Sullivan: 28. The Criminal Cried As He Dropp'd Him Down

Act 2 - 28. The Criminal Cried As He Dropp'd Him Down - Beryl Dixon/Peter Pratt/Kenneth Sandford/The D'Oyly Carte Opera Chorus/The New Symphony Orchestra Of London/Isidore Godfrey

The criminal cried as he dropped him down

In a state of wild alarm

With a frightful frantic fearful frown

I bared my big right arm

I seized him by his little pig-tail

And on his knees fell he

As he squirmed and struggled

And gurgled and guggled

I drew my snickersnee

My snickersnee

Oh never shall I

Forget the cry

Or the shriek that shrieked he

As I gnashed my teeth

When from it's sheath

I drew my snickersnee

We know him well

He cannot tell

Untrue or groundless tales

He always tries

To utter lies

And every time he fails

He shivered and shook as he gave the sign

For the stroke he didn't deserve

When all of a sudden his eye met mine

And it seemed to brace his nerve

For he nodded his head and kissed his hand

And he whistled an air did he

As the sabre true

Cut cleanly through

His cervical vertebrae

His vertebrae

When a man's afraid

A beautiful maid

Is a cheering sight to see

And it's oh I'm glad

That moment sad

Was soothed by sight of me

Her terrible tale

You can't assail

With truth it quite agrees

Her taste exact

For faultless fact

Amounts to a disease

Now though you'd have said that head was dead

For it's owner dead was he

It stood on it's neck with a smile well-bred

And bowed three times to me

It was none of your impudent off-hand nods

But as humble as could be

For it clearly knew

The deference due

To a man of pedigree

Of pedigree

And it's oh I vow

This deathly bow

Was a touching sight to see

Though trunkless yet

It couldn't forget

The deference due to me

This haughty youth

He speaks the truth

Whenever he finds it pays

And in this case

It all took place

Exactly as he says

Exactly exactly exactly

Exactly as he says