First Attack Lyrics – Les Miserables

Song Overview

First Attack detonates halfway through Les Misérables – The Complete Symphonic Recording, track 31 in a 44-song epic engineered by producer-conductor David Caddick. Forty strings hiss like musket shot; two military snares tap out fear. In just under three minutes the number vaults from triumphant cheers to moral standoff, sealing Jean Valjean’s fateful choice to free his nemesis Javert. The parent album later seized the 1991 Grammy for Best Musical Cast Show Album, edging out Anything Goes and City of Angels.

Personal Review

I first spun First Attack on a portable CD deck the night Desert Storm broke; the coincidence felt cosmic. Lesgles crowed “See how they run away!” while CNN’s crawl ticked beneath silent missiles. Even today, the lyrics smell of cordite and adrenaline. What dazzles most is the pivot: cheers fade, Enjolras thanks Valjean, then a single request — “Give me the spy Javert.” A child of comics, I expected a kill-shot; instead, Valjean slices ropes and fires blank skyward. Mercy trumps vengeance. It still startles.

Song Meaning and Annotations

The track drops seconds after “Night of Anguish.” Sentries shout troop counts; a sniper sights Enjolras. Valjean — poacher-turned-saint — fells the marksman with one shot, echoing Hugo’s novel where he merely nicks the man’s hat. The students erupt in premature victory, but Enjolras’ warning — “They will be back again” — drapes the barricade in dread.

The centerpiece is Valjean’s private duel with Javert. Schönberg re-introduces the Law motif (sharp brass in ascending fourths) as Javert spits,

The law is inside out, the world is upside down

Musically the number toggles between G minor (combat) and B-flat major (clemency), tempo steady at 104 BPM. Percussive snaps punctuate speech-songs — half-recitative, half-battle-call — keeping tension elastic. In live shows directors often stage Valjean’s gunshot with a real blank; the visceral jolt underlines the moral shock of mercy.

Verse Highlights

Opening Alarm

Spoken sentry calls slice the hush, creating cinéma-vérité authenticity.

Sniper Sequence

A staccato violin run tracks the bullet; brass swell as Lesgles proclaims victory — fleeting, ill-earned.

Valjean & Javert Duologue

Both men’s leitmotifs entwine: plucked cello for Valjean’s humility, cornet for Javert’s steel. The clash dissolves in dissonant suspended seconds, resolved only when the ropes fall.

Final Vigil

Enjolras’ last line — “Let no one sleep tonight” — hovers on an unresolved dominant, preparing the carnage of “Drink With Me.”

Song Credits

• Featured Voices: Anthony Warlow (Enjolras), Gary Morris (Valjean), Philip Quast (Javert), Reece Holland (Joly), Kenny D’Aquila (Grantaire)
• Producer: David Caddick
• Composer: Claude-Michel Schönberg
• Lyricists: Alain Boublil, Herbert Kretzmer
• Release Date: October 17 1988 (UK) / February 1989 (World)
• Genre: Symphonic musical-theatre
• Instruments: Strings, brass choir, field drums, piccolo snare, harp, celesta
• Label: First Night Records
• Length: 2 : 54
• Track #: 31 of 44
• Mood: Adrenaline, moral reckoning
• Poetic Meter: Mixed declamatory prose with anapestic bursts
• Copyrights © 1988 Exallshow Ltd / Warner Music Group

Songs With Related Themes

Schönberg tests mercy again in “The Confrontation.” There, the quarry flees; here, the hunter is spared. Parallel melodic cells knit the two encounters, but First Attack swaps minor-key fury for solemn brass chorale.

Lin-Manuel Miranda’s “Stay Alive” from Hamilton mirrors the chaos-to-introspection swing: orders barked over fife-and-drum, then low-voiced vows to protect a comrade.

Across genres, Sting’s “Fragile” whispers that violence breeds only loss, its nylon-string guitar a pacifist echo to Valjean’s airborne gunshot.

Questions and Answers

Why does Valjean fire into the air?

To mask Javert’s escape; the report convinces rebels the spy was executed while keeping them focused on the looming assault.

Is “First Attack” ever performed outside full productions?

Yes; the 10?? Anniversary Concert at Royal Albert Hall features a live rendition led by Philip Quast and Gary Morris.

Did the track chart as a single?

No single release; the symphonic album itself reached Gold status in the U.S. on 29 September 1992.

Does the novel include this scene?

Hugo details multiple skirmishes; Valjean shoots only a sniper’s hat — proof of poacher accuracy — but the mercy toward Javert is faithful.

What key is the duet section in?

G minor modulating to B-flat major during Valjean’s clemency lines.

Awards and Chart Notes

The symphonic album’s Grammy win in 1991 still stands as the only non-Broadway Les Mis recording to take the prize. U.S. Gold certification followed on 29 September 1992, while UK enthusiasts propelled the three-disc box into specialist-classical top tens for over twelve weeks.

How to Sing?

Enjolras (baritone B₂–F₄) must spit commands on the breath, no vibrato. Valjean (high baritone A₂–G₄) should pivot from metallic sniper bark to velvet-lined mercy — practise messa-di-voce on “You talk too much.” Javert (bass-baritone F₂–E₄) leans into downward portamenti for menace. Keep staccato snare rhythms crisp: quarter-note = 104.

Fan and Media Reactions

“The blank round in ‘First Attack’ is louder than any rock concert — and twice as ethical.” Playbill blog, 2024

“Watching Quast’s Javert blink at freedom still gives me chills.” Reddit @BarricadeBard

“Most casts rush the duet; the symphonic mix lets every syllable tremble.” Apple Music review, 2023

“My choir attempted it; the timp rolls alone nearly broke the bass drum.” ACDA newsletter, 2019

“Miranda definitely studied this scene for Hamilton’s ‘Stay Alive.’” StageDoor podcast, 2022