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Greatham Sword Dance Play - 1924 |
Bellerby Sword Dance Play, 1879 & 1926 |
| 1. |
my master sent me here some room for to provide |
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| 2. |
so therefore gentle dears stand back on every side |
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| 3. |
for if he should come and find no room he will bind me in his belt |
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| 4. |
he will lay me down upon the ground and thrash me like a whelp |
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| 5. |
he will make my bones like mice bones like the ribs of little rats |
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| 6. |
i once went a courting to one susie perkins |
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| 7. |
where the dogs and the cats made such a bow wowing and barking |
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| 8. |
i forgot what to say |
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| 9. |
what the dickens must i say |
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| 10. |
gurn before your nose and see before your eyes |
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| 11. |
and if you can t mind some of these bonny lads will take you by surprise |
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| 12. |
they sent me before to knock at your door |
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| 13. |
to see if you d let us come in |
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| 14. |
although i m a clown they call me a fool to please our gallant fine king |
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| 15. |
although i am little i m made of good metal |
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| 16. |
i ll scorn for to tell you a lie |
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| 17. |
i once killed an urchin as big as myself |
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| 18. |
which made me both lamb and goose pie |
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| 19. |
my coat is made of stand off stand off |
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| 20. |
my trousers are made of mohair |
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| 21. |
my stockings and shoes they are made of refuse |
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| 22. |
and my sword is come strike if you dare |
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| 23. |
our king he will come in dressed in his grandarie
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1. our king is coming in dressed in his grand array
2. dressed in their grand array
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| 24. |
he ll call his young men in by one by two by three
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1. he ll call his young men in by one by two or three
2. i ll call these young men in
3. by one by two or three
4. i ll call these young men in by one by two or three
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| 25. |
now the first is mr sparks he s lately come from france
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oh the first is mr spark who s lately come from france
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| 26. |
he s the first man on our list and the second in our dance
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he s the first man in our list and the second in our dance
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| 27. |
god bless your honoured fame and all your young men too
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god bless your honour s fame and all your young men too
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| 28. |
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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| 29. |
the next is mr stout as i do understand
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oh the next is mr stout as you will understand
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| 30. |
as good a swordsman he as ever took sword in hand
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as good a swordsman he is as ever took sword in hand
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| 31. |
i often have been tried in city town and field
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my valour has been tried through city town and field
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| 32. |
i never could meet the man that ever could make me yield
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i never met the man that yet could make ye yield
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| 33. |
the next that i call on he is a squire s son
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o the next he is a prince he is a squire s son
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| 34. |
i m afraid he ll lose his love because he is too young
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1. it is for my false love because from me she s gone
2. i m afraid he s lost his love because from me she s gone
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| 35. |
although i be too young i have money for to roam
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although i be too young i ve money for to roam
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| 36. |
i ll freely spend it all before i ll lose my love
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i ll freely spend it all before i ll lose my love
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| 37. |
the last he is a prince he is born of noble fame
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he s a worthy gentleman and by birth of noble fame
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| 38. |
he spent a large estate the wars for to maintain |
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| 39. |
although i be the last my name i ll not deny |
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| 40. |
although i be the last my valour here i ll try |
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| 41. |
and i ll not daunted be although i be the last
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yet i not daunted be although i be the last
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| 42. |
for i can act my part as well as all the rest |
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| 43. |
nay but i m the last mesel my name is rantom tom |
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| 44. |
and the lasses you ve got here i ll kiss them every one
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if you ve got fifty girls i ll kiss them every one
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| 45. |
gadzooks i clean forgot that i was one of your crew
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cox bobs i d like forgot i am one of your crew
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| 46. |
if you want to know my name my name it is true blue
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if you want to know my name my name is love so true
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| 47. |
we are six dancers bold as bold as you can see |
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| 48. |
we have come to dance this dance to please the company |
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| 49. |
our dancers are but young and seldom danced before |
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| 50. |
we will do the best we can the best can do no more |
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| 51. |
it s not for greedy gain this ramble we do take |
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| 52. |
but what you please to give our clowns will freely take |
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| 53. |
you ve seen us all go round so think of us what you will
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so you ve see us all go round think of us what you will
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| 54. |
music strike up and play we re the lads from greatham still
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music strike up and play a tune just what you will
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| 55. |
here comes i that never come yit |
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| 56. |
with my big head and my little wit |
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| 57. |
although my head be big and my wit be small |
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| 58. |
i can act my part as well as you all |
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| 59. |
so room room my brave gallants listen what i ve got to say
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so mind brave lads what i do say
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| 60. |
my name is bold hector and i ll clear the way
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my name is bold hector i ve come to clear the way
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| 61. |
hector hector the banberry bush me mother s sister s son in law
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hector hector from dulberry bush
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| 62. |
there s great tom paynes standing staring swearing at the door |
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| 63. |
and he winnat come in |
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| 64. |
he s a poor silly fool like thee
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he is some silly fool i vow
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| 65. |
he ll swear more over one inch of candle
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he will say more in the burning of an inch of candle
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| 66. |
than thou wouldst over a ten pound note burning away
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that he will perform in ten times ten pounds burning out
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| 67. |
harks thee my canny man listen what i ve got to say |
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| 68. |
wasn t that thou stealing swine the other day
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wasn t thou stealing swine last night
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| 69. |
stealing what
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stealing swine
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| 70. |
feeding swine i meant to say
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tenting swine perhaps i mean
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| 71. |
come young men and try your rapiers on this villain |
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| 72. |
or he ll stand prating to me all day |
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| 73. |
we re going to try you for sheep stealing |
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| 74. |
will you give me time to make my will and say my prayers |
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| 75. |
my son basto i ll leave thee my old spotted cow |
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| 76. |
and see that thou takes good care of her |
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| 77. |
so i will dad |
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| 78. |
my son taylor i ll leave thee my lapp board and shears |
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| 79. |
and see that thou makes good use of them |
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| 80. |
so will i dad |
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| 81. |
my son fiddler i ll leave thee my backbone for fiddlestick |
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| 82. |
small bones for fiddle strings |
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| 83. |
and as for thou i ll leave thee the ringbone of my eye for a jack whistle |
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| 84. |
so ladies and gentlemen all i bid you all farewell |
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| 85. |
a doctor a doctor ten pounds for a doctor
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doctor doctor twenty pounds for a doctor
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| 86. |
here am I
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here am i
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| 87. |
what is thy will with me
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what s thy fee doctor
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| 88. |
here s a man fallen upstairs and broken his neck fallen upstairs and broken his neck
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she tumbled upstairs and broke her neck
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| 89. |
i never heard tell of such a thing |
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| 90. |
downstairs i mean doctor thou s so full of thee catches |
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| 91. |
where dost thou live doctor |
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| 92. |
i live in itty titty
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travelled i ve travelled through itty titty
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| 93. |
where there s neither town nor city
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where there is neither house land nor city
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| 94. |
wooden churches with black puddings for bell ropes
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wooden churches leather bells and black puddings for bell ropes
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| 95. |
little dogs and cats running about |
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| 96. |
with knives and forks stuck in their paws |
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| 97. |
shouting god save the queen |
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| 98. |
how far cost thou travel doctor
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how far hast thou travelled doctor
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| 99. |
from the fireside to the bedside |
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| 100. |
what and no further |
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| 101. |
yes the cheese and bread cupboard |
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| 102. |
i thought thou was a cheese and bread eater |
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| 103. |
what is thy fee doctor
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what s thy fee doctor
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| 104. |
my fee is nineteen pounds nineteen shillings eleven pence three farthings but nineteen pounds nineteen shillings one penny three farthings nineteen pounds nineteen shillings one penny and three farthings i ll take from thee
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well as it s thee i ll take nineteen pounds nineteen shillings and elevenpence three farthings
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| 105. |
well set to work doctor
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fall to work doctor
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| 106. |
and i ll see thee paid or unpaid in the morning
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i will see thee paid or unpaid in the morning
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| 107. |
that will never do for me |
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| 108. |
a 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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| 109. |
so i ll go home indeed that i will |
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| 110. |
nay nay stay doctor and i ll see thee paid out of my own pocket
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i ll see thee paid out of my own pocket
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| 111. |
how long has this man been dead |
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| 112. |
just half an hour since we took off his head |
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| 113. |
it s a long time for a man to be dead and brought alive again
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1. if he d been here he would have brought this queen to life again
2. and here i ve travelled to bring this old queen to life again
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| 114. |
but however i ll try my skill |
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| 115. |
here s a leg broken and an arm broken and his wind cutter s loose |
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| 116. |
no matter ladies and gentlemen |
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| 117. |
i am a doctor who travels far and near and much at home |
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| 118. |
take these my pills to cure all ills the past the present and to come
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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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| 119. |
the gout the itch the sores the stitch
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cure i can cure the itch the stitch the ague and the gout
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| 120. |
the money grubs and the burley stubs all out of this little dandarious box of mine |
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| 121. |
thousands have i erected |
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| 122. |
and as many more distracted |
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| 123. |
now is there any young man in this company got a scolding wife |
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| 124. |
bring her to me in the morning |
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| 125. |
and i ll give her one pill of the sivil |
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| 126. |
that ll send her headlong to the divil |
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| 127. |
so i m a doctor that can cure all aches pains cramps and sprains |
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| 128. |
and take away all wrinkles hiccough headache backache bellyache toothache and migraine |
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| 129. |
i ll make the paper smock to crack
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i can cure the whisky jade
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| 130. |
and soon remove the pain of love |
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| 131. |
and cure the love sick maid |
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| 132. |
the young the old the hot the cold the living and the dead |
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| 133. |
i can make the deaf to hear the dumb to speak
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i can make the deaf to hear the dumb to speak
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| 134. |
the lame to walk and fly
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or the lame to walk or fly sir
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| 135. |
dame doctor you lie |
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| 136. |
how can i lie when i m walking on this ground |
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| 137. |
i m better than any doctor |
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| 138. |
i can cure any pretty maid that goes bow legged |
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| 139. |
old bones strange in back |
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| 140. |
big stout maids and whisky jades
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i can cure the whisky jade
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| 141. |
i can make any person or persons fly over nine iron hedges |
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| 142. |
such as old kate rickerburn the mother of fifteen dead born alive |
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| 143. |
two misfortunes in one night broke a pot cut her arm |
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| 144. |
and besides that the old lady could crack a marble |
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| 145. |
now is there any young women in this company would like |
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| 146. |
a little of my ink a tink white drops of life |
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| 147. |
look here when i was late in asia |
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| 148. |
i gave two spoonfuls to the great megull my grandmother |
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| 149. |
which caused her to have two boys and three girls |
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| 150. |
she was then the age of ninety nine |
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| 151. |
and she swore if she lived nine hundred years longer |
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| 152. |
she would never be without two spoonfuls of this excellent cordial of mine |
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| 153. |
for a safe deliverance on a cold and frosty morning |
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| 154. |
two spoonfuls will cure the cuckle and take away its horns |
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| 155. |
so my cork i ll pull out my business to complete |
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| 156. |
soon you will see this young man stand up on his feet |
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| 157. |
i ll scour him over and over again
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if that won t do i ll scour her over and up again
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| 158. |
judge and try if he die never believe me more |
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| 159. |
but if i find his spirits fail |
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| 160. |
i ll blow him up as if the devil was in his tail |
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| 161. |
good morrow gentlemen a sleeping i have been
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good morning gentlemen a sleeping i have been
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| 162. |
i have had such a sleep as the likes was never seen
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i ve had such a sleep as the like was never seen
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| 163. |
but now i am awake and alive unto this day
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but now i am awake and alive unto this day
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| 164. |
and now we ll have a dance and the doctor must seek his pay
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so we will have a dance and the doctor must seek his pay
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