl Oskar:
I'm afraid we all die sometime

Anna:
Maybe we'll all die tomorrow!

Kristina:
It will be a day still distant…

Karl Oskar:
She's smart, that child
Beyond her tender years
Our Anna is a most remarkable girl

Kristina:
She watches you, she always follows you
And you're so proud...

Karl Oskar:
But what's her future to be?

Last year there were rainstorms

They drowned the harvest
This year itʼs drier than hell
We cry out for water!

What now of your Saviour?

Why do we hunger?
Are we just dirt in his hands?
Just lambs to the slaughter?

Come look at the harvest

See what I've got here
These straws, these hairs of a cat
Come count them for yourself
We've got your precious Lord to thank for that!!
 Kristina:
Watch what you're saying!

Karl Oskar:
I throw them back in Your face
Let's see how He likes it!

[ lightning crashes into their storage barn ]

Kristina:
God help you for those words Karl Oskar!

Karl Oskar:
The barn! It's on fire!!

[ famine is stalking the land, there is a comet in the night-sky

and there is hardship all around ]

Neighbours:
Now everywhere we look is dark
And we have seen the signs
Of coming danger - Omens of despair
Across the land all Winter long
The signs were deadly
All of Spring was dry as tinder, cold as sin

And then the driest yet of thirty Summers

No sign of rain, the earth is gasping in the heat
The grass in the meadows turns pale and sickly
And as the grass falls away
So too does the livestock

The hills and the valleys turned dark and tawny

Foretelling what was to come: disaster and famine
What good is our labour?
Our toil and trouble?
They're good for nothing
Our Lord has given us nothing

Kristina:
So proud and so haughty are you, Karl Oskar
I don't know one who compares
It seems you think that you can curse at God
And then just forget it!
Now we are punished
You threw it back in His face
He taught you a lesson…

Well, how do you like it..?!!

 1.07 NO! (Nej)

Robert has run away from his Master on the nearby estate.
He returns home badly beaten, and bleeding from the ear
where he was punched…

Kristina:
My God! Dear Robert, how you're bleeding?
Your face all raw and running red
Come here and let me take a look at you
Come rest your head

Robert:
He struck me down without a reason
That's been his way right from the start
My Master has no pity for the weak
He has no heart

Karl Oskar:
I'll make him curse the times
He raised his arm against you
For every stroke he gave you
I will land him ten!
To strike a boy of fifteen
Shame the name of Nilsson

Karl Oskar & Kristina:

By Christ you'll never have to work for him again!

Robert:
No more I'll bend before a Master
Nor spend my life in fear of tyrants
This is a solemn oath I swear
And there's no turning back

You must help me now Karl Oskar

Karl Oskar:
Tell me, what is it you want me to do?

Robert:
I want my share of the inheritance
I'm going to America…

[ Kristina chuckles out loud in shock, and looks to her husband

but the Nilsson brothers, they're not joking around… ]

Robert:
You think I'm lying, like you always do dear brother

Karl Oskar:
I thought I knew you boy, but little did I know
For once it seems we're in agreement with each other
Yes, that's exactly where I plan for us to go!
 Kristina:
No..!

Karl Oskar:
In America
I tell you
No one's ever hungry
Children never thin

Robert:
In America there's fortune
Streets are paved with gold there

Kristina:
No..!

Robert:
In America is treasure
More than you can hold there

Karl Oskar:
America
They sell you
Land for half a dollar
Pay it and you're in!

the Nilsson brothers to Kristina:

Now tell me that you want to go

Kristina:
Wolves eat the children
Snakes bite the ploughmen
Savage Indians roaming through the forests
Round these parts
There is nobody talks of leaving

Karl Oskar and Robert:

Someone has to take the lead
In every new endeavour
Nothing is impossible
For men who share a vision
Who'd have thought the two of us
Would be in this together
Making independently
The very same decision

Kristina:
It's not to the neighbouring Parish
or some other part of this country,
Not even a place on this continent you want to go
No! you have to move to a New World
It could be the Moon
It's as crazy as that, it's a pipedream
As any sane person would know

Karl Oskar:
I've made my decision, I know what I'm doing

Kristina:
Decide all you want to, I'm saying
 Kristina:
No..!

Robert:
In America
I tell you
No one's ever hungry
Children never thin

Karl Oskar:
In America there's fortune
Streets are paved with gold there

Kristina:
No..!

Karl Oskar:
In America is treasure
More than you can hold there

Robert:
America
They sell you
Land for half a dollar
Pay it and you're in!

the Nilsson brothers to Kristina:

Now tell us yes, you want to go

Kristina:
Heavens, how little you both know!

Karl Oskar & Robert :

Come on, confess you want to go

Kristina:
You've got my answer and it's - No!

[ Kristina prays… ]

Kristina -
" Dear God… "

Kristina:
All the ships that have gone down
All the bodies lying down there in the deep
Eaten by the whales, and the ocean monsters
Save us from these, Almighty Saviour Jesus.
Amen.

Kristina -
" I must ask Uncle Danjel's advice… "
 1.08 HE'S OUR PILOT (Lilla Skara)

The state church has a monopoly on religion. Its clergymen

are the only lawful interpreters of the Holy Scriptures. Those
who gather to worship in private houses are persecuted.
Like Danjel and his flock.

Danjel & Congregation:

He's our Pilot
He knows the way of the Lord
Pray that the Son of God will hear us
And take us on board

He's our Pilot

Jesus the Saviour of souls
We are His crew and He will steer us
Through breakers and shoals

Hoist the sails!

By the breath of God our little ship is driven
Hoist the sails!
We're going on a journey to a distant shore
There all our sins will be forgiven
And we'll sin no more

Hoist the sails!

Tie the knots and coil the ropes the way he taught us
Hoist the sails!
And on the other shore we'll kneel upon the sand
There we will worship Him who brought us
To our promised land

Our Pilot
Soon all our troubles are through

Danjel:
Jesus will be our chart and compass

All:
And we are His crew
 1.09 NEVER (Aldrig)

Ulrika -
' My name is Ulrika. I was the parish whore. They call me - the "Happy-One".
That's because I never let the bastards see my tears!
The good Danjel took me in, when no-one else would - least of all the Church.
He has driven the Devil out of me, and my sins are forgiven.
Jesus has washed me clean, and I will never let my daughter suffer, as I have…"

Ulrika:
You who so despise me
Mock me and chastise me
You who call me harlot and whore
You make me strong again

Righteous congregation
Pillars of the nation
I am in your debt evermore
Your scorn is my salvation

Here… they laugh, they point, they turn away

Here, I die by inches every day
Dying of service
Dying of judgments
Guilty as charged - let justice be done

Never!
Shall my girl oblige a pleasure-seeker
Not like me, the one they call Ulrika
Ulrika - the "Happy-One"…

Men came in the darkness

Scratching at my window
Men I know by sight, and by name
They bought their share of me

Councillors and Churchmen

How they came a-wooing
Stealing home in silence, and shame
Their shame is my renewing

Here… I find my path, I see my aim

Here, my steal is tested in the flame
I swear I'll take you
Far from their laughter
Now and hereafter - I'll see it done

Never!
Shall they scorn you as they scorn your mother
You will know your joys like any other
As God is my witness…

Never!

Never…

So swears Ulrika - the "Happy-One"…

 1.10 GOLDEN WHEATFIELDS (Kom Till Mig Alla pt.1)

Kristina -
' There'll be no peace for me this Winter. He talks of nothing but America… "

Kristina:
I'll never understand
A single word that they are saying
Completely green I'd land
A stranger in a land of strangers
Heaven knows what dangers we'd be facing
All adrift and so alone

And if you go you know

You choose a road of no returning
No turning back again
Except to see your bridges burning
Family and nation
You'll be spurning everything you've ever know

Karl Oskar:
Golden wheat fields
To the horizon
'Neath heavens blue...

Kristina:
If now we hunger
God alone must know the cause and reason
For every thing alive
There is a time, there is a season
Providence is merciful
God will not let us call on him in vain

Karl Oskar:
Empty parries
I hear them calling…

Kristina & Karl Oskar's Parents:

You'll never understand
A single word that they are saying
Completely green you'd land
A stranger in a land of strangers
Heaven knows what dangers you'd be facing
All adrift and so alone

Ulrika -
" The Winter has been hard. Famine stalks us all, but they still prepare for a celebration,
for a Christening at Korpamoen.
Kristina, with a little barley-corn she had hidden away, makes a porridge - sweet and fragrant,
and asks her oldest daughter to set it in the cellar, to cool…
Poor Anna!
Her mother says ' set it to cool, but don't touch it! ' - but the smell is irresistible,
and she can't help but taste it!
Soon she has eaten far too much, and her poor stomach shrunken by the Winter's famine
swells like a drum.
After an endless night of agony - she dies… "
1.11 ALL WHO ARE GRIEVING (Kom Till Mig Alla pt.2)

Karl Oscar and Kristina lay poor Anna to eternal rest…

[ America calls to the Mourners ]

All who are grieving

All who are hurting
All you who suffer
Come, take shelter

Here lies your harbour

Here lies your haven
All who go hungry
Come, share the harvest

Mourners:
From 'cross the ocean
Voices calling
" Come, share the harvest… "

[ America calls to the Mourners ]

Empty lands await your ploughshares

Waiting for you out here to
Feed your hunger
A refuge from sorrow

Here there is welcome

Here ends your sorrow
Here I raise my lantern
Here waits tomorrow!

Mourners:
Millions of raindrops
Swell the current
Mighty the river

The word is spread

From neighbour to neighbour
They turn their eyes
To frontiers unknown
A dream is born
Forever is growing
And the seed is sown...
 1.12 WE OPEN UP THE GATEWAYS (Vi Öppnar Alla Grindar)

Kristina -
' …if God chooses to bury our little ones while we are on solid ground,
then, surely, they are as safe on the wild sea… "

Brusander:
Now surely you know that
The country you go to
Is ruled by the Law of the Heathen
It's a land of deceivers..!
Hear me out Kristina,
Their nation is Godless
Their prophets are pagan
And never true-believers

Robert:
They say it's a country where no man is Master

Karl Oskar:
Where farmers like me can look forward to the harvesting-season

Kristina:
With a heavy-heart I will go with my husband
I go for the children, and that's my only reason

Brusander:
Fifty years from today there will be no America you know..!

Sheriff:
Yes America it will have disappeared fifty years from this day..!

Brusander:
Just you mark my words - you'll be sorry if you go

Kristina, Karl Oskar and Robert:

There is nothing to add we are leaving whatever you say

[ in the background, America calls to them ]

America:
[ So come… ]

Emigrants:
We open up the gateway

America:
[ Come… ]

Emigrants:
We've started on the quest

America:
[ Come, fill the harbour ]

Emigrants:
The stories of America encourage and inspire
 America:
[ Yes come… ]

Emigrants:
We open up the gateway

America:
[ Come… ]

Emigrants:
It opens to the West

America:
[ Come, fill the harbour ]

Emigrants:
The promise of a second chance Is spreading like a fire

Brusander:
( to Danjel )
This country you go to is full of pretenders
They bow to their idols
All they seek is trifles and treasure
( to Ulrika )
There Ulrika men always yield to desire
A land full of lewdness, lechery and pleasure..!

Danjel:
I trust in my God, He will lead me to freedom
He'll light-up my path, I'm relying on the signs that He shows me

Ulrika:
I must get away from these backstabbing lechers
And start 'good-as-new' in a place where no-one knows me

Brusander:
Fifty years from today you will see how America will fail..!

Sheriff, Schoolmaster and Churchwarden:

Yes America it will have been erased fifty years from this day..!

Brusander:
Just you mark my words - you'll be sorry if you sail

Emigrants:
There is no more to add we are leaving whatever you say

America:
[ So come… ]

Emigrants:
We open up the gateway

America:
[ Come… ]

Emigrants:
We've started on the quest
 America:
[ Come, fill the harbour ]

Emigrants:
The stories of America encourage and inspire

America:
[ Yes come… ]

Emigrants:
We open up the gateway

America:
[ Come… ]

Emigrants:
It opens to the West

America:
[ Come, fill the harbour ]

Emigrants:
The promise of a second chance
Is spreading like a fire

It's a slow and hesitant beginning

In a Land of Little-Change
Hard to summon-up the steel to brave a world unknown
And the thought of breaking-off with home
Is unfamiliar and strange
Yet, so many risk their lives,
And everything they own

America:
[ So come… ]

Emigrants:
We open up the gateway

America:
[ Come… ]

Emigrants:
A mighty river flows

America:
[ Come, fill the harbour ]

Emigrants:
The promise of a better life
Has set a world in motion

America:
[ Yes come… ]

Emigrants:
We open up the gateway

America:
[ Come… ]
 Emigrants:
The mighty river grows

America:
[ Come, fill the harbour ]

Emigrants:
The tide has turned
And time has come to reach across the Ocean

------------------------------------------------

The following is an extract from Moberg's "Utvandrarna" novel:

THE FIRST EMIGRANTS

From Ljuder Parish, left their homes on 4th April 1850.

KARL OSCAR NILSSON - homeowner, 27.

KRISTINA JOHANSDOTTER - his wife, 25.

Their children: JOHAN 4; LILL-MÄRTA 3; HARALD 1.

ROBERT NILSSON - farmhand, 17.

DANJEL ANDREASSON - homeowner, 46.

INGA-LENA - his wife, 40.

Their children: SVEN 14; OLOF 11; FINA 7; EVA 5 months.

ARVID PETTERSSON - their servant, 25.

UNMARRIED ULRIKA of VÄSTERGÖHL - status unknown,37.

ELIN - her daughter, 16.

JONAS PETTER ALBREKTSSON - homeowner, 48.

WHY THEY EMMIGRATED…

KARL OSCAR: I seek a land where through my work I can help myself and mine.

KRISTINA: I go with my husband, but I do so with hesitation and half in regret.

ROBERT: I do not like masters.

DANJEL: I wish to freely confess the God of the twelve apostles,

in the land He shall show me.

INGA-LENA: "Whither thou goest, I will go; where thou diest will I die,
and there will I be buried."

ARVID: I want to get away from my 'reputation' as "Bull of Nybacken". *

(*he was accused of getting a white heifer pregnant!, it became the village joke)

ULRIKA: Sweden - this hellhole!

ELIN: My mother has told me…

JONAS PETTER of HÄSTEBÄCK: I can no longer endure cohabitation with my wife Brita-Stafva;
from now on let happen to me what may.
 1.13 PEASANTS AT SEA (Bönder På Havet)

The brig Charlotta is leaving the harbour of Karlshamn, Sweden, and a

small number of emigrants have gathered in her stern. As they feel the deck
rolling under their feet they see the last of their country disappearing in the fog.

Peasants at Sea:
Where we came from
We saw mountains, woods and valleys

Ulrika -
" On this tiny ship, we are herded together like cattle, and I suspect that that's
what we are to the crew. At night, Karl Oskar has to sleep in the Unmarried Men's
quarters - separated from Kristina and the children, like a bull from the cows.
Those are the ship rules… "

Peasants at Sea:
On this journey
Day in day out
All we see is deep dark water

Kristina:
How the cold wind blows
How the distance gores
When we are apart

Ulrika -
" I can see that it puts a strain on Karl Oskar, not to be able to be there for his
wife and children, during those long, stormy nights… "

Karl Oskar:
How the cold wind blows
How the distance gores
When we are apart

Ulrika -
" I feel pity for him, but Kristina? No! I can't stand that woman!
Always her nose in the air when she sees me, like she was better than me
- the old whore! One morning, I see her fumbling with her clothes..! "

[ Ulrika walks up to Kristina ]

Ulrika -
" It's you! You've infested us all with lice!
 1.14 LICE (Löss)

Ulrika -
" We're going to settle this right now Kristina from Korpamoen! "

Ulrika:
Listen to this creature here
Always so polite and nice
Dares to tell me I've got lice
Ask my pardon on your knees!

Kristina:
Not 'til Hell begins to freeze!

Kneel to you - I'd sooner die

I'll embrace the Devil first!

Ulrika:
Listen to your blasphemies
Don't you care if you are cursed?

Danjel:
Silence! In the name of peace

Ulrika:
She must take it back, I say
Every lying word of it
Once upon a time, perhaps
I was young and strayed a bit
Only had myself to blame
Jesus saved me from my shame

Kristina:
And "the Happy-One" 's your name

Ulrika:
I will show the lot of you
There's not a single louse on me
You look me over all you like
And not a bloody louse you'll see

Kristina:
Well you are shaming
Every woman here
You wanton woman
You are crazy

Ulrika:
You're the one who has accused me

Ulrika & Kristina:

May the Lord above forgive you!

Ulrika -
" Inga-Lena will be my witness - she can examine my clothes! "
 Fina-Kajsa:
Speaking of lice! - do you know how the louse was created?

Here's that story now

Let me tell you how
Once the Lord came down to earth
And was harassed by a
Beggar in the street

Emigrants:
What did the Lord say?

Fina-Kajsa:
" Get yourself a job! "
said Almighty God
" I'm afraid that's not for me, good Sir
A krona, oh please - I gotta eat! "

Emigrants:
What did the Lord do?

Fina-Kajsa:
Never in the mood to carp or cavil
God Almighty grabbed a fist of gravel
Flung all of it upon the sluggard
Who was stunned and shouted:
" I'll be buggered! "

Fina-Kajsa & Emigrants:

Every bit o' gravel as it hit him
Turned into a little louse
That bit him
" Scratch 'til you drop! " the good Lord stated
That is how the louse was first created!

Ulrika:
Tell them all I spoke the truth
Did you see a sign of lice
Anywhere upon my skin?
Tell them all what you have seen

Inga-Lena:
She is absolutely clean

Ulrika:
Absolutely clean you hear?
Clean of lice and clean of fleas
( to Kristina )
Now you take back every word
Say you're sorry, if you please
Say you're sorry on your knees

Kristina:
I would sooner rot in hell
Sooner leap into the sea
Kowtow to this Jezebel?
It would be a blasphemy
Don't you dare to talk to me!
 Ulrika:
Thank you for the kind advice

Kristina:
I still think you brought the lice

Ulrika:
Don't you come
The high and mighty
Thinking you're a better class
I ought to scratch
Your eyeballs out
And shove 'em up bloody arse!

Kristina:
Never will I ask your pardon
You are cruel and hard
'n you will never scare me

Ulrika:
You're the one who has accused me

Ulrika & Kristina:

May the Lord above forgive you!

Fina-Kajsa:
You can put some
Lice in a sandwich
To give to a child
Who is hungry
Makes a decent little snack
And he can chew it
A baby can do it
It tastes a bit like toffee

Emigrants:
That's nice. Mmm mmm!

Fina-Kajsa:
Recommend it with a cup of coffee

Fina-Kajsa & Emigrants:

Every one in Sweden longs to get out
Even little lice can't wait to set out
Scratch!
'til you're raw, you'll never beat 'em
Any way you try
You can't defeat 'em
Little parasites who love to chew you
Pesky little mites
They'll chew right through you
Drill through your skin
And then start munchin'
Have you for their breakfast,
Tea and luncheon
Creeping and a-crawling
Pestilential and appalling
Lice!
 1.15 IN THE DEAD OF DARKNESS (Stanna)

The candle has burned out. Karl Oskar is

sitting in the dark listening to Kristina's shallow breath,
as she fights for her life. Stricken by the ship sickness - scurvy.

Karl Oskar:

In the Dead of Darkness

Life will fade behind me
Once I've crossed that threshold
Demons will find me

In the deepest cavern

Huddled in a corner
Above me a dripstone is dripping
And drip-drip
My sanity's slipping

In the Dead of Darkness

There is nowhere to turn
Please, please don't leave me

Men like me imagine

No-one's standing taller
In the Dead of Darkness
No-one is smaller

She wants to forgive me

I who made her suffer
I crushed all resistance
Compulsive and driven
Can I be forgiven?

In the Dead of Darkness

Let the stubborn man burn
Please, please don't leave me

You love me, you told me

Come back then,
Come hold me
I'm lost here without you Kristina!

In the Dead of Darkness

Dear God..!

Let there be light

Lead her to the light

Bring her through…

- the night
 1.16 A SUNDAY IN BATTERY PARK (A Sunday In Battery Park)

Arvid -
" They see AmericaI "

After three months at sea the seekers of new homes have made land.
At Castle Island, New York, they stand again on firm, unshakeable ground
and in the shade of lush elm and maple trees they rest in the Battery Park grass.
Strolling along the riverside the citizens of New York make an unforgettable
impression on the simple country folk.

Americans:
How d'ye do? How are you?
It's a beautiful day
Here in Battery Park
Perfect wouldn't you say?
Everybody is here
Nice to meet you again
Haven't seen you my dear
Not since heaven knows when!

That's a beautiful dress

All done up with a bow
It's the gift of a man
But his wife doesn't know!
Yes there's many a man
Keeps his wife in the dark
As they go for a walk
On the shores of New York
Just an old-fashioned walk
On A Sunday In Battery Park

Danjel:
I thank you Lord on this day of deliverance
For all the suffering you've visited on me
Tell me what I must do
Please help me conquer my fear

Fina-Kajsa:
I have a son up in East Minnesota
Grindstones he says are no good in this country
Thousands of miles I have carried his stone
They don't know how to make 'em out here

Robert:
Look at her Arvid
That ship over there
Soon she sails for California!
Out to the goldfields - imagine that Arvid
To dig for gold and be rich!
[ the din of the crowd, the strange new language, everybody talking at once,
- the simple country folk can't understand a thing..! ]

Americans:
How d'ye do? How are you?
What a heavenly day
Here in Battery Park
Look who's coming this way
It's that rich Mr.Clark
Leads a miserable life
Always under the thumb
Of his Mexican wife

Here comes Sheriff O'Shea

Quite the cock-of-the-walk
He'll be Mayor one day
He'll be boss of New York
He is making his name
He is making his mark
It's a thrill, don't you know
Just to walk to and fro
Make a bit of a show
On a Sunday in Battery park

(and, sung at the same time…)

Immigrant Women:
Look at that pretty skirt
Look at that yellow hat
Aren't they remarkable?
Who wears a hat like that?

Immigrants:
Gibberish
Is their tongue
Can't catch the
Tang of it
Can't make no
Sense of it
Don't get the
Hang of it

We feel numb
Helpless and dumb..!

[ the grindstone that poor Fina-Kajsa has carried all the way from Sweden
falls from the ship with a bang whilst unloading, and sinks into the harbour ]
 1.17 HOME (Hemma)

The Immigrants are sitting in Battery Park as their belongings are unloaded.
Kristina sits on her America-chest and eats an apple Karl-Oscar has bought her.
Kristina's Children want to know - when will they be home…

Johan:
Mamma, I want to go home - aren't we home soon?

[ in background, Kristina gasps, but chuckles sadly... ]

Kristina:
One day when we were on the ocean
Another ship came sailing by
The Swedish colours fluttered from her stern
The people on the deck…

The Immigrants:
Hmm, mmm...

Kristina:
I could see their faces

We sailed in opposite directions

They waved, and I felt so alone
How strange, when I was leaving all behind me
There were others like me going home

Kristina's Children:
Oh mamma, mamma - where is home?

Kristina:
All that I know
Is that there was a place called home
Not long ago

A place where all is peace and quiet

When we have gone to bed at night
I want to make a home for all of us
Away from crushing crowds

The Immigrants:
Hmm, mmm...

Kristina:
This we owe our children
 ( to Johan )
They say that once we cross the grassland
Where bears and prairie creatures roam
The land is rich, we'll find a place to live
That you will learn to love and call our home

Kristina's Children:
Oh mamma, mamma - where is home?

Kristina:
What can I say?

Everyone:
Somewhere where people dance and sing

Kristina:
Midsummer Day

everyone:
Ours is a road that leads away

Kristina:
Never returning

Kristina's Children:
Oh mamma, mamma - where is home?

Kristina:
I thought I knew…

Now we must look for answers

to your question
For I long for home as much as you
 1.18 AMERICAN MAN (Tänk Att Män Som Han Kan Finnas)

On the last day of July, 1850, the immigrants

disembark a paddle steamer in the town of Stillwater
on the shore of the Mississippi tributary St. Croix in
Washington County, Minnesota Territory

Ulrika -
" It is dark, and it is raining, and no-one wants to help us.
In fact, it seems that people are avoiding us at all cost!
Then suddenly, one man steps forward, willing to hold out his hand to a stranger.
At last a friendly face! And polite! He introduces himself as Pastor Jackson.
Well, all the other women are smitten! Well, and perhaps, I too take notice.
Could this be a typical American man..? "

Kristina, Ulrika, Elin & Fina-Kajsa:

Who'd have thought such men existed?

Does the housework unassisted
Sweeps the floor and does the dishes
And his coffee is delicious!

How he's worked, how he's persisted

Who'd have thought such men existed

In this vast amazing land…

You give hope and comfort, and shelter
You give all you can
American Man
Pastor Jackson:
There was never a woman who gave me a glance

Kristina, Ulrika, Elin & Fina-Kajsa:

He has clean-sheets you know, on his bed!

Pastor Jackson:
No, I never dreamed of getting this attention

Kristina, Ulrika, Elin & Fina-Kajsa:

Bet you he bakes his bread!

Pastor Jackson:
Unbelievable! I think they're flirting with me

Kristina, Ulrika, Elin & Fina-Kajsa:

Does he iron his shirts, can it be?

Pastor Jackson:
I don't have a clue, so!
Should I just pretend that I don't see it?
I don't know what to do…
Please tell me that I'm not mistaken
Have to say I'm shaken
She's so attractive,
Oh, I hardly dare to look

Kristina, Ulrika, Elin & Fina-Kajsa:

He can certainly cook
 Pastor Jackson:
To be wanting a wife...

Ulrika:
Lives alone here, I'd say

Pastor Jackson:
To be sharing your life

Ulrika:
Guess he likes it that way…

Kristina, Ulrika, Elin & Fina-Kajsa:

Who'd have thought such men existed?
Such a man can't be resisted
Not a moment does he squander
Was there ever such a wonder?
Makes my eyes come up all misted
Who'd have thought such men existed
In this vast amazing land…
( to Pastor Jackson )
You give hope and comfort, and shelter
You give all you can
American Man

Pastor Jackson:
To be wanting a wife...

Ulrika:
Not a sign of a spouse..?
Pastor Jackson:
To be sharing your life

Ulrika:
It's a bachelor's-house!

Kristina, Ulrika, Elin & Fina-Kajsa:

Who'd have thought such men existed?
Does the housework unassisted
Sweeps the floor and does the dishes
And his coffee is delicious!
How he's worked, how he's persisted
Who'd have thought such men existed
Doesn't fret or make a fuss
He's one of us!
For men and women here now
So it would appear now
They are equals in this land
( to Pastor Jackson )
You give hope and comfort, and shelter
You give all you can
American...

Pastor Jackson:
Thank you God..!!

Kristina, Ulrika, Elin & Fina-Kajsa:

Man..!
1.19 DREAMS OF GOLD (Drömmen Om Guld)

Robert:
We always swore we'd stick together in America
Remember that?

Arvid:
It was a solemn promise!

Robert:
Then I will tell you
All about my secret plan
We're heading West
To dig for gold in California

Arvid:
And you want me to come along

Robert:
And when we've dug our fill
We're going home again
To build a mansion
Where we'll live like country squires!

Robert and Arvid:

There's no farmhand who's done that before

Arvid:
Still and all, it's pleasant here,
Why be in such a hurry…
Robert:
Think of all the poor old wretches
That we've left behind us

Arvid:
They slave all their life for a pittance
They're treated like swine
And they sleep in a sty
Where they scuffle for crumbs
'til the day that they die

Robert:
No, we mustn't end up as paupers

Robert and Arvid:

Our future is in California
And waiting out there
Is a bright shining mountain of gold

Robert:
It knows we are coming

Arvid:
Yes, I hear it calling

Robert:
The sooner the better

Robert and Arvid:

 We're on our way!

Karl Oskar:
The pitiless fight for survival out there
Will be fatal for you
And your whims can only
Lead to disasters

Robert:
Don't you see that scratching for gold
Will be heaven
For one who has worked
For the wickedest of masters

Karl Oskar:
You're too young to make it - just eighteen, remember!

Robert:
At fourteen - remember!
You knew exactly where you were heading

Karl Oskar:
That was back at home
Things were different in Sweden

Robert:
No older than fourteen, you seem to be forgetting

Karl Oskar:
As a child you went reaching for rainbows
I see that you still do

Robert:
All the rich men out in California
Piss into pots made of gold!

[ Arvid & Robert chuckle together at the thought ]

Karl Oskar:
Every word a lie - and so typical of you!

Robert:
They all dawdle about, night and day without shame
So I'm told

Karl Oskar:
So you think you just pick up a spade
And your fortune will be made

Robert:
And when I return, I'll share it with you
Fairly - the brotherly way!

Karl Oskar:
Well you mark my words - you'll regret your escapade

Robert and Arvid:

There is nothing to add, we are leaving whatever you say!
 1.20 SUMMER ROSE (Min Astrakan)

Ulrika -
" Karl Oskar's quest is over, he has found the home of his dreams. On the shores of
Lake Ki Chi Saga, he builds a rough-shanty to shelter them through the Winter.
Here Kristina gives birth, her first child born in America - I am her midwife.
Yes! Here in America in this wilderness, we have put the old ways, and the old hostilities
behind us - forever… "

Kristina:
All is well now, peace at last
You were carried over the sea
Curled-up inside me
Safe and warm as can be

Now that blissful time has passed

You were thrown out into a world
Where you must fend for yourself
Without me

Someday
You'll be wanting to know
Of my life, in that land long ago
Of a home, you'll never see
"Is it still there?" you'll ask me

It is there - in the beat of my heart

It is there, though we're oceans apart

And some day, you may yet learn

How much a true-heart can yearn
In all my dreams I return
To where my apple-tree grows
My precious "Summer Rose"

Kristina & Immigrants:

As you grow
I will teach you the ways
Of my home, in those faraway days
You will ask "is it still there?"
And I will answer - it's there!

It is there - in the beat of my heart

It is there, though we're oceans apart

And some day, you may yet learn

How much a true-heart can burn
In all my dreams I return
To where my apple-tree grows

My precious "Summer Rose"…

 2.01 EMPERORS AND KINGS! (Överheten)

Settlers:
If you wanna be free of Emperors and Kings
Leave the Kings and Emperors behind you
Don't let 'em tie you down and clip your wings
Don't let 'em shackle and bind you

Ulrika:
I was four when the Parish auctioned me away

Settlers:
Shame on those who sold you and who used you

Ulrika:
They were like wolves - and I was easy prey

Settlers:
Shame on the men who abused you

Danjel:
I was giving Communion, I was not ordained

Settlers:
So they jailed you in the name of Jesus

Danjel:
Here I can preach the Gospel unconstrained

Settlers:
Here he can preach what he pleases

Never again will we lower our eyes

Fearing the powers that be
Swallowing sermons from men we despise
Men who command by decree

It's a funny old New World, all is upside down

He who was a pauper can be king here
Given a voice a man can stand his ground
He who was silent can sing here

Fina-Kajsa:
Cry for Anders - my son, for he was all I had

Settlers:
Dragged a grindstone to her son from Sweden

Fina-Kajsa:
But when I found him drink had made him mad

Settlers:
Lost in this Garden of Eden

Karl Oskar:
There is just one regret, one thing I've come to know

Settlers:
 Here we are, and here we'll stay forever

Karl Oskar:
We should have come here many years ago

Settlers:
Later is better than never!

Never again will we lower our eyes

Fearing the powers that be
Swallowing sermons from men we despise
Men who command by decree

If you wanna be free of Emperors and Kings

Leave the Kings and Emperors behind you
Don't let 'em tie you down and clip your wings
Don't let 'em shackle and bind you

[ the little community of Settlers celebrate their joint-effort - they've completed

the building of Karl Oskar's first proper home in the Minnesota Territory ]

----------------------------

[ but standing apart from the celebrations, Kristina is quietly crying - she is thinking
of another home far, far away… ]

Karl Oskar:
Dearest Kristina, please tell me what's wrong?

Kristina:
Pay no attention to me

Danjel:
Maybe it's time for us all to go home
It's been a very long day

Kristina:
What a fool I must seem - forgive me everyone
Please ignore a silly woman weeping

Karl Oskar:
I'm gonna build a bigger house next year!
A house that'll be worth the keeping

[ The Settlers go to their homes, and Karl Oskar heads inside the new house,
leaving Kristina to her thoughts... ]
 2.02 TWILIGHT IMAGES CALLING (Ljusa Kvällar Om Våren)

[ Kristina stands all alone in the evening shadows, remembering the long
extended-twilight hours that begin in the Springtime, in another land
- back home in Sweden… ]

Kristina:
Voices whisper behind me
They remind me every night
Of another existence
Far in the distance it comes in sight

I can see them clear

My folks at the crossroads
Waving, losing a child forever
I see them cry

It's as if they're here

My people of time gone by
They come to me when night is falling
Twilight images calling

[ Karl Oskar comes outside to find her ]

Karl Oskar:
You've been looking all abandoned
And so desolate lately
And it breaks my heart to see it
But I think I know why

Kristina:
I was only just remembering

Karl Oskar:
It's our memories blind us
What you long for lies behind us
In a time long gone by

You know why we came

Let us never forget

Kristina:
Don't you ever dream?
Do you feel no regret?

Kristina & Karl Oskar:

For the past, and for the old folks

Karl Oskar:
It's a child I remember
How she held on to her papa
How he had to let go
 Karl Oskar:
One day they will thank us
Our children, and their children
Because we crossed an ocean

Kristina:
I know they will…

Karl Oskar:
I have an idea
And I think it's one that will cheer you up
I'm going to write to your father back home
I will ask him to send us some apple-seed
Apples from home - from the old Summer Rose
Growing here in your garden!

[ Kristina thanks Karl Oskar for such a thoughtful gesture.

She reassures him that she'll be alright , and says she'll come inside soon
- but her thoughts quickly return to her "Summer Rose" back-home in Sweden… ]

Kristina:
Never will my children
Lie in the green grass where I lay
Never gaze at the same sky
Watching the clouds fly
A summer day

They will never hear

The sounds of my April evenings
Sounds of the long day dying
When day is done
They will never know
This longing at set of sun
That comes to me when night is falling
Twilight images calling
 2.03 QUEEN OF THE PRARIE (Präriens Drottning)

Ulrika -
" Karl Oskar is a good man, but he is as imaginative as a sack of hammers!
So it comes as no surprise to me that he has not bought Kristina a beautiful
new dress for Christmas, but a stove! A stove called the "Queen Of The Prairie".
But seriously, I know Karl Oskar - it is a gift of love, and consideration for Kristina… "

[ There are Christmas celebrations at New Duvemåla ]

Harald:
You be quiet

Johan:
It was your fault

Karl Oskar:
Let her sleep, it's Christmas morning

Harald:
It's a secret

Lill-Märta:
Our secret

Karl Oskar:
I have given her no warning!

Harald:
What a present

Johan:
What a Christmas

Lill-Märta:
I can hardly wait to try it

Karl Oskar:
When I saw it, in the window
I could hardly wait to buy it!

Children:
Don't you think she will faint when she sees it?

Karl Oskar:
She deserves nothing less
For the way she has cared for us all
Heaven knows - she could do with some help

Children:
It's a beauty, it's a wonder

Lill-Märta:
I will keep it new and gleaming

Karl Oskar:
She'll be speechless - for the first time!

Children:
She will think she still is dreaming
 Karl Oskar & Children:
Like a royal lady with a silvery crown
She's such a splendid sight
It's as if an angel fluttering down
Has filled the room with light
It's as if a queen in full array
Upon her throne has come to stay
"Queen Of The Prairie"
For doing us the honour - peace & blessings be upon her
Here on this happy Christmas Day

Kristina:
Dear God! It's heavenly!
What a gift to get out of the blue
And it better all be paid for too?!

Karl Oskar:
"Queen Of The Prairie" is never gonna leave us

Children:
Never ever gonna leave us

Karl Oskar & Children:

Here is a present just for you

[ The Christmas guests begin to arrive... ]

Kristina:
You are welcome

Karl Oskar:
Very welcome

Ulrika:
Snow is high…

Guest:
…and piling higher

Danjel:
I am frozen, to the marrow

Karl Oskar:
Come and sit here by the fire

Thomassen:
I smell women - lovely ladies!

Fina-Kajsa:
Have you ever seen such weather?

Kristina:
When I saw it, well - I tell you
Could've floored me with a feather!

Ulrika:
Well now, what in the world have we got here?
 Karl Oskar:
It's a cast-iron stove and they say it's the best

Kristina:
And "Queen Of The Prairie" is how she's addressed

Ulrika:
Shall I curtsy?

Fina-Kajsa:
Keep you cosy…

Danjel:
God is good to you Karl Oskar

All:
Like a royal lady with a silvery crown
She's such a splendid sight
It's as if an angel fluttering down
Has filled the room with light
Raise a glass of stout and shout hooray
For a lady's here and here to stay
"Queen Of The Prairie"
For doing us the honour - peace & blessings be upon her
Happy, oh happy Christmas Day

She is worthy of a palace kitchen

Or a very grand hotel
She will cook a goose or boil you a moose
And keep you warm as well
More pots and pans you've seldom seen
Such a regal stove there's never been
"Queen Of The Prairie"
For doing us the honour - peace & blessings be upon her
Hail to Her Majesty the Queen!

[ The New Settlers begin to mingle, and Karl Oskar is like a King in his domain.
Nojd the fur-trapper has been living with the Indians though, and he feels for them
deeply.

He knows these lands were stolen from them, and he intends to

set the record straight… ]
 Karl Oskar:
…I say it feels good to know
I am my own Master, here I own every acre
I bring in my corn from fields that are mine

Nojd:
Damn you Nilsson!
This is not your land
Nor can it belong to any man
They say among the Indians
This Earth is like the Heavens
No arms can ever hold them
Money cannot buy them

You cannot hold a cloud

The Earth cannot be claimed, by any people…

Karl Oskar:
Every acre! Stamped and paid for!
You've lived too long with the Indians…

Nojd:
All was taken, all was stolen - from the proud Indians!

Karl Oskar:
Must I show you Deeds and Treaties?
One dollar twenty per acre…

Nojd:
Scraps of paper, from the white-man
They don't make sen
se to these people!

Karl Oskar:
We have laws in Minnesota!

Nojd:
The laws of white-men not of Indians!
2.04 WILD GRASS (Vildgräs + Jag Har Förlikat Mej Till Slut)

Karl Oskar:
Where once there was wild grass
Now there's a wheat field
This land was waiting for me
Was waiting its hour!
Where once there was nothing
No law, no power
This land of prairie and pine
I made it flower!
With this naked pair of hands I made it mine…

There was another song, I knew it well

The song of steel on rock - it sang
It rang of hell…
And when there came a time, when hope was gone
We loaded up the wagons, we moved on

From that barren, stony ground

Settlers:
Barren, unforgiving ground...

Karl Oskar:
We loaded up, and we were Westward bound

The earth lay quiet here, since time began

Through all Creation, waiting here
The coming of Man
No axe rang in these woods, no sign of toil
Until I put my spade to work
And dug into, this rich, black soil

Settlers:
Where once there was wild grass
Now there's a wheat field
This land was waiting for us
Was waiting its hour

Nojd:
You got something for nothing…

Settlers:
Where once there was nothing
No law, no power
We spilled the sweat of our brow
And we made it flower
Yes, we made it flower!
 Karl Oskar:
I watched my father fight, those cruel stones
I saw him crippled at the end
They broke his bones
But here the plough runs deep, the roots reach low
A man stands taller here, his children grow

What we've done I will defend

Settlers:
What we've done we will defend...

Karl Oskar:
Yes, what we've won I'll fight for 'til the end

The earth lay quiet here, since time began

Through all Creation, waiting here
The coming of Man
No corn grew in these parts, no cattle grazed
Now there's no field that goes unploughed
The children we have raised
They do us proud
The Lord be praised

Settlers:
The fruit of the harvest
The roof I raised here
The logs that fell to my axe
What am I to blame for?

Nojd:
Nothing you feel shame for?

Settlers:
We came for a new life
To find a future
With just the shirt on our backs
We found what we came for

Nojd:
And you burned down the wild grass…

Settlers:
Where once there was wild grass
There is abundance
And yes, we're proud of the fact
That we have dug & tilled & drilled & hacked

Karl Oskar:
We ask no favour
We ask no pardon
We found a wilderness here - we planted a garden
Where once there was wild grass!

-------------------------------------
 I'M RECONCILED TO FATE (Jag Har Förlikat Mej Till Slut)

Ulrika -
" Robert returns from the Goldfields a broken man and stricken by Yellow Fever,
but rich! or, so it seems… When Karl Oskar takes Robert's money to the bank
Robert tells Kristina his story. "

Robert:
I went in search of buried treasure
A little man with lofty dreams
It was a bitter thing to learn, that I was such a fool
To each of us a fate is given
And I was born a restless soul
But now I'm reconciled to fate
And death can't hurt me any longer

Kristina:
Now you really frighten me
They don't make sense, the words you say
Märta - sing for uncle Robert
Sing what you learned in class today

Lill Märta:
Off to school with shining faces
There we learn our proper places
Teacher teaches - pupil listens
Learning how to read and write
We're richer far than you can measure
Richer far than any treasure
All's not gold that glistens…

Robert:
Why should I fight the Lord Almighty?
I'd be the loser in the end
No - I accept my lot, and death is almost like a friend
If death is near then let it take me
If death is here, so let it be
I am a hostage in this life
This land I dreamed would set me free

Please, you must understand

I'm telling the truth - my time runs out so fast

I just want you to know

I am resigned, at peace at last…

Kristina:
Robert? Why, have you come back alone..?
2.05 GOLD CAN TURN TO SAND (Guldet Blev Till Sand)

Robert:
When I left
I was leaving with a brother
Him and me
All we had was one another
We were young
It was Springtime
And our dreams of gold were grand
Oh, Kristina…
Gold Can Turn To Sand

Down that long blazing trail

I walked beside him
He grew weak
And he leaned on me to guide him
Though I doubted our future
In that godforsaken land
Oh, Kristina…
Gold Can Turn To Sand

Still, he shared in my dream

No matter how mad
He believed in me
I was all that he had
And I was glad of his company

In the desert
Beyond the burning prairie
We got lost
We were foolish and unwary
Just how thirsty, how desperate
You would never understand
Oh, Kristina…
Gold Can Turn To Sand

Still, I willed him along

I taught him the song
Of the ocean wave
He, who shared in my quest
Now laid to rest

In a lonely grave…

From a well that was poisoned

He drank water
And he died where he fell
A beast to slaughter
As his eyes slowly faded
The old watch fell from his hand
Oh, Kristina…
Gold Can Turn To Sand

Oh, Kristina…
Gold Can Turn To Sand
 2.06 WILDCAT MONEY (Wild Cat Money)

[ Karl Oskar returns from the bank - he is furious!... ]

Chorus:
Wildcat Money! Wildcat Money!

Karl Oskar:
Do you have no shame?
Dare you look me in the eyes?
All this gold you own
As I should have known
Another of your god-damn lies!

This is childrens' pay

Wouldn't buy a blade of grass
These are empty things that my brother brings
This wouldn't do to wipe my ass

Chorus:
Wildcat Money!

Robert:
I don't understand…

Chorus:
Wildcat Money!

Karl Oskar:
It's worthless!
Printed by a private-bank...! A bankrupt bank!!

Chorus:
Wildcat Money!

Robert:
No! No, no, no, no - Wildcat Money is good money…

Chorus:
Wildcat Money!

Robert:
No! No, I swear to you - they said…!

[ Karl Oskar erupts - he punches his brother in the head and

knocks him to the ground, heʼs badly-bleeding from the ear.

Karl Oscar storms-off, taking his family with him.

Robert wanders off into the forrest - a broken-man.

With his life fading fast, he lays-down by a little stream… ]
 2.07 TO THE SEA (Ut Mot Ett Hav [reprise] )

Robert:
Free
You are free
Not a slave
Not like me
Choosing your way
As you please
At your ease
Your own master

Soon, you will ride

On the crest of a wave
To be one with the sea
Everlasting

On giant shoulders
You'll carry sailors
In tall white galleons
To far horizons

You are going

Where I long to be

Take me there
Little stream

To the sea...

Ulrika -
" Poor Robert dies…
Soon after his return - the first of us to be buried in the new cemetery.
He was so sick, and I think in a way welcomed death. "

" I, on the other hand - I'm almost ashamed to say it,

but I have never ever been so happy!
I'm going to get married - to Pastor Henry Jackson!
And isn't it wonderfully strange, that it's Kristina I'm dying to tell first?
Kristina, my old enemy - my best friend… "
2.08 MIRACLE OF GOD (Ett Herrans Underverk)

Ulrika:
I thought of you as a stranger
Always your nose in the air!
Passing me by
As a creature beneath your care

Kristina:
I thought of you as a danger
I've seen how men turn and stare

Both:
And yet we were destined to see how
Full of surprise life can be
How rare, how odd
A Miracle Of God
Our phantoms have gone their way

Ulrika:
You were such a shrew

Kristina:
No more than you

Both:
What's past is past, this miracle will last

Kristina:
You found the man that you prayed for
You'll help him strive and succeed
Sharing our lives with another
Is all we need

Ulrika:
You found the man you were made for
Now I will follow your lead
Now I'll have someone to go to

Both:
What God has planted will grow
New soil, new seed
A miracle indeed
How night can be turned to day
Leave the night behind
Begone all fear
I who was so blind now see so clear

So clear, and pure

A miracle for sure
Now heaven shows us the way
You have let me see
The heart of you
From now and ever
We'll greet each other
We'll meet each other
As sisters do
How rare, how odd
A Miracle Of God
2.09 DOWN TO THE WATERSIDE (Down To The Sacred Wave)

Baptists:

Down To The Waterside

Our Lord was led
John the Baptist,
Bless his name, beside him

There by the sacred Jordan

Bowed His head
Holy water
Cleansed and purified Him

There, upon that

Glory day
The sins of mankind
Were washed away

God in Thy mercy

Unto Thee we pray
Sanctify her
As You sanctified Him
 2.10 MISCARRIAGE (Missfall)

Ulrika -
" Oh, Kristina… oh, Kristina has had a miscarriage!
Karl Oscar found her slumped beside her milking-stool,
she was all alone. He put her to bed and ran to fetch me.
I insisted she see a doctor. She finally agreed, but when she
found out how bad it is, she says she can not tell Karl Oskar.
The doctor has asked me to do it… "

Ulrika:
I speak to you, Karl Oskar
As a friend who loves Kristina
Your child is lost and more than that...

Karl Oskar:
You frighten me Ulrika

Ulrika:
More than that,
It's up to you dear friend
If poor Kristina lives or dies

It's just as well you're frightened

Doctor says I've got to scare you
She's torn apart inside
Not one more child she'll ever bear you
If you want to save her
You must never ever lie with her again

Karl Oskar:
Dear Kristina
My Beloved
My dearest friend

Ulrika:
I know you feel her pain
I've always known how much you love her
The years have brought her low
But left alone show will recover
Doctor says
She has to rest
She cannot work as hard as she has done

Karl Oskar:
They have warned me
No more of children
Or she will die…

Ulrika:
You heed my words, Karl Oskar
Heavy words indeed I've spoken
You must protect her now
Her body racked, her spirit broken
You're responsible, Karl Oscar
No more children now or she will die...
 2.11 YOU HAVE TO BE THERE (Du Måste Finnas)

[ Karl Oskar won't touch her, can't look at her.

She lost her child, it seems she has lost her man.
Has she lost her God as well?

Alone in the night, she is tormented by one word

- - if
- What if God does not really exist..? ]

Kristina:
You have banished me
From the land where I was born
Here, upon a foreign shore, forsaken
I have followed You
And done Thy will
Should I kneel to you?
When I rise, you strike me down
Once again, a little one you've taken
Everywhere I turn, it's darker still…

What is it Lord, that You want

And that I am not seeing?
What, in my innocent prayers
Am I failing to say?
Never before have I questioned
The truth of Your being
Never once have I dared
Never, until today

All of a tremble
I stand on the edge of confusion
Who is to save me
If into the darkness I fall?
Now more than ever
I need my God to be near me

Do you hear when I call?

Are you there after all?

You Have To Be There

You have to!
My life I have placed in Thy keep
And without you, I am drifting
On a dark and rising sea
You Have To Be There
You have to
Without you I drown in the deep
Too far, too far from land
The waters drag me down
I reach for Your hand…
 Who, when I die
Will throw open His arms to receive me
Who will believe me
And take me into His embrace?
When I have gone to my rest
Will You watch me and wake me?

When my time comes at last

Will You grant me Your grace?

I am so small on this Earth

I am nothing without You
Daring to doubt You at all
Turns a knife in my heart
Little by little
I'm losing my way in the shadows

I am losing my hold
And the world falls apart

Now You Have To Be There

You have to!
My life I have placed in Thy keep
And without you, I am drifting
On a dark and rising sea

You Have To Be There

You have to!
Without you I drown in the deep
Too far, too far from land
The waters drag me down
I reach for Your hand…

And without you, I am drifting

On a vast and rising sea

You Have To Be There

You have to!
Without you I drown in the deep

Too far, too far from land

The waters drag me down...

I reach for Your hand..!

2.12 HERE I AM AGAIN (Du Har Mej Här Igen)

Ulrika -
" It was the coldest Winter we had ever known,
but with the sun finally warm again, against her skin,
Kristina grows stronger every day.
She tells me how exhilarated she feels, to hear the
first drops of melted snow falling from the roof, or how
joyous to see the first tender blades of grass
She says she has never felt more alive… "

Kristina:
Look around you
Spring this year has come so early
Cherry tree and Sugar Maple,
Buds are sprouting, sap is flowing

Karl Oskar:
Yes, Kristina
It has been a long, dark Winter

Kristina:
Nature wakes up from her sleep
Everything must start afresh
In the still of night
I have heard you sighing
I also have been lonely
Here I Am Again

Kristina:
How the cold wind blows
How the distance grows
When we are apart

Kristina & Karl Oskar:

Yes, the cold wind blows
And the distance grows
When we are apart

Karl Oskar:
I stretch my arms out in the dark
Imag'ning you're still here beside me
Knowing too, it must not be

Kristina & Karl Oskar:

Whatever happens we still have each other
Together we will always find a way

Kristina:
Nothing must ever come between us

Karl Oskar:
You know what the Doctor said

Kristina:
Doctors can be wrong as well - that happens
I'm here for you again
 Karl Oskar:
Doctors must be trusted

Kristina:
Trust, in me today

Karl Oskar:
I, just can't believe it

Kristina:
Trust, the words I say

Karl Oskar:
They have warned me:
"No more children, or she'll perish"

Kristina:
God has seen me through before
He will see me through once more

Karl Oskar:
Torn apart inside, so Ulrika told me

Kristina & Karl Oskar:

How the cold wind blows
How the distance grows
When we are apart

Kristina:
It is God's wish, and I know it for certain
That we must be together
Who is to say
What will happen tomorrow
He does to us what he will

Karl Oskar:
Won't you listen to reason?
Please, let go of me now…

Kristina:
So you would want us to deny
The joy of love,
The sweetest joys forsaken
Not to touch, or feel you
As years pass us by
How soon they pass!
How soon they fly!

Kristina & Karl Oskar:

My heart, my body and my soul
They crave you
Each and every breath I'm taking
Come what storms
My promise will always be true

That where you go

I go with you
2.13 WITH CHILD AGAIN (Red Iron + Hjälp Mej Trösta)

[ Nojd's warnings were correct, the Settlers flee and

pray for deliverance as the Sioux begin their attack.
Kristina, unaware of the approaching danger
has foreboding news of her own... ]

Chorus:
Holy Spirit
Will you show your face
Who on earth is worthy
Of Your grace?

Kristina:
Listen, please Karl Oskar
It's been eight times
That I have been with child
Remember, every time
I have survived it
That's the way it will be
I know it
Nothing bad, can ever happen
Nothing bad you can
Blame yourself for
Man and wife
Must be together
That is no shame
So don't be so frightened

Chorus:
Holy Spirit
Do You care at all
For Your suffering creatures
Great and small

Kristina:
Worse than, I expected
I have never
Seen him so distraught
And so shaken
Won't You give him
Help and comfort
Teach me how to
Appease his sorrow
Nothing I say seemed to matter
He takes everything on his shoulders
I'll do all I
Have the strength for
But, God…
I feel so weak…
So tired...
2.14 RISING FROM MYTH AND LEGEND (Var Hör Vi Hemma)

[ As the homes and fields in the St. Croix Valley begin to burn,
the Settlers try to escape into the forests. They are once again
refugees in this dangerous New Land, recalling why the came
here as they flee… ]

Chorus:
Rising From Myth And Legend
Slowly a story grew
Gaining a deeper meaning
A world wonderful and new

To the West
Paradise was waiting
Calling across the sea
Food for the hungry millions
A home for the refugee

Stories from the New World

Overwhelmed the Old

Come fulfil your dreams here

That's how it was told

From sheltered harbours

The ships departed
For new horizons
For seas uncharted

So golden was the promise

So mighty was the dream…

[ the Church bell rings in the distance, warning Karl Oskar

and the others of the approaching threat…
[ The warring Sioux are fast approaching from the west,
the Nilsson children are hiding with other Settlers on Cedar Island
out in the lake Ki-Chi-Saga. More than 1,000 have been killed.
Some 30,000 survivors are now homeless.

The "Summer Rose" apple-tree still stands in the new garden.

Frosts killed the blossoms each time the tree had bloomed for
the last three years. Now, in it's fourth year, it is laden with fruit.

Kristina has lost too much blood from yet another miscarriage,
and has lapsed into a coma. She can't be moved.
Only Karl Oscar and her are left at 'Nya Duvemåla' .

She murmurs quietly in her fever. When he leans over her he sees
that her eyes have opened, and she recognises him again,
for the first time in three days… ]
2.15 I'LL BE WAITING THERE (I Gott Bevar)

Kristina:
Once I was afraid of Darkness
Of the demons of the night
Now that fear seems
To matter so little
As I face towards the Light

Don't cry, my dearest friend

For this is not the end

I go, heart at rest inside me,

To a world elsewhere

You'll find me again

You will see - it isn't over

You'll find the way,

I know it in my heart
And I'll Be Waiting There…

Karl Oskar:
You're running a fever still

Please, won't you rest,

Is there something you want?

I just picked the first fruit from your apple-tree...

[ the smells the apple… ]

Kristina:
You remember Duvemåla
Where I waited for you then?
By the gate I will always be waiting
'til you're there, with me again

And time will cease to be

You'll always be with me
A new star in Heaven shining
That's my final prayer

To show you the way

When at last
You come to find me

Then nevermore
Shall we be torn apart
I go where Angels dare

You'll find the way,

I know it in my heart

And I'll Be Waiting There…

[ the 'Summer Rose' apple falls from her hand

…and Kristina dies in Karl Oskar's arms ]