| Line |
Bellerby Sword Dance Play, 1879 & 1926 |
Gainford, Durham, Sword-Dance Play - 1860 |
| 1. |
gentlemen and ladies i have sprung from a noble knight |
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| 2. |
i have come here to spill my blood for old england s right |
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| 3. |
old england s right and a free goodwill |
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| 4. |
gentlemen and ladies i ll sing be mesel |
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| 5. |
oh there isn t a family that can compare to mine |
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| 6. |
my father he was hanged for stealing of three swine |
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| 7. |
o my father he was hanged and my mother was drowned in a well |
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| 8. |
isn t i a bonny chuck to be living by mesel |
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| 9. |
rumble rumble here my brave lads and give us leave to sport |
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| 10. |
for on this ground i mean to resort |
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| 11. |
resort and play show you many rhymes |
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| 12. |
gentlemen and ladies this is chris a mas time |
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| 13. |
cris a mas comes but once a year |
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| 14. |
when it comes it brings good cheer |
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| 15. |
roast beef bull beef apple pie |
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| 16. |
with very small shares for you and i bess |
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| 17. |
so mind brave lads what i do say |
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| 18. |
my name is bold hector i ve come to clear the way |
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| 19. |
hector hector from dulberry bush |
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| 20. |
the devil s own sister in law clothed in lamb s wool |
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| 21. |
our king stands waiting on this ground he swears and tears he will be in |
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| 22. |
to teach me of my skill |
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| 23. |
he is some silly fool i vow |
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| 24. |
he will say more in the burning of an inch of candle |
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| 25. |
that he will perform in ten times ten pounds burning out |
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| 26. |
hold hector hold shall i wound thee on the leg |
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| 27. |
or wilt thou fall down on thy knees and beg |
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| 28. |
no neither for my hand nor my van |
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| 29. |
thousands have i slain |
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| 30. |
and here i ve travelled to set old england right again |
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| 31. |
i m the king of the conquerors and here i do advance
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and here i do advance
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| 32. |
and i the ragged clown and i ve come to see thee dance
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and i m the ragged clown come to see the dance
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| 33. |
dance thou admits to see a king dance
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dance dance wert thou ever admitted to see a king dance
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| 34. |
dance i am a king that s highly known
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i am a king and a conqueror and a king of high renown
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| 35. |
i ll be very sorry to be offended by a saucy fellow ragged clown
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have i to be offended at thou a silly ragged clown
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| 36. |
hearty good fellow art thou a king |
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| 37. |
wasn t thou stealing swine last night
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hark canny fellow was not thou driving the swine the other day
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| 38. |
stealing swine |
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| 39. |
tenting swine perhaps i mean
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or stealing the swine as i should say
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| 40. |
my blood is raise i swear and vow |
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| 41. |
i ve been the death of many a man and i ll be the death of thou
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i ve been the death of many a man and i ll be the death of thou
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| 42. |
young men draw your shavers |
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| 43. |
and quit this scoundrel from my sight |
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| 44. |
for if i stand to prate with him he ll prate with me all night |
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| 45. |
with your leave kind gentlemen |
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| 46. |
i ve come to see a sport |
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| 47. |
and likewise for to see if a lady i can court |
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| 48. |
but the lasses nowadays they are so plaguey shy |
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| 49. |
my clothing is so fine they will not come me nigh |
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| 50. |
our king is coming in dressed in his grand array |
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| 51. |
he ll call his young men in by one by two or three
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i ll call our young men in one by one by two by three
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| 52. |
spectators silence keep and you will plainly see
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spectators silence keep our dancers will appear
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| 53. |
i ll call these young men in
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i ll call our young men in one by one by two by three
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| 54. |
dressed in their grand array |
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| 55. |
by one by two or three
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i ll call our young men in one by one by two by three
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| 56. |
oh the first is mr spark who s lately come from france
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the first that i call on he is a spark from france
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| 57. |
he s the first man in our list and the second in our dance
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he s the first man on the list but the second in the dance
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| 58. |
god bless your honour s fame and all your young men too
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god bless you honest fame and all your young men too
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| 59. |
i ve come to act my part as well as i can do
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i ve come to act my part as well as i can do
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| 60. |
if thou wilt act thee part and wil not from me flee
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if thou will act thy part and never from me flee
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| 61. |
i ll call these young men in by one by two or three
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i ll call our young men in one by one by two by three
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| 62. |
oh the next is mr stout as you will understand |
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| 63. |
as good a swordsman he is as ever took sword in hand
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as good a swordman he as ever sword did hold
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| 64. |
my valour has been tried through city town and field
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my valour has been tried in city town and field
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| 65. |
i never met the man that yet could make ye yield
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i ne er could find the man that once could make me yield
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| 66. |
o the next is mr wild who has travelled many a mile
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the next that i call in his name is mr wild
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| 67. |
i m afraid the worst of all the lasses he ll beguile
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i fear the worst of all those maids he does beguile
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| 68. |
although i ve travelled the world not for any wrong |
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| 69. |
it is for my false love because from me she s gone
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he s like to lose his love because he is too young
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| 70. |
o the next he is a prince he is a squire s son
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the last that i call on he is a squire s son
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| 71. |
i m afraid he s lost his love because from me she s gone
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he s like to lose his love because he is too young
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| 72. |
although i be too young i ve money for to roam
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although i be too young i ve money for to roam
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| 73. |
i ll freely spend it all before i ll lose my love
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i ll freely spend it all before my love i ll lose
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| 74. |
then in comes last of all mount zion is his name |
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| 75. |
he s a worthy gentleman and by birth of noble fame
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and now the next he is a prince of noble fame
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| 76. |
my father s a metal man and a tinker too by trade |
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| 77. |
he never stopped one hole but two for it he made |
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| 78. |
now i m the last of all my name is captain tom
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now i m the last myself my name is captain tom
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| 79. |
if you ve got fifty girls i ll kiss them every one |
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| 80. |
cox bobs i d like forgot i am one of your crew |
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| 81. |
if you want to know my name my name is love so true |
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| 82. |
so you ve see us all go round think of us what you will |
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| 83. |
music strike up and play a tune just what you will |
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| 84. |
our lady she comes in she looks both pale and wan |
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| 85. |
she s got a long beard on just like a collier s man |
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| 86. |
just now i m going to die as you can plainly see
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just now i m going to die as you may plainly see
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| 87. |
these six fine glittering swords will soon put an end to me
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these six glittering swords will soon put an end to me
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| 88. |
farewell unto you all |
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| 89. |
and my old father here |
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| 90. |
farewell unto you all |
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| 91. |
and my old grannie dear |
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| 92. |
our lady she is dead and on the ground she s laid
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now since our hector s dead and on the ground is laid
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| 93. |
we must all suffer for this young men i m sore afraid
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we ll have to suffer for it young men i m sore afraid
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| 94. |
i m sure it s none of i that did this awful crime
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i m sure it s none of me i m clear of the crime
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| 95. |
it s the man that follows me he drew his sword so fine
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it s he who followed me which drew his sword so fine
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| 96. |
i m sure it s none of i that did this awful crime
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i m sure it s none of me i m clear of the crime
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| 97. |
it s the man that follows me i caught him in the act
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it s he that followed me that did this wicked act
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| 98. |
since i m the last of all and i the blame must take
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now since i am the last the blame i ll have to take
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| 99. |
down on my bended knee for pardon i must pray
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so on my bended knees for pardon i do crave
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| 100. |
yet i not daunted be although i be the last |
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| 101. |
our king had done this crime and laid the blame on me |
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| 102. |
cheer up my lively lads and be of courage bold |
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| 103. |
we ll carry her to the church and bury her in the mould |
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| 104. |
bury her bury her where do you mean to bury her
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bury him bury him the devil bury him
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| 105. |
and all these people standing round |
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| 106. |
how do you mean to escape a halter |
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| 107. |
send for a doctor out of van |
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| 108. |
i ve heard tell of a doctor famed far and near
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i ve heard of a doctor far and near one in france and one in spain
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| 109. |
if he d been here he would have brought this queen to life again
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either of these men would bring him to life again
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| 110. |
send for a doctor |
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| 111. |
doctor doctor twenty pounds for a doctor
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a doctor a doctor ten pounds for a doctor
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| 112. |
here am i
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here am i
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| 113. |
hearty good fellow art thou a doctor |
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| 114. |
yes i am a doctor |
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| 115. |
what is thy name doctor |
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| 116. |
my name is evan lovan rantantiser to a boarding master |
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| 117. |
taught by twelve universals |
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| 118. |
fried balsam upon balsam |
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| 119. |
made of dead man s fat rosin and goose grease |
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| 120. |
that s my name doctor |
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| 121. |
and a very curious name doctor |
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| 122. |
aye ah think so |
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| 123. |
how far hast thou travelled doctor
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how far have you travelled doctor
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| 124. |
travelled i ve travelled through itty titty |
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| 125. |
where there is neither house land nor city |
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| 126. |
wooden churches leather bells and black puddings for bell ropes |
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| 127. |
is that all doctor |
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| 128. |
no i ve travelled through england ireland scotland france and spain
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oh all over england france and spain
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| 129. |
and here i ve travelled to bring this old queen to life again
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either of these men would bring him to life again
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| 130. |
well done doctor |
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| 131. |
what can you cure doctor |
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| 132. |
cure i can cure the itch the stitch the ague and the gout |
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| 133. |
if there be nineteen devils in i can bring one and twenty out |
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| 134. |
i can cure the whisky jade |
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| 135. |
the smiling maid i can make the paper soak to crack sir |
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| 136. |
i can make the deaf to hear the dumb to speak |
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| 137. |
or the lame to walk or fly sir |
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| 138. |
is that all doctor |
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| 139. |
no i can cure the maiden with a red pale face |
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| 140. |
i can do the like to a hare |
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| 141. |
any maiden wishing to cure her sweetheart |
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| 142. |
i can tell her how she shall win |
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| 143. |
i can cure aye boys aye |
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| 144. |
i once cured my old grandmother who had been dead two year |
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| 145. |
after which she lived three and brought forth two children |
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| 146. |
well done doctor |
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| 147. |
what s thy fee doctor
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well doctor what is thy fee
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| 148. |
my fee is twenty pounds |
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| 149. |
far too much doctor |
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| 150. |
well as it s thee i ll take nineteen pounds nineteen shillings and elevenpence three farthings
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ten pounds is my fee but nine pounds nineteen shillings eleven pence three farthings i ll take of thee
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| 151. |
fall to work doctor |
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| 152. |
i will see thee paid or unpaid in the morning |
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| 153. |
paid the devil |
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| 154. |
one bird in the hand is worth two in the bush
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one bird in the hand is worth two in the bush
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| 155. |
i ve got my own old wife at home been dead a fortnight |
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| 156. |
a far better job than that |
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| 157. |
fall to work doctor |
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| 158. |
i ll see thee paid out of my own pocket |
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| 159. |
how did this old queen happen her misfortune |
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| 160. |
she tumbled upstairs and broke her neck |
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| 161. |
well done stupid |
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| 162. |
i ve heard tell of falling down |
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| 163. |
well down i mean |
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| 164. |
her neck is broken |
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| 165. |
her things are out of joint |
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| 166. |
and she is filling with wind |
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| 167. |
causing her bowels to be in an uproar |
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| 168. |
she is in a very bad state indeed sir |
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| 169. |
but i ve got some pills in my pocket that will cure all ills time present time gone and time to come |
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| 170. |
if that won t do i ll scour her over and up again |
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| 171. |
till the spirit moves |
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| 172. |
and i ve got a little bottle in my pocket called oakum pokum pennyroyal |
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| 173. |
open thy niff naff |
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| 174. |
and i ll let it down thy chiff chaff |
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| 175. |
rise old girl and sing |
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| 176. |
good morning gentlemen a sleeping i have been
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good morrow gentlemen a sleeping i have been
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| 177. |
i ve had such a sleep as the like was never seen
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i ve had such a sleep as the like was never seen
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| 178. |
but now i am awake and alive unto this day
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but now i am awake and here i am this day
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| 179. |
so we will have a dance and the doctor must seek his pay
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so we ll have a dance and the doctor shall have his pay
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| 180. |
gentry and sentry all stand in a row i mean you no manner of ill |
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| 181. |
but i wish you sweethearts and our clown a new coat so ladies i bid you farewell so ladies i bid you farewell |
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