G (con’t)
From Wes Velkov adds the following information: The Green-Eyed Dragon Words by Greatrix Newman, Music by Wolseley Charles, Copyright 1926 by Boosey & Co., Ltd.; Renewed 1953 Copyright for all countries. All rights reserved.  SGB 2231. Printed in U.S.A. key of A minor

Ed. Note: Our thanks go also to Naomi C., J. Allen , Mary H, & Jessica K, and Heather M, all of whom responded with lyrics and information to help to solve this one! But there’s more . . .

From John B. #1 The Green-eyed Dragon sung by John Charles Thomas Read your page where some people asked about the song "The Green-eyed Dragon." I just finished digitizing my old audio cassettes (about 180 of them), on my Macintosh computer, and on the 2nd side of the last cassette, I found a recording I had made off FM radio in Chicago (probably in the early to middle 1980's), of The Green-eyed Dragon with the Thirteen Tails. To my pleasant surprise, it even included an announcement at the end, of the vocalist, John Charles Thomas. I'm quite sure he's the one who made the classic recording of this work, because it's what I heard when I was a boy back in the 1940's. His rendition -- the inflections of his voice, the speed with which he sang it -- is truly a classic. I am presently using an audio editor, cleaning up the little pops or snaps, as it was played over the air from a phonograph record. All in all, it's in pretty good shape. I don't know if a CD exists of this performance, but I've been burning all the digitized audio from my cassettes, onto CDs. Of course I can't sell them, since most of the content is copyrighted. John B.

From Dr.Gil L. Hi! Can you please tell me how I might get a recording of "The Green-Eyed Dragonwith the Thirteen Tails", which, I believe, was recorded by John McCormick in the 30's.

Reply from ?(name lost in "e-space") I have no idea how old this query is or how to contact "Dr. Gil L." but I heard on the radio today the very song - I hadn't heard it for years - they mentioned the singer so I searched the net to find:  (ed. Note:  Link provided is no longer available).
From Chris F. I know a lot - our family would tremble around the Hi-Fi Listening to this extreme dramatic horror reading -and always jump at the HA!! at the end! This would be a fantastic live performance/dramatic/choreographic piece--- Chris

PS: I sent a copy to Stephen Hatfield, Canadian composer/arranger with extensive folk/international experience. Chris' letter to SH includes “. . . This piece is greatly desired by our family and others, and may make an apothacaripileptic [ Ed.Note: come again?] performance.”

Stephen H’s reply:”. . Actually, the princess was baking plum cake, not pie. You are thinking of the dragon's lunch, perhaps?

“The dragon he lived for years and years
And never grew much thinner.
For lunch he'd try a policeman pie
Or a stout MP for dinner.  . .

“As for the plum cake....(it's something like this anyway)
The dragon went down to the kitchen one day
Where the fair princess was baking.
He ate by mistake some rich plum cake
That the fair princess was making.
That home made cake he could not digest
So he moaned and groaned and fled out west.
And now his ghost with bloodshot eyes
At midnight clangs his wings and cries, CHORUS. . . ”

Stephen.H. Continues “. . . I remember this from childhood too. I have it on a 45, sung by Robert Merrill with Leila Edwards at the Piano. The composer is merely listed as "Charles", but the lyricist gets his full name - and what a name: ‘Greatrex Newman’. . .”