THE RED-BACKED, SCALY, BLACK-BELLIED, TUSK-ED, BAT-WINGED DRAGON
Eb                     G7                     C7                   Ab   Ab7
All the dragons are extinct and its against the law
Eb              C7               F7                      Bb     Bb7
To conjure or procure, even a dragon's claw
Eb              G7                  C7                                    Ab    Ab7
That's an official decree, signed by the king of the land
Eb                                   C7                      F7    Bb7          Eb
And proclaimed throughout the kingdom by a marching band
But this morning something went wrong — something very hard to explain
And the news, it quaked the earth and upset a peaceful reign.
A young warrior rode to the castle, crying that the king must hear
That a dragon was on the loose.  Cause for alarm and fear!
             Eb                                            G7         C7                                    Ab            Ab7
It was a RED-BACKED, SCALY, BLACK-BELLIED, TUSK-ED, BAT-WINGED DRAGON,
Eb                      C7               F7                   Bb    Bb7
Rampaging the countryside, scourging the land.
             Eb                                            G7         C7                                    Ab            Ab7
It was a RED-BACKED, SCALY, BLACK-BELLIED, TUSK-ED, BAT-WINGED DRAGON,
       Eb                  F7        Bb7   Eb
The situation was clearly out of hand.
Eb7
He was little more than an egg when the new law was proclaimed
Abm                                                                            F7           Bb
Hidden away by an evil sorcerer, Long-Grin was the dragon's name!
He lives in the Forbidden Forest in a fortress made of stone
And even the bravest king wouldn't venture up there all alone,
"Cause dragons are fierce and strong — terrible to behold —
The most horrible creatures alive — so the story is told!
It was a RED-BACKED, SCALY, BLACK-BELLIED, TUSK-ED, BAT-WINGED DRAGON,
Hissing, spewing flames, smoke coming out of his ears!
It was a RED-BACKED, SCALY, BLACK-BELLIED, TUSK-ED, BAT-WINGED DRAGON,
Such a sight one sees, but once in a thousand years!  (And that means trouble!)
One appears about every thousand years!  (I wish they wouldn't!)
But one appears about every thousand years!
© 1986 by Travis Edward Pike

CLICK HERE to listen to the MP3 file of the 1986 arrangement of
"The Red-backed, Scaly, Black-bellied, Tusk-ed, Bat-winged Dragon."

I originally wrote The Red-Backed, Scaly, Black-Bellied, Tusk-ed, Bat-winged Dragon in 1962 for "Sir Smudge," my earliest attempt at a musical fantasy.  In 1966, it became a favorite at Chelsea Naval Hospital, as the Red Cross wheeled me and an old guitar from ward to ward to entertain the wounded.  It was one of the most popular songs in my repertoire when I began playing the Boston coffeehouse circuit and went on to become a staple of Travis Pike's Tea Party, the ‘rinky dinky ragtime’ number that ‘single-songedly’ practically brought back the Charleston!  This version is played and arranged "English Music Hall" style by my good friend, David Carr.  I sing the lead, accompanied by David Carr, Lonnie Snyder, Michael Moores, Julie Long and Mary Moyers.