| 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 |