In comes Old King Christmas, dressed in green and gold,
And may he never be forgot, his story left untold.
For once a year, he brings good cheer, our spirits to engage,
The like was never seen before on any common stage.
CHORUS
We are not of the ragged sort, but some of royal trim,
We'll sweep away the Old Year and bring the New Year in .
In comes St George, a noble champion bold,
Who fought the fiery dragon, made tyrant's blood run cold,
In comes a valiant soldier, Prince Paradine by name,
With sword and shield he will not yield & hopes to win more fame.
In there comes a working
man, they call him Common Jack,
He puts food inside our bellies and the clothes upon our back.
In there comes a doctor, as plainly doth appear,
And by his art, to play his part, he travels far and near.
In comes I Beelzebub,
a name forever cursed
He’s before you, he’s behind you, he’s the last that would be
first
He’s got his hands inside your pockets, your money he do crave,
To see our play, you must pay, or join him in the grave.
Pete Coe v Backshift Music h 1996/7 From the CD "LONG COMPANY" B.A.S.H. CD 45
In comes I, Old King Christmas, welcome or welcome not, Sometimes cold and sometimes hot, I hope Old King Christmas will never be forgot. As Christmas comes but once a year, And when it comes it brings good cheer, A pocketful of money and a cellar full of beer, Roast beef, plum pudding and mince pie, Who likes that better than I? Room, room, brave gallants all, Pray give us room to rhyme, We are come to show activity This merry Christmas time. Activity of youth, activity of age, The like was never seen on any common stage. A room, a room to let us in, We are not of the ragged sort, but some of the royal trim.
We are the merry actors that traverse the street We are the merry actors that fight for our meat We are the merry actors that show pleasant play So step in, St George the champion and clear the way
In comes I, St George, that noble champion bold, And with my trusty sword and shield I won ten thousand pounds in gold; I faced the fiery dragon and brought him to the slaughter, And by that means I won the King of Egypt's daughter. Many bloody deeds and wonders have I known I've made dread tyrants tremble on their throne I've searched the world all round and round, But a man to equal me I've never found.
In comes I, a noble Prince, born of high reknown, Soon will I fetch his lofty courage down. For I am a valiant soldier, Prince of Paradine is my name, With sword and buckler by my side, I come to win more fame, And to fight with me I see thou art not able, With my trusty broadsword I soon will thee disable.
Disable, disable, it lies not within thy power, For with my glittering sword and spear I soon will thee devour; So hold back Prince and do not be so hot, For here thou knowest not what thou hast got. For I can tame thee of thy pride, And lay thine anger too, aside. Or I will Inch thee, pinch thee as small as flies, And send thee overseas to make mince pies; Mince pies hot , mince pies cold, I'll send thee to the devil ere thou art three days old. So stand off Prince, and let no more be said, For if I draw my sword I'll surely break thy head.
How can'st thou break my head, My head is made of iron, My body's made of steel My hands and feet are knuckle bone, I challenge thee to yield......... ( they fight and St George knocks him down )
The fight is won - mine is the victory !! St George for England and sweet liberty! (Paradine revives and stabs St George in the back)
No man on earth can conquer Paradine See there, he's dead, and now the victory's mine Behold, behold what I have done I've cut him down like the evening sun
In comes I, my name is Common Jack, I bear the very nation on my back, Though lower than you all, on me you do depend - The spire must on the footstone stand, when all is at an end. I dig the ditches, shear the sheep, The fishes draw from watery deep From dusty hole I hew the coal, And yet I toil while others sleep. I plough. I sow, I reap and mow, To labour all my life I go Who keeps you all at hearth and hall, But Common Jack? I pay for all! But Now, enough: for I am come, As plainly doth appear To seek that noble knight Saint George, Our son and only heir.
He is slain!
Slain! who did him slay, who did him kill? And on the ground his precious blood did spill?
I did him slay, I did him kill, And on the ground his precious blood did spill. He gave me challenge, how could I it deny How high he was, now see how low he lies
O curse thee Prince, for what thou hast done, Thou hast ruined us and killed our only son. Here he lies in the presence of you all, I'll lovingly for a doctor call. Is there a doctor to be found, To cure a dead man of his wounds? A doctor! a doctor! I'll give ten pounds for a doctor.
Fifteen to stop away
Twenty pounds to come I say
Twenty pounds ! In comes I, a doctor good and rare, I've travelled this country far and near.
Are you the doctor?
Yes, that you may plainly see, by my art and activity.
Well, what's your fee to cure this man?
Twenty pounds is my fee; but, if you be an honest man, I'll take twenty-five off thee.
You'll be wonderous cunning to get any.
Well, how far have you travelled in doctorship?
From Italy,Titaly, High Germany, France and Spain and now am returned to cure the diseases in Old England again.
What diseases can you cure ?
The itch, the pox, the palsy and the gout, The pains within, the pains without Why if a man's gets nineteen devils in his skull, I'll cast twenty of them out. I have in my pocket, crutches for lame ducks, Spectacles for blind bumble bees, And plasters for broken backed mice. I've lotions and potions and some fine notions That have carried my fame far over five oceans.
Well then Doctor show us now your skills Bring back St George to cure our Nations ills
With Aesculapius' staff, his life I'll save St George shall not go to his grave And since you are not quite slain, Rise up St George, and fight again.
My back is wounded, And my heart confounded; To be struck out of seven senses into four score, Is a thing that ne'er happened in Old England before. Once I was dead, but now I am alive, Blessed be the doctor who brought me to revive, And cursed be thou, oh Prince of Paradine. ( They take up swords again, but are interrupted by Old King Christmas)
Lay down your swords and rest For peace and quietness is the best. He who fights and runs away Lives to fight another day. And if you don't believe these words I say, Step in Beelzebub, and clear the way.
In comes I, Beelzebub, and over my shoulder I carry my club,
And in my hand a dripping pan, don't you think I'm a jolly old man?
Early Monday morning, late on Saturday night,
I saw 10,000 miles away a house just out of sight
The doors projected sideways, the front was at the back,
It stood alone between two more, and the walls were whitewashed black.
As I was going along , as I was standing still
I saw a paper church built on a wooden hill
Nineteen leather bells a going without a clapper
That made me wonder what was the matter
Now my lads we've come to a land of plenty Roast stones, plum puddings, houses thatched with pancakes
And little pigs running about with knives and forks stuck in their backs
Crying "Who'll eat me ?"
I went down a long lane, a short lane, a narrow lane, a wide lane
I met a man, he fled with glee I nailed his shadow to a tree
I've travelled here, I've travelled there
I should like to taste a drop of your strong beer
Its your money I want, your money I crave ,
If you don't give me some money, I'll sweep you all to the grave.
A pound, a pound? Is there no more to be found?
Dig a little deeper, you'll find there is more to give, Always remember, we know where you live!
ALL
We'll all join hands and never
fight again,
We'll sweep the Old Year out and bring the New Year in;
KING CHRISTMAS
Ladies and gentlemen, our
play is ended,
Our money- box is recommended.