Act I: King of the Franks

Charlemagne:
Einhart, gather near
Come hither to my bedside
The hour that I must retire
Is drawing ever near

From the exigencies of this life
My deeds laid out before your eyes
And my conscience must be clear

Einhart:
Charles, my dear son
The time has now come
The House of Arnulf had produced
The heir and son to lead the faithless
Where we all are waiting for you now
In the eternal kingdom where we are at last all are

Finally, you can look back
Upon your many great deeds
Like your fathers before you
Have been planted the seeds

The consummation of your ancestor ambitions
Is the founding of a great empire of Christian nations

Charlemagne:
Father, does my brother
Carloman wait for me?
And my mother, Bertha
Who with goodwill and diplomacy

Did all in her power
To keep the peace
How was Aquitaine
The first uprising of my reign?
I ran those usurping traitors into the sea

Did I please our Lord Jesus
When I united our peoples with his faith?
The Saxons ever a plague on our lands
The Lombards that vile race

They would have desecrated his church
And all that we hold dear
But I led them to redemption
In Christ, the Savior

Oh father, this oath I swear
That I shall fight to keep the law
In all of Francia and beyond
To heathen fields and Saxon hordes

Who would tread upon the sacred place of ours
Shall learn to fear
The name of Charlemagne
One that will be without peer
Even long after I am gone!

Choir:
Charlemagne! Charlemagne!
A shaft of light in a dark age!
For now he is the King of the Franks
And ??? of men, over ranks

Honor and tribute to him will pay
And whose enemies shall be cast away
'Cause now he has inherited the throne
The youngest, truesome king into his home

Charlemagne:
Carloman, my dear brother
We grew apart
But my love for you did not impass

You let the plotters turn your head against me
Our dear mother
Tried to foster harmony
But you were hungry for more influence and power
Why did you not listen to her?

I forgive, for you were young
Ambitious for your people
And your court was advising
Against me on principle

I see you now playing by the stream
Playing with your little boats
And as a prince on horseback
And then a king riding out across the moat

And then old father
Now he is dead
How his widow and children
Weap by his bed

Now I am ruler of all your empire
But I am alone in the adventure
But you came to me, father
I feel not on my own
And guided me on my sword
As sure as on my throne

Einhart:
And now you being besieged by the Saracen
But holding firm above the Christian kings of Spain
The Frankish might push them back south
'Cross the mountains to form the Spanish March

And what of the other pagan tribes?
Who disrespected his Holy See
They knelt before him and gave back that
Which they had taken from the holy city

Charlemagne:
Oh father, this oath I swear
That I shall fight to keep the law
In all of Francia and beyond
To heathen fields and Saxon hordes

Who would tread upon the sacred place of ours
Shall learn to fear
The name of Charlemagne
One that will be without peer
Even long after I have passed!

Choir:
Charlemagne! Charlemagne!
A shaft of light in a dark age!
For now he is the King of the Franks
And ??? of men, over ranks

Honor and tribute to him will pay
And whose enemies shall be cast away
'Cause now he has inherited the throne
The youngest, truesome king into his home

Charlemagne (prayer):
Oh dear God in heaven
I beseech you
That I might see the face of everyone of those 4,000 heads
Which i have cut from the bodies of those Saxons
Who offended you
That they and I might be forgiven
By your mercy
Lord God
Maker of Heaven and Earth
King of Kings
Please have mercy on my soul
Amen