The Skanking Plague of 1518 (live)

from Live from Drew's House by The Swashbuckling Doctors

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about

We have a lot to say about this song: "The Skanking Plague of 1518" was a candidate for the "Kraken" EP title, and also the "Side Effects May Include..." album title, but was sustained as a song title. "Plague" is inspired by a real event, namely the Dancing Plague of 1518! The real plague took place in Strasbourg on the border of current-day France and Germany, hence the references to "Frau". The cause of the deadly dancing mania is unsolved to this day. Slush chose to interpret the cause as that of demonic possession. In Slush's telling, The Devil convinces a young maiden to dance herself to death so that he can take her back to hell with him to be his eternal bride. Things end up well for the Devil in this case. Since the song is mostly told from the Devil's point of view, it is a happy, bouncy little number. It's a wedding song! This song has actually been played at a wedding between two real live humans. Yikes. The juxtaposition of happy music and melody, vs. dark macabre lyrics gives the song an odd sense of playful mischief. In the final verse, the phrase "Lyra in the West" is a reference to a constellation that appears in the western sky at dawn, during the summer, in the northern hemisphere. This indicates that our doomed Fraulein has been dancing all night, and is set to expire from exhaustion in short order. We told you this was dark. There is no significance to the Devil taking the Frau to the "7th" circle of hell as opposed to any of the other circles; "7th" simply had the right number of syllables.

lyrics

will you come and dance the waltz this summer evening
arm in arm my Fraulein fair
this will be gay highlight of fifteen eighteen
spinning round the village square

and we dance now
with a chaste bow
can you feel how
magic fills all the air

don’t you wish this evening could go on forever
as you dance without a care

there’s no need to stop no need for cool refreshment
while my hoof beat keeps up the time
as you dance you’re won-der-ing just where the time went
midnight bells will peal and chime

but your legs burn
and your feet hurt
yet you still turn
to the rhythm sublime

something deep inside now makes you pause for warning
is this madness or divine

why am I still dancing here I really can’t go on
he stopped playing hours ago but I still hear the song

lyra in the west and softly daylight breaking
still you dance my wonderful girl, your
eyes are wild with fear and how your limbs are shaking
you’re my precious jeweled pearl

in a trance now
with a furrowed brow
come with me, frau
there’s no fear in my world

once the light inside your eyes is gone forever
you’ll be mine and I’ll be yours

This is like a dream to me I can’t see day or night
his song beckons me to fly and gratefully to die, die, die
(my darling)

lovingly I lift your lifeless maiden body
to the seventh circle of hell
with a solemn vow forever I do wed thee
to the tolling funeral bell

tiny dancing
it’s enchanting
I am your queen / you are my queen
for all eternity

shuffle off this mortal coil now I possess you
dancing to the end of the world

credits

from Live from Drew's House, released April 1, 2018

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The Swashbuckling Doctors Fort Collins, Colorado

Sail the ska-punk high seas with these Fort Collins-based misfits. Formed in 2010 and still skanking!

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