When Knighthood Was in Flower

This was written in the late 1960s, when I was still under the influence of some Bob Dylan songs.

1 
When Knighthood was in flower 
The knights were saintly men 
They put bubblegum on their lances 
And jousted with finger zen 
They put iron pants on their ladies 
To keep their heart-throbs pure 
When they went off with Sancho Panza 
To find a midnight cure 
The street scenes at night were haunted 
The peasants were the honest mass 
The kings were their dear fathers 
The priests a decent working class 
In the bars and in the nightclubs 
All night long they sang 
Outside the high walls you could hear them 
Came the dawn and still the echoes rang 

2 
In his study we see the doctor 
Who nursed them through the plague 
One eye on their suffering 
The other eye kind of vague 
He tries to turn away their blessings 
He knows there was no cure 
His medicine was his prayer book 
Only the strong ones did endure 
And the smell of sulphur from the back room 
Proves that any faith can lag 
He knows he is only equal 
To the one who wears the killer`s tag 
And he swears to give his best to evil 
In return for a moment`s grace 
He turns his back on the Holy Bible 
And greets the devil face to face 

3 
When the thief and the barber 
Agreed to trim the knave 
They didn`t know that his saber 
Was stuck up in his sleeve 
Now the thief is known as "Lefty" 
And the barber needs a shave 
While the knave raps Rune tunes 
In the baron`s cabaret 
Well the baroness is fanning 
And sneeking looks his way 
The knave eyes her mood ring 
As in baritone does bray 
"The cheese and wine are delicious 
I work real hard for my pay 
But the baron soon will be sleeping 
That`s the time I really play." 

4 
In his lair the pimpled dragon 
Still bears a torch for his love 
He probes the lower hillside 
With field glasses from above 
He only learned in college 
That he hates to be alone 
When he spies a certain maiden 
He knows what must be done 
Meanwhile his brother Sheldon 
Is fighting for equal pay 
If St. George can drive a Porsche 
Sheldon needs a Chevrolet 
And the maiden and the dragon 
Got wed just yesterday 
They plan to have six children 
And a home right across the bay 

5 
And I`m on the street to witness 
The coming of an age 
The children walk in sunflowers 
Their parents mock outrage 
Philosophers answer questions 
They just get payed minimum wage 
They get one second to ponder 
To be thought of as wise and sage 
The rulers get themselves elected 
Once they`ve answered duty`s page 
They get only two chances 
To be up on center stage 
And I have the choice of guitar 
Or learning of the plummer`s trade 
But I never get to plunder 
Those who`ve rained on my parade