Today’s Totally Random
Line(s)
Why, now you have done me right.
-Sir John Falstaff
King Henry the Fourth Part II Act V, Scene iii, Line 70
But
what about the next line. Here’s the full piece from the text
Falstaff
[To Silence, seeing him take off a
bumper]
Why, now you have done me right.
Silence
[Singing]
Do me right,
And dub me
knight,
Samingo.
Interesting,
eh? Lots to discuss.
We’re near the end of this play. In the scene
previous, Henry IV has died, and Hal has met with the king’s counselors and
assured them that he’s no longer Hal, he is now King Henry V.
Then we switch over to Shallow’s orchard where
Shallow, Falstaff, Bardolf, and Silence are getting drunk. Silence is singing throughout
the scene.
So a bumper is a large, full glass. Falstaff is
addressing Silence and the fact that he just drank a bumper when he says you
have done me right. And Silence responds to that with his three lines of
song. Samingo might be a bastardization of Sir Mingo, whoever that is.
These guys are about to learn that Hal is now
King Henry V, and they’re going to celebrate this fact thinking that their
drinking buddy is now king. What they don’t know is that King Henry V is no
longer Hal, and that these guys will not have a friend in King Henry V. Oh well.
Do me right, and dub me knight, Samingo.
I like that. Do me right, and dub me knight,
Samingo. It’s catchy, even without a tune.
It reminds me a little of JT's
Do me wrong, but do me right.
Tell me lies, but hold me tight.
Save your good-byes for the morning light.
But don't let me be lonely tonight.
I wonder why JT doesn't mention Samingo?
Here you go.
(8) James Taylor - Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight (Live at the Beacon Theater) - YouTube
2 comments:
OMG I kid you not - this is the comment I wrote (before I finished reading this post, because I realized there were a lot of things I wanted to comment on and I didn't want to forget):
🎶Do me wrong, do me right. Tell me lies and dub me knight🎶 Maybe that's where JT got the inspiration.
And then I saw the end of your post! Hahahahaha. That tickled me silly.
Anyway.
I didn't realize "Silence" was a person until I read the rest of your post, so the line makes a little more sense now.
I also think it's interesting that a "bumper" is specifically a large, full glass and not just a glass?
I wanted to know if Hal was really Henry V name before he was king but wikipedia did not indicate thusly.
I guess I had a lot to say about this one.
Hal is a nickname for Henry. It's the nickname the Falstaff called him. So, yes, Hal becomes Henry V.
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