When Knighthood Was in Flower - verse from 1969

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
With 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
Thaey 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