"I Wonder What the King is Doing Tonight" is a song featured in the 1967 film Camelot with music written by Frederick Loewe and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner. In the song, King Arthur (Richard Harris) thinks back to the night of his marriage to his now-estranged wife, Guinevere (Vanessa Redgrave). It is an arranged marriage, and he has never met her before. He is understandably afraid of what lies ahead.
Lyrics[]
I know what my people are thinking tonight
As home through the shadows they wander
Everyone smiling in secret delight
They stare at the castle and ponder
Whenever the wind blows this way
You can almost hear everyone say
I wonder what the king is doing tonight?
What merriment is the king pursuing tonight?
The candles at the court, they never burned as bright
I wonder what the king is up to tonight?
How goes the final hour as he sees the bridal bower
Being regally and legally prepared?
Well, I'll tell you what the king is doing tonight
He's scared, he's scared
You mean that a king who fought a dragon
Hacked him in two and fixed his wagon
Goes to be wed in terror and distress? Yes
A warrior who's so calm in battle
Even his armor doesn't rattle
Faces a woman petrified with fright? Right
You mean that appalling clamoring
That sounds like a blacksmith hammering
Is merely the banging of his royal knees? Please
You wonder what the king is wishing tonight?
He's wishing he were in Scotland fishing tonight
What occupies his time while waiting for the bride?
He's searching high and low for some place to hide
And oh, the expectation, the sublime anticipation
He must feel about the wedding night to come
Well, I'll tell you what the king is feeling tonight
He's numb, he shakes, he quails, he quakes
And that's what the king is doing tonight
