Another song from Legacy, the musical about Horatio Nelson I wrote with composer Cathy Shostak. This is actually one of my favourite songs I’ve ever written. See beneath the lyrics for the full list of the incredible cast.
I actually found an artist who makes scrimshaw work - the traditional art of carving into bone - and I asked her to make Miller’s knife for me…
Legacy The gun crew are sorting through their few precious belongings, some of them writing their wills on scraps of paper. John Harris: My fife. Miller: The letters I got from my wife. A sailor: My snuff. Herbert: My baccy and pipe. Brown: My liquorice root. Herbert: That stuff gives me the gripe. Molly: My cap. Another sailor: My tankard. Herbert: My cards and my dice. Jamieson: My quizzing glass… John Harris: Ditty bag… Brown: Rolling pin filled up with spice. Miller: Ain’t that for your girl? Brown: Yeah. Herbert: Don’t make me hurl. Brown: Shut up! Miller: My sewing kit… Jamieson: Splicing kit… John Harris: Shaving kit… Molly: Shoes! Jamieson: What shoes? Molly: Oh yeah. Jamieson: My grandfather’s compass. John Harris: The scarf that my sweetheart made. Brown: My marlin spike. Herbert: Don’t forget your blade. Miller: I leave my knife to my son. John Harris: He’s barely one year old, you know. Miller: He’ll grow! And he’ll need a good knife to see him through life. I leave my knife to my son. Herbert: You’re a nut. I’m leaving mine to a Frenchman’s gut! Stuck right through! Jamieson: Unless he leaves his to you. All: What will I leave behind? What will I leave behind? A sailor: My mother. Another sailor: My mother. Another sailor: My father. Another sailor: My father. Another sailor: My children. Miller: My child. Herbert: The girl at the smuggler’s inn! With the bright red… Jamieson: Long black… Brown: Soft blonde hair. Miller: And the bright green… Jamieson: Sweet blue… John Harris: Soft brown eyes. Group: And the dimple on her chin. That’s something I pray I will see again. Some: Amen. All: What will I leave behind? What will I leave behind? Jamieson: Money! Herbert: Money? Miller: What money we have! Brown: I leave to my missus. Miller: I leave to my son. Jamieson: I leave mine to my brother to pay for his wedding. Herbert: My father will spend it on rum and he’ll raise a toast. To his son! Jamieson: His brother! Miller: His father! John Harris: Her husband! Group: The brave and noble hero! All: What will I leave behind? What kind of memory? What will my legacy be? Molly: Will there even be anything left for them to find? All: When I’m gone, who will care what I have left behind?
Company
Book & Lyrics: Jenifer Toksvig
Composer: Cathy Shostak
Director: David Gilmore
Musical director, arranger: Mark Warman
Horatio Nelson: Nigel Richards
Horatio Nelson as a boy: Ralph Warman
Emma Hamilton: Rebecca Thornhill
Frances Nelson: Liza Pullman
Narrator: Simon Greene
John Jamieson: Nicholas Pound
Samuel Miller: Bennett Andrews
George F. Herbert: Stuart Cox
Joshua Brown: Richard Hartley
Robert ‘Molly’ Codlin: Duncan Patrick
John Harris: Oliver Marshall
Thomas Hardy: Russell Wilcox
Henry Blackwood: Carl Sanderson
The Cook: Chris Colley*This may be theoretical theatre, but it’s still protected by Copyright © 2004 by Jenifer Toksvig, Cathy Shostak and Mark Warman All Rights Reserved. You can also follow my work via The Copenhagen Interpreters’ group on Facebook, and BlueSky / Mastodon / Threads / Instagram / Linktree. The Substack is currently free to subscribe, but you can buy me a coffee here!
