I Wonder What the King Is Doing - Richard Burton, Фредерик Лоу

I know what my people are thinking tonight

As home through the shadows they wander

Everyone smiling in secret delight

They stare at the castle and ponder

Whenever the wind blows this way

You can almost hear everyone say

I wonder what the king is doing tonight?

What merriment is the king pursuing tonight?

The candles at the court, they never burned as bright

I wonder what the king is up to tonight?

How goes the final hour as he sees the bridal bower

Being regally and legally prepared?

Well, I’ll tell you what the king is doing tonight

He’s scared, he’s scared

You mean that a king who fought a dragon

Hacked him in two and fixed his wagon

Goes to be wed in terror and distress?

Yes

A warrior who’s so calm in battle

Even his armor doesn’t rattle

Faces a woman petrified with fright?

Right

You mean that appalling clamoring

That sounds like a blacksmith hammering

Is merely the banging of his royal knees?

Please

You wonder what the king is wishing tonight?

He’s wishing he were in Scotland fishing tonight

What occupies his time while waiting for the bride?

He’s searching high and low for some place to hide

And oh, the expectation, the sublime anticipation

He must feel about the wedding night to come

Well, I’ll tell you what the king is feeling tonight

He’s numb, he shakes, he quails, he quakes

And that’s what the king is doing tonight