Lyr Add: Tales of Dr. Dogbody's Leg (Ipcar)

Subject: Lyr Add: Tales of Dr. Dogbody's Leg
From: Charley Noble
Date: 05 Mar 05 - 03:09 PM

Some of you may have read this wonderful collection of short stories in DOCTOR DOGBODY'S LEG by James Norman Hall (coauthor of MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY), ©1940. If not, do find and read the reprint from Heart of Oak Sea Classics. Here are some introductory notes from the book:

In Portsmouth, by the fireside of Will Tunn's Cheerful Tortoise taproom, British seamen quaff pints and regale themselves with tales of grapeshot and gales. Enter the one-legged Royal Navy surgeon, Dr. F. Dogbody, raconteur extraordinaire. In each of ten tales, the good doctor recounts the loss of his larboard leg, each story more outrageous and hilarious than the last.

The song I found this morning in a dusty corner of my brain and needs a little more polishing but here she be:

Words by Charles Ipcar © 2005
Inspired by Dr. Dogbody's Leg, James Norman Hall (co-author of Mutiny on the Bounty), © 1940
Tune: traditional "Paddy West"

Dr. Dogbody's Leg

Now as I was a-walking round Portsmouth town,
Feeling cold and glum,
The Cheerful Tortoise was there close by
So I steps in for some rum;
I says to the landlord, "A glass of your best,"
And he turns to me with a smile,
"I'll pour you a glass of old Port Royal,
Won't you sit by the fire awhile?"

Well, as I was sipping that rum, me boys,
The room began to spin,
When all at once the door flew open,
Some old shipmates blew in;
One was a Royal Navy surgeon,
Dogbody was his name,
He'd served the King full fifty years,
You may recall his fame.

No one could slice off an arm or leg
With greater speed or skill;
No one could stitch up a gapping wound,
A wound you'd swear would kill;
But the strangest tale we ever heard,
Your kind attention I do beg,
How that surgeon bold, the truth be told,
How he'd come to lose his leg.

He'd lost a leg to a cutlass stroke,
Boarding a Yankee privateer;
Another was crushed by a loose cannon
While with the Greenwich pensioners;
He'd lost a leg to a pistol ball,
Confused with a highwayman;
Another was lost in Copenhagen,
Where Nelson led the van.

I mind the time he'd gone for a ride,
Out from Dutch Cape Town;
He and a friend on ostrich-back,
When he looked about with a frown;
A heathen arrow had pierced his thigh,
And though they dined on ostrich egg,
By the time they'd found their way back town,
Dogbody had lost his leg.

He'd lost a leg in '68,
To the spur of a fighting cock;
Another was lost to a sea serpent's bite
As he dangled it from a rock;
A leg was lost to the guillotine,
But he somehow saved his head;
Then he lost a leg in old Basque Roads,
It's a wonder he ain't dead!

Now who could forget that wintry night,
With Catherine the Great by his side?
The howling wolves in close pursuit,
It looked like his last sleigh ride,
As one by one her footmen dropped off,
To be torn to bits in a trice,
When his turn came, Dogbody was game,
And for Russia his leg sacrificed.

And so, kind friends, this evening ends,
Let's toast that surgeon bold;
Likewise his leg, and his famous peg,
Now the stories have been told;
And while some may doubt, the truth will out,
Your forbearance I would beg,
Though these tales be wild, I'd not beguile,
I'd never pull your leg.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Tales of Dr. Dogbody's Leg
From: GUEST,Nerd
Date: 05 Mar 05 - 07:46 PM

One of my favorite books, Charlie. Great work on the song!

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Tales of Dr. Dogbody's Leg (Ipcar)
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 06 Mar 05 - 07:10 AM

where did my post go?

I was congratulting you Charley, on another masterpiece & commenting on the marvellous ads below (links to Captain Hook & Mutiny) I'll copy if before submitting this time

sandra

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Tales of Dr. Dogbody's Leg (Ipcar)
From: Charley Noble
Date: 06 Mar 05 - 09:58 AM

Here's the chords to "Paddy West" in case anyone doesn't have them (copy and paste into WORD/TIMES/12 to line them up correctly):

Paddy West

C-----------------G-----C----------G---------C-----F-C---F—C-----G-------C
Now as I was a-walk-ing down Lon-don Road I came to Paddy West's house;
-----------------------------F----------C-------------------G------C----F
He gave me a bowl of A-mer-i-can hash and called it Liver-pool scouse;
---C--------------------------F--------C---------------------------G-----C--F
He said, "There's a ship a-wanting hands and on her you'll quick-ly sign;
-----C-----------G---C---------G—C--------------F—C—F—F---G----C
Her mate he's a bas-tard, her bo-sun's worse, but she will suit you fine!"

There is one blatent error in the verses which I may correct if someone nails it.

Wow, I'm in great company with the banner ads below - Capt. Jack Sparrow and Pirates of the Spanish Main!

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Tales of Dr. Dogbody's Leg (Ipcar)
From: Charley Noble
Date: 06 Mar 05 - 10:51 AM

Well, now this song's got a chorus and there's been some tweaking of the words:

Words by Charles Ipcar © 2005
Inspired by Doctor Dogbody's Leg, James Norman Hall (co-author of Mutiny on the Bounty), © 1940
Tune: traditional "Paddy West"

Dr. Dogbody's Leg


Now as I was a-walking round Portsmouth town,
Feeling cold and glum,
The Cheerful Tortoise was there close by
So I steps in for some rum;
I says to the landlord, "A glass of your best,"
And he turns to me with a smile,
"I'll pour you a glass of old Port Royal,
Won't you sit by the fireside awhile?"

Well, as I was sipping that rum, me boys,
The room began to spin,
When all at once the door flew open
And some old shipmates blew in;
One was a Royal Navy surgeon,
Dogbody was his name,
He'd served the King full fifty years,
You may recall his fame.

No one could slice off an arm or leg
With greater speed or skill;
No one could stitch up a gapping wound,
A wound you'd swear would kill;
But the strangest tale we ever heard,
Your kind attention I beg,
How that surgeon bold, the truth be told,
How he'd come to lose his leg.

He'd lost a leg to a cutlass stroke,
'Board a Yankee privateer;
Or was it crushed by a loose cannon
While with the Greenwich pensioners?
He'd lost a leg to a pistol ball,
Confused with a highwayman;
Or was it lost in Copenhagen,
Where Nelson led the van?

Chorus:

So raise your glass of old Port Royal,
Let's toast that surgeon bold,
Likewise his leg, and his famous peg,
Let another tale be told!

I mind the time he'd gone for a ride,
Out from Dutch Cape Town;
He and a friend on ostrich-back,
When he looked about with a frown;
A heathen arrow had pierced his thigh,
And though they dined on ostrich egg,
By the time they'd found their way back town,
Dogbody had lost his leg. (CHO)

He'd lost a leg in '68,
To the spur of a fighting cock;
Or was it lost to a sea serpent's bite
As he dangled it from a rock?
A leg was lost to the guillotine,
But he somehow saved his head;
Then he lost a leg in old Basque Roads,
It's a wonder he ain't dead! (CHO)

Now who could forget that wintry night,
With Catherine the Great by his side?
The howling wolves in close pursuit,
It looked like his last sleigh ride,
As one by one her footmen dropped off,
To be torn to bits in a trice,
When his turn came, Dogbody was game,
And for Russia his leg sacrificed.

And so, kind friends, this evening ends,
Let's toast that surgeon bold;
Likewise his leg, and his famous peg,
Now these stories have been told;
And while some may doubt, the truth will out,
Your forbearance I would beg,
Though these tales be wild, I'd not beguile,
I'd never pull your leg.

Not bad for a song that's less than 24 hours old! Of course I've been thinking about a song in the back of my mind since I first read the book in 1998.

Banner ads for Catain Hook!

What cheer!
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Tales of Dr. Dogbody's Leg (Ipcar)
From: Charley Noble
Date: 07 Mar 05 - 12:42 PM

Refreshing!

I'm now re-reading the book to see if I've missed anything important. There was, of course, that incredible fully functional mechanical peg that Ben Franklin designed and fashioned for Dr, Dogbody, and another one which had a secret compartment complete with golden mermaids and mechanical naval officers who marched out and sprang to attention while a concealed music box played "Rule Britannia" but I digress.

I'll see if I can record a MP3 sample file this weekend for the verse and chorus.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: Lyr Add: DR. DOGBODY'S LEG (Charles Ipcar)
From: Charley Noble
Date: 09 Mar 05 - 09:47 AM

Here's the final revision, I swear, primarily changes to verse 2 and verse 8:

Words by Charles Ipcar © 2005
Inspired by Doctor Dogbody's Leg, James Norman Hall (co-author of Mutiny on the Bounty), © 1940
Tune: traditional "Paddy West"

Dr. Dogbody's Leg

Now as I was a-walking round Portsmouth town,
Feeling cold and glum,
The Cheerful Tortoise was close at hand
So I steps in for some rum;
I says to the landlord, "A glass of your best,"
And he turns to me with a smile,
"I'll pour you a glass of old Port Royal,
Won't you sit by the fire awhile?"

As I was sipping that rum, me boys,
I heard an awful din,
As all at once the door banged open
And some old shipmates blew in;
One was a Royal Navy surgeon,
Dogbody was his name,
He'd served the King full fifty years,
You may recall his fame.

No one could slice off an arm or leg
With greater speed or skill;
No one could stitch up a gapping wound,
A wound you'd swear would kill;
But the strangest tales, ever regaled,
And heed me well, I beg,
How that surgeon bold, the truth be told,
How he'd come to lose his leg.

He'd lost a leg to a cutlass stroke,
'Board a Yankee privateer;
Or was it crushed by a loose cannon
With the Greenwich pensioners?
He'd lost a leg to a pistol ball,
Mistook for a highwayman;
Or was it lost in Copenhagen,
Where Nelson led the van?

Chorus:

So raise your glass of old Port Royal,
Let's toast that surgeon bold,
Likewise his leg, and his famous peg,
Let another tale be told!

I mind the time he took a ride,
Out from Dutch Cape Town;
He and a friend on ostrich-back,
When he looked about with a frown;
A heathen arrow had pierced his thigh,
Then they dined on ostrich egg,
But when they found their way back town,
Dogbody had lost his leg. (CHO)

He'd lost a leg in '68,
To the spur of a fighting cock;
Or was it lost to a sea serpent's bite
As he dangled it from a rock?
A leg was lost to the guillotine,
But he somehow saved his head;
Then he lost a leg in old Basque Roads,
It's a wonder he ain't dead! (CHO)

Now who could forget that wintry night,
With Catherine the Great by his side?
The howling wolves in close pursuit,
It looked like his last sleigh ride,
As one by one her footmen dropped off,
To be torn to bits in a trice,
When his turn came, Dogbody was game,
And for Russia his leg sacrificed.

And so, kind friends, this evening ends,
Let's toast that surgeon bold;
Likewise his leg, and his famous peg,
Now these stories have been told;
And while some may doubt, the truth will out,
Your forbearance I'll not beg,
Though these tales be wild, I'd not beguile,
I'd never pull your leg.

I'll try this out on some Roll & Go members this evening when we get together for rehearsal.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Tales of Dr. Dogbody's Leg (Ipcar)
From: Charley Noble
Date: 13 Mar 05 - 05:56 PM

Here's a link to my most recent revision of the lyrics and a MP3 sample file so you can hear how I sing it: Charley Noble Website

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Tales of Dr. Dogbody's Leg (Ipcar)
From: Charley Noble
Date: 17 Nov 05 - 11:48 AM

refresh