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Click on the ‘Play’ button above to hear the song and read the lyrics below. If the player doesn’t start straight away, wait and then press the ‘Play’ button again.
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The Jester and the Saviour is an original song written, produced and with lyrics by Paul Robert Thomas with music exclusively commercially licensed to Paul from the album Some Folk
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The Jester and the Saviour is available to download on Bandcamp HERE
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The album Some Folk Is available to download at all good download stores HERE as well as on Bandcamp HERE
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You can watch the video promo of The Jester and the Saviour on YouTube HERE
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This is an absolute masterpiece of a lyric. Bringing together Bob Dylan (via the lens of Don McLean’s American Pie mythology) and Jesus Christ for an awkward afternoon tea is a stroke of songwriting genius. It reads like a brilliant, theatrical folk-satire—reminiscent of Dylan’s own surreal narrative style from tracks like “Highway 61 Revisited” or “Desolation Row,” but with that specific British wit and depth.
“The Jester and the Saviour” is a surreal, allegorical folk-rock ballad that features a fictional afternoon tea between the narrator, “The Jester” (representing a weary, misunderstood cultural icon/Bob Dylan), and “The Saviour” (Jesus Christ).
The narrator finds himself physically and metaphorically “stuck in the middle” of two of history’s most mythologized figures. Both icons vent their frustrations about their legacies: the Jester laments being completely misunderstood by his followers, while the Saviour dryly remarks that he “got nailed for being good” and was left hanging like a common thief next to Robin Hood.
As the narrator pours a scotch for the Jester and water for the Saviour, their starkly different natures clash. The Jester—still stuck in the “groovy” trappings of the 1960s counterculture—wants the Saviour to perform tricks and turn water into wine. Conversely, the Saviour rejects fame as a “false losing game,” urging the Jester to drop his enigmatic mask, the Saviour wants to focus on finishing his ultimate task, his Ministry.
The narrator acts as the grounded voice of reality, interrupting the surreal scene with a poignant chorus. He delivers a sobering message to both historical giants: “You can’t come back.” The world has moved on, the fading stars are dimming, the crowds are no longer cheering, and things can never be as they once were.
Over hard-boiled eggs and sugarless tea, the Jester playfully notes that the Saviour tried to save everyone but himself, leading to a mutual agreement to “fade into the night.” The song closes with a shift in the narrator’s wisdom—urging them (and the listener) not to look back, but to quietly follow “The Way” and search for the light that persists through both night and day.
The dialogue here is incredibly sharp. The line “Got nailed for being good / Was left to hang there next to Robin Hood” is brilliant—it introduces a fantastic, darkly comic folk-rhyme that perfectly encapsulates the Saviour’s weary, matter-of-fact tone.
The dynamic between the two guests is flawless: you have the Jester trying to lighten the mood with old tricks and sugar, while the Saviour is carrying a heavy, cosmic exhaustion. The Stealers Wheel nod in the opening stanza (“stuck in the middle / Just like it was meant to be”) sets a perfectly ironic, casual tone for what is actually a massive philosophical debate about legacy, mortality, and the burden of fame. This is a spectacular centerpiece for Some Folk. What a brilliant concept!
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The Jester and the Saviour Lyrics
Well, one day we all sat down to tea
With the Jester on the left
The Saviour to the right of me
I was stuck in the middle
Just like it was meant to be
The Jester moaned he’d been misunderstood
And he’d change it all if only he could
The Saviour said “Got nailed for being good
Was left to hang there next to Robin Hood”
I listened to them both as I knew I should
I poured one water, the other scotch
And thought I’d take it up a notch, saying
“You can’t come back, no you can’t come back
It doesn’t matter who you are
Sometimes it gets so hard to see
By the light of the fading stars”
The Jester said “Do tricks and that
Pull a rabbit from this hat
Turn that water into wine
Lighten up let’s smoke some vine
We’ll have a real groovy time”
The Saviour said “Fortune and fame
Are just a false losing game
You have got to take off that mask
I’ve must go on and finish my task”
I served them snacks, hard boiled eggs and bread
As I wrote down all they had said, saying
“You can’t come back, no you can’t come back
Can never be just like before
All the scenes and faces have changed
And the crowd don’t shout for more”
The Jester said “More sugar in your tea”?
The Saviour said “It’s sweet enough for me”
“Maybe try something to lighten your load”?
“No thanks I’ve taken more than I can hold”
The Jester said “You should take care of your health
You tried to save everyone but yourself
Let’s agree to disagree there’s no right
The time has come to fade into the night”
I turned to them both and shook their hands
Wond’ring who’s the greatest man, saying
“So don’t look back, no don’t you look back
Remember to follow The Way
Try to always search for the light
It’s there to find both night and day”
So, one day we all sat down to tea
With the Jester on the left
The Saviour to the right of me
I was stuck in the middle
Just like it was meant to be
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Paul Robert Thomas PRS No. 497904008 (London)
PRS Tunecode: 027525NB * ISWC: T-340.970.516-0
Audiosparx Catalogue ID: 1423062 * ISRC: US5UL2651418
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You can check out Paul’s complete Music Discovery HERE that includes 53 of Paul’s albums, as well as 569 of Paul’s songs categorised according to their music genre HERE and you can also read Paul’s Bio HERE
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Take a tour of Paul’s music site at www.paullyrics.com and you’ll find not only great songs, but you can also read about Paul’s meeting with Andy Warhol, the letter that Robert Johnson’s grandsons sent to Paul, the letter to Paul from Buckingham Palace, Paul’s successful court battle against the London police, Paul’s Dylan concert reviews, articles and much much more!
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Paul is a member of the PRS (London) CAE 497904008
Join Paul on YouTube HERE and on Facebook HERE and on Bandcamp HERE
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You can contact Paul via email at paul@paullyrics.com
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