THE GOOD DOCTOR

(by Jon Boden)

Characters:
  red ......... Father Christmas
  orange ... King of Egypt
  green ..... The Dragon
  blue ........ Prince George
  purple .... The Old Quack Doctor
  (black ..... the whole company)

Performed by the Montague Mummers on the Common, Christmas Day 2024

***

[FATHER CHRISTMAS]
In comes I old Father Christmas
  Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la
Who here does not know my name?
  Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la
Sword and buckler under my waistcoat
  Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la
So I hope to win the game

    [FATHER CHRISTMAS]
    We've been rambling all of the night
    And rambling some part of the day
    We are champions born of every nation
    Come make room, now clear the way

        Ring Christmas bells for now's the season to be jolly
        Ring Christmas bells for Christmas time is here

[KING OF EGYPT]
In comes I the King of Egypt
  Fa-la-las... etc
In your presence I appear
Brave young George the prince of Britain
Is my only son and heir

    [KING OF EGYPT]
    Step in brave George my noble son
    And act your part along with me
    Show your face all in this place now Georgie
    Here before the company

        Ring Christmas bells for now's the season to be jolly
        Ring Christmas bells for Christmas time is here

[THE DRAGON]
In comes I the loathsome dragon
  Fa-la-las... etc
Snapdragon is my name
Lords and champions quail before me
Nations tremble at my fame

    [PRINCE GEORGE]
    In comes I Prince George of Britain
    I will face that dragon bold
    I will fight him, I will smite him bravely
    And I'll win three crowns of gold

    [THE OLD QUACK DOCTOR]
    In comes I the old quack doctor
    I can cure the blind and lame
    I'll drive out lumbago, gout and palsy
    And make a dead man rise again

        Ring Christmas bells for now's the season to be jolly
        Ring Christmas bells for Christmas time is here

Now our sport is almost ended
  Fa-la-las... etc
And Christmas comes but once a year
We hope there's none here we've offended
We hope we've brought you all good cheer

    Here's hoping that we've pleased the company
    And we hope you'll treat us right
    Pass the cup and fill it up with money
    Then we'll bid you all good night
    
        Ring Christmas bells for now's the season to be jolly
        Ring Christmas bells for Christmas time is here

recording: Eliza Carthy & Jon Boden (2023) [YouTube]

notes: Liner notes [Mainly Norfolk]