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Arthur and the Square Knights of the Round Table - Episode 35 (1972)

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clip Arthur, the ring-a-ding-a-ling-a-list king

This clip chosen to be G

Clip description

This clip is the opening theme song for the animation series, Arthur and the Square Knights of the Round Table.

Curator’s notes

by Annemaree O'Brien

This is the iconic song for a generation of Australians who grew up with the bumbling King Arthur and his luckless team. The words of the song introduce the characters and set the scene for the Camelot capers to follow. Some of the song references are very much of the time, for example: ‘If you’re in trouble, send a cable, to the hero of our fable’, referring to the telegram, the fastest mode of written communication then available.

The comic reference to Arthur as ‘Queen of…’ then corrected to ‘King of Camelot’ in the final part of the song is a rather silly, camped up ‘Benny Hill’ type joke, which would have been seen as daring and funny at the time. The implication is that King Arthur is not a very masculine knight and apparently dressing ‘heroic’ male characters in drag was a bit of a feature in other episodes of the series.

Thanks to the generosity of the rights holders, we are able to offer Arthur, the ring-a-ding-a-ling-a-list king from the television program Arthur and the Square Knights of the Round Table - Episode 35 as a high quality video download.

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australianscreen is produced by the National Film and Sound Archive. By using the website you agree to comply with the terms and conditions described elsewhere on this site. The NFSA may amend the 'Conditions of Use’ from time to time without notice.

All materials on the site, including but not limited to text, video clips, audio clips, designs, logos, illustrations and still images, are protected by the Copyright Laws of Australia and international conventions.

When you access australianscreen you agree that:

  • You may retrieve materials for information only.
  • You may download materials for your personal use or for non-commercial educational purposes, but you must not publish them elsewhere or redistribute clips in any way.
  • You may embed the clip for non-commercial educational purposes including for use on a school intranet site or a school resource catalogue.
  • The National Film and Sound Archive’s permission must be sought to amend any information in the materials, unless otherwise stated in notices throughout the Site.

All other rights reserved.

ANY UNAUTHORISED USE OF MATERIAL ON THIS SITE MAY RESULT IN CIVIL AND CRIMINAL LIABILITY.

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