The ladies love the marshal so
Because he has a staff Sir
Its thick and long, and very strong
Made of the best stuff, Sir
But what makes it dear to one and all
It Stands up straight, if hold he calls
Fa la la la, la la la, la la, la, la, la, la

The ladies, they will follow him
Where ever may he go
Just hoping that he will call out hold
And make it rise just so
When the sun is down and the fighting's done,
The Ladies use him for their fun
Fa la la la, la la la, la la, la, la, la, la

When the Marshal was a lad
He was unsure and shy
They ladies would ignore him
No matter what he'd try
But one day he took his staff in hand
And called out hold, and up it would stand
Fa la la la, la la la, la la, la, la, la, la

He takes his staff most everywhere
And Waves it in the air
And whenever he calls out hold
The ladies stare and stare
What also makes his staff so grand
It has a knob upon the end
Fa la la la, la la la, la la, la, la, la, la

When the marshal is at work
His staff is always there
When he feels there is a need
His Staff is in the air
When he calls "hold", as quick as you please
The Fighters go down on their knees
Fa la la la, la la la, la la, la, la, la, la

There’s many who wish they had his staff
And would trade for it much gold
But the Marshal's quite attached to it
It never will be sold
But if a lady asks him just right
He’s willing to share it for the night
Fa la la la, la la la, la la, la, la, la, la

This song started with a Reference to a Fictional Bawdy song in the Diskworld series “A Wizard’s staff has a knob on the end”. (This has since been written by someone else). But taking the same logic, it seemed to me a “Marshals staff standing up straight when he called hold”, had way too much bawdy potential. For those unacquainted with SCA fighting. The Marshals will normally have a long staff with stripes on it. When they call Hold, they raise it above their heads. All Fighting stops, and fighters drop to their knees. The fighters will stay on their knees until the marshal give them permission to rise. In the words of Tom Lerher “If correctly viewed, Everything is Lewd”. I worked on this one for over two years. I tried it to many tunes, themes and styles. Recently I bought a 1887 reprint of Merry Drolleries, first published in 1662. One of the songs in there was “My Mistress is a shuttlecock” (Recorded in the 1960’s by Ed Mccurdy). They words and tune just clicked.