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2023 West End
Operation Mincemeat the Musical - Born to Lead Lyrics
The song is written by David Cumming, Felix Hagan, Natasha Hodgson, and Zoë Roberts.
MONTAGU:
So you dreamt of being a pilot
But you never got to fly
So you dreamt of sailing the seven seas
But never got to try
Well, let navy lads get soaking!
We'll all stay nice and dry
We shout to all the soldiers, "Jump!"
And hear them shout, "How high?"
For we were made to give the orders
While lesser men take heed
For some were born to follow
But we were born to lead
(spoken)
Ladies and gentlemen,
Welcome to MI5
MI5 ENSEMBLE:
"You're sure to save the nation,"
Nanny told me in my cot
"For your father gave you courage"
Also ponies, and that yacht
My centuries of breeding
I know they'll fail me not
For fortune favours bravery
And a fortune's what I've got
Oh yes, some boys go to battle
But we're a different breed
For some were born to follow
But we were born to lead
We are the masters (we are the masters)
We are the clever men who hold the reigns
For who needs guns when you've got brains
You'll see, forever after (forever after)
And when this war is done
And fades to dust
The world will turn and say to us
That we were born to lead
CHARLES:
When I was a young explorer
MI5 ENSEMBLE:
Yes
CHARLES:
I discovered a new breed of trout
MI5 ENSEMBLE:
What?
CHARLES:
It leapt into my kayak
And just briefly knocked me out
MONTAGU: (spoken)
Sorry what?
CHARLES:
The feeling was quite magical
When it slapped me on the mouth
It made the local papers,
"Rare fish attacks boy scout"
It's still my proudest moment
Of that I have no doubt
For some were born to follow
But I was born to find trout
MONTAGU: (spoken)
Right, new to MI5 are you?
CHARLES: (spoken)
No, I've worked here for six years
MONTAGU:
Oh right
CHARLES:
Yes, you're drinking out of my mug
MONTAGU:
Oh right
CHARLES:
It's got a picture of my face on it
MONTAGU:
Oh right
CHARLES:
Charles Cholmondeley, Scientist
MONTAGU:
Ewan Montagu, Naval Intelligence
CHARLES:
I know
MONTAGU:
Of course you do
Well we know who to call
If there's a fish mishap
MI5 ENSEMBLE:
Ladies better keep your eyes on this chap
Come on men we've Hitlers to dispatch
Quite right lads, but the problem is that
All of mainland Europe
Is under Adolf's thumb
So we're staging our invasion
And the countdown has begun
Our sights are set on Sicily
That stronghold of the Hun
MONTAGU:
But the island's packed
With a hundred thousand
German men with guns
MI5 ENSEMBLE:
And if we cannot storm the beaches
It's sure to spell defeat
If the muscle-men can't do it
Call the masters of deceit
BEVAN: (spoken)
Morning gentleman
CHARLES: (spoken)
Colonel Bevan sir
MONTAGU: (spoken)
Watch out boys, the big boss is here
BEVAN:
Welcome to military deception.
Now as you all know the next Allied
Invasion target is Sicily.
And the key to invading Sicily is...
Not invading Sicily
MONTAGU:
I'm sorry what?
BEVAN:
Or at least that's
What the enemy is going to think.
We're going to convince the Germans
That we're headed
For somewhere else instead.
Sardinia, to be exact
CHARLES:
Oh- a misdirection
BEVAN:
Exactly
MONTAGU:
What, so we're going
To win this war with a magic trick?
BEVAN:
How else do we make a hundred thousand
German troops disappear?
Sicily could turn the tide of the war
But we can't just rock up
And knock up on the door
For each man we've got,
They've got 10 more
We'll be slaughtered before
We even reach the shore
We need a way to reduce the danger
Tip the odds in our favour
Go to great lengths
To drain the strength
Of the Sicilian defence
By misdirecting their dear dictator
Gotta make Hitler believe
Sicily isn't where we're gonna be
Gotta proceed with some dishonesty
Gotta deceive cos what I wanna see is
Hundreds of thousands
Of Germans getting off our property
So I need your brains to figure out
How we sell a fake campaign
Find me a strategy,
Use your grey matter to tactically
Scatter the enemy to the breeze
Then once the island is unattended
Once the beaches are undefended
We send our boys in then we destroy them
That's how Sicily is apprehended
MI5 ENSEMBLE:
So we've got to lie
About where we strike
So we can fool the Reich
This plan is strictly need to know
BEVAN: (spoken)
As of now,
I'll be hearing your proposals.
How do we shift the German troops
From Sicily to Sardinia?
What this country needs is a genius plan
MONTAGU & BEVAN:
What this country needs is a genius man
For some were born to follow
(Or there'll be no tomorrow)
But we were born to lead
(We are not heroes)
We are the masters
(We play our parts)
We are the clever men
Who hold the reigns
It's war
It's fun!
It's not a game
You'll see (We do our duties)
Forever after
Nothing more
MONTAGU & BEVAN:
And when this war is done
And fades to dust
BEVAN:
There's no applause or fame for us
MONTAGU & MI5 ENSEMBLE:
But we were born to lead
Oh brothers let's get winning!
Hear hear
My mind shall set us free
Three cheers
Gonna win the war,
Champagne galore!
As I flick the Hun the V
I'll definitely get a knighthood (Oh yes)
And a Victoria Cross or three
Look up victory in the dictionary
There's a picture there of me
We are the finest minds in England
On that we are agreed
For some were born to follow
Some were born to follow
Some were born to follow
But we were born to lead
Review: Operation Mincemeat the Musical Lyrics
Operation Mincemeat the Musical Lyrics
SYNOPSIS
Born to Lead
God That's Brilliant
Dead in the Water
All the Ladies
The Pitch
Making a Man
Dear Bill
Sail on, Boys
Just for Tonight
Bevan's Update
The Ballad of Willie Watkins
Spilsbury Reprise
Useful
Finale
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