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Arac. This helmet, I suppose, Was meant to ward off blows, It's very hot And weighs a lot, As many a guardsman knows, As many a guardsman knows, As many a guardsman knows, As many a guardsman knows, So off, so off that helmet goes. (Giving their helmets to attendants.) Chorus. Yes, yes, yes, So off that helmet goes! Arac. This tight-fitting cuirass Is but a useless mass, It's made of steel, And weighs a deal, This tight-fitting cuirass Is but a useless mass, A man is but an ass Who fights in a cuirass, So off, so off goes that cuirass. (Removing cuirasses.) Chorus. Yes, yes, yes, So off goes that cuirass!

Richard Walker, Darell Fancourt & Radley Flynn as Guron, Arac & Scynthius, 1930s

Richard Temple, Warwick Gray & William Lugg in the original production, 1884

Arac. These brassets, truth to tell, May look uncommon well, But in a fight They're much too tight, They're like a lobster shell, They're like a lobster shell! (Removing their brassets) Chorus. Yes, yes, yes, They're like a lobster shell. Arac. These things I treat the same (Indicating leg pieces.) (I quite forget their name.) They turn one's legs To cribbage pegs — Their aid I thus disclaim, Their aid I thus disclaim, Though I forget their name, Though I forget their name, Their aid, their aid I thus disclaim! All. Yes, yes, yes, Their aid I thus disclaim!

They remove their leg pieces and wear close-fitting shape suits.

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