Steuard Jensen's "One Day More"

I finished writing this parody in my junior year at Harvey Mudd (1996), and both that year and the next I gathered a group of friends to record it. None of our recordings turned out terribly well (we were just a bunch of infrequent singers with about half an hour's worth of practice), but I will include what is probably the best version of the song here; it was a 1997 recording. I'm afraid that I don't remember everyone who participated each time, but I do recall that the piano was played by Dominic Mazzoni (via audiotape that second year), and I'm pretty sure that some of the singers were me, Itai Seggev, Rob Prestegard, Anna Hartzog, Andromeda Yelton, Katie Greene, Abi Kritzer, Kat Parker, and Ben Elgin. (If you happen to remember some of the people I've forgotten here, please let me know! My sincere apologies to everyone I've left out.)

Fans of Les Miserables may notice some details that I am particularly proud of: my lyrics often come quite close to the originals, despite the substantially altered meaning. Well, maybe not altered too much, considering the occasion for the song. If you don't already know the original quite well, you may want to read the lyrics below while listening to it, just so you can see how the parts go together. (Listening to the MP3 of our rendition may or may not make the intended interplay of the parts clear : ) )

Note that I have tried as much as possible to line up the different parts on the page to indicate the timing of various entrances. This is taken to its extreme in the final section (in which everyone is singing at once): capital letters in that section always indicate the beat. Also, the Thenardiers' part in that section simply has too many words to fit on the line; as they have the same lines that they had earlier, I have abbreviated them in the final section.

A final note: as I recall, I formatted this file so that it could be printed without any nasty line wrapping that would destroy my formatting. I believe that the font size for proper printing had to be 10pt, and that the paper margins had to be quite small, no more than 0.5 inches on either side. Whatever works, I guess. Enjoy!

JV:    One day more
       Another Test, another travesty
       This never-ending road to get a 'D'.
       They never give us enough time
       The problem sets are just a crime
       One day more
M:                       I did not study 'til today
                         I can't believe that I've just started
       One day more
M&C:                     I know part B, you know part A
                         How can we pass when we are parted?

Epon:  Must I study on my own?
(M&C):                   Will we ever sleep again?
       Must I study without caring?
                         I am lost in chapter 2!
       So much chem I might have known,
                         Six is false and seven, true.
       But the prof was never there-----------

Enj:   One more day before the storm
M:                       Do I learn compounds of 'O's?
       At the lecture hall of Frosh Chem
                         Will I balance redox there?
       When our grades begin to fall
                         What's a base and do I care?
       Will you flunk the test with me?
Chorus:                  The time / is now / the day / is here!

JV:    One day more
Javert:                  One more day 'til we shall test them
                         We will kick them in the butt.
                         We will show these little schoolboys
                         You cannot get 'A's at Mudd.
JV:                                      One day more
Thends:Watch them run amuck
       Make the average fall.
       There's no perfect answer: you'll lose points for all.
       Here just give them zip,
       There not very much;
       Most of them are goners 'cause they left out such.

Chor1: The worst part is just beginning
                         Waves of sigma and of pi
       Carbon atoms in a ring
                         Carbon atoms in a ring!
       What equations are they giving?
                         What equations have we done?
       Do you comprehend a thing?
M:     My seat / is here / I write / with you!

{ JV:  One day more------------
|*M&C            We  did  not  Study  'Til  toDay---------,
|*Epo:                                               One more Chapter On my  Own--<cntd>
| Jav:           I'll make Sure they All get Zeroes, Write the Test so They're too Slow
{-Ths:           Watch 'em run aMuck                 Make the average Fall
 
{ JV:   (rest)                                                          (One day More--)
| M&C:         i Can't beLieve that We've just Started.
|-Epo:     <cntd>---------------------------------------
|*Jav:           I will Find out What they've Studied, _ never Ask them What they Know
{ Ths:           Here a little Zip                     There not very Much
                                                     
{ JV:  One day more-----------------------------------------------------------
|-M&C:         i Know   part   B,   you  Know  part  A----------
|-Epo:                                                 So much Chem I might have Known
| Jav:           One more Day 'til We shall Test them, We will Kick them In the Butt
{*Ths:           Watch 'em run aMuck, Make .. Fall, There's .. Answer: .. Points for All
                                                               
{ JV:                                      toMorrow, though we want an 'A'  <wrap>
|-M&C:           How can we Pass when We are Parted?                        >
| Epo:  (rest)
|*Jav:           We will Show these Little Schoolboys                       >
{ Ths:  (rest)

All:   ...toMorrow is the Judgement day
       Tomorrow we'll discover what our Prof of Frosh Chem has in store.
       One more dawn
       One more day
       One Day More-----------------------------------------------------------

One Day More

Lyrics by Steuard Jensen