A single by Seraphino Aurelius Belladonna
The Green Knight
The Green Knight legend retold through Seraphino’s eyes and charm: alarming hospitality, ill-considered bargains, and a knight who discovers that courage leaves room for fear.
- Release date
The matter at hand
What the song concerns
Seraphino follows Gawain from the wine and ceremony of Camelot to the Green Chapel, treating the Green Knight’s challenge as a bargain whose terms deserved much closer inspection. The beheading game, the exchanges of hunting spoils and kisses, and the concealed green sash all remain part of the tale; the telling belongs unmistakably to the bard.
Behind the composition
About the recording
His wit gives the legend its human scale. The terrifying visitor becomes the largest serving garnish ever seen, chivalric temptation becomes a household’s strange economy, and a threatened neck occasions an objection to excessive hospitality. Beneath the charm is affection for Gawain: a frightened man who nevertheless keeps his appointment.
The final chorus changes the lesson. Worth does not depend upon one unblemished deed; returning to face danger while afraid demands more courage than a splendid boast. Seraphino praises both the knight who stays and the man who shows mercy, then reserves the right to be otherwise engaged when next year’s invitation arrives.
The words, as sung
Lyrics
At Camelot, with wine and dishes fine
The knights were doing wonders with the wine
Then through the door there rode a giant green
The largest serving garnish ever seen
His horse was green, his beard was green as well
His tailor had but one thing left to sell
He raised an axe and offered them a sport
Which chilled the gravy halfway round the court
Sing hey, sing ho, let prudent men take heed
Read all the terms before a gallant deed
For glory is a splendid thing to chase
Till someone seeks thy head as a keepsake
Sing hey, sing ho, the holly and the blade
A most distressing bargain hath been made
One year to boast, one day to rue the boast
And then to be the shortest at the roast
“Come, strike one blow,” the verdant stranger said
“And in a year I’ll strike thy neck instead
Gawain stepped forth, his honour burning bright
His judgement took its leave for half the night
He swung the axe. The head fell to the floor
The owner stooped and fetched it by the door
The head said, “Keep thy promise, noble peer
Gawain said very little more that year
Sing hey, sing ho, let prudent men take heed
Read all the terms before a gallant deed
For glory is a splendid thing to chase
Till someone seeks thy head as a keepsake
Sing hey, sing ho, the holly and the blade
A most distressing bargain hath been made
One year to boast, one day to rue the boast
And then to be the shortest at the roast
Through frost he rode, through mire and driving sleet
With scant applause and quite unhappy feet
A lord received him, gave him meat and ale
And made a second bargain in this tale
“What I shall win afield, I’ll give to thee
What thou shalt win indoors, return to me
Gawain agreed, since this appeared less grim
Then came the lady with her eyes on him
The lord brought deer; Gawain returned a kiss
The host seemed quite content with all of this
Next came a boar; two kisses paid the fee
The household ran on strange economy
The third day brought a fox, three kisses too
And one green sash to keep his neck in view
“This guards thy life,” the lady softly said
He hid the sash. He much preferred his head
Sing hey, sing ho, let prudent men take heed
Read all the terms before a gallant deed
For glory is a splendid thing to chase
Till someone seeks thy head as a keepsake
Sing hey, sing ho, the holly and the blade
A most distressing bargain hath been made
One year to boast, one day to rue the boast
And then to be the shortest at the roast
He found the chapel, heard the whetstone sing
And wished he’d taken up a different thing
The great axe rose. Gawain withdrew his neck
“I flinched,” quoth he, “to keep myself in check
Again it rose; again the blow was stayed
“Good sir, make haste! Enough display is made
The third stroke nicked him. — Up he sprang to fight
“One stroke was owed—not every stroke tonight
There are limits, even to hospitality
The knight then laughed. “Thy host am I, good friend
Our little games have reached their merry end
Two honest days: two strokes that spared thy skin
The sash thou kept accounts for this small sin
Gawain cried shame and cursed his fearful heart
His host thought he had played a decent part
“For love of life thou didst conceal the lace
Most men grow fond of having neck and face
Sing hey, sing ho, let prudent men take heed
There’s more to worth than one unblemished deed
A knight may quake and still return to stand
That takes more nerve than waving steel in hand
Sing hey, sing ho, the holly and the green
The strangest Christmas guest we’ve ever seen
The court wore sashes, each in merry pride
Gawain alone knew what the fashion implied
So praise Gawain, who faced the axe and stayed
And praise the man who kept it gently played
But should a stranger offer thee such cheer
Tell him thou art already booked next year