It said his blade weighed half a tonne O' Spanish steel, Christ how it shone With a whistle & thump yer dash were done And the axe cared not for who you were He kept a cell below the tower Where he signed the cross every half an hour With a calf skin drum & a rattle tat taa The Jolly Executioner He had a son, a drunken sailor Coulda been a Tinker, Tyke, or tailor Sailed away to far Australia To be the executioner His rope were short, his knots were tight He'd plait the hemp by candle light With a crack & twang ye bade goodnight To the Jolly Executioner String em high & stretch em well
Burn a candle, strike a bell Pipe their rotten souls to hell For the Jolly Executioner Then some bloke with a kite & key Invented electricity And the job were handed down to me So fortunate you wish you were I've cooked em all, the crooks & crumbs The vagabonds & hapless bums With a crackle & pop, 'Ol' Sparky' sung For the Jolly Executioner I had a son, near broke me heart A stand alone, a breed apart Brought d**h unto a dying art A general Practitioner All white lab coats & PHD's And 10cc's of anti-freeze A noble art brought to its knees Farewell to the Executioner