Big Dog
Rolf Harris Lyrics

This great big wolf hound's standin' starin' at me,
A large dog is staring at me and considering whether to attack me.

Lickin' his chops and weighin' me up for tea.
The dog is hungry and sees me as a potential meal.

I'm the guy who don't scare easily.
I'm usually not scared, but this situation terrifies me.

That's the truth, cor, look at that tooth,
The dog's teeth are large and scary.

And he's just standin', slobberin' and pantin', Lookin' at me.
The dog is drooling and breathing heavily while staring at me.

They never had this great dog 'ere yesterday.
The dog is new to the area.

'er old man's bought it just to scare me away.
The dog's owner bought it specifically to scare and intimidate me.

I bet he's in there laughin', shoutin' 'Hooray'.
The owner is probably inside laughing and celebrating the fear he's causing me.

And I'm scared to death, and puppy dog's breath, it's coming faster, it's gonna be disaster, I daren't run away.
I'm terrified and can feel the dog's breath, which is making me feel like disaster is imminent. I'm too afraid to run away.

Her dad's got a right to object to the way I dress, I guess.
The owner's father may not approve of my clothing choices.

But to buy a huge pup to tear me up, Look 'is jaws and 'is paws and 'is maws are all wet, It's not sweat, it's saliva, and he'll be the sole survivor. Cor, it's pure vindictiveness.
It's vindictive for the owner's father to get such a big dog just to harm me. The dog's wet mouth isn't from sweat, but from saliva, and the dog is expected to survive the encounter.

So, when his great mastiff has torn me limb from limb, What'll his precious daughter think about him.
If the dog mauls me, the owner's daughter may blame him for bringing such a dangerous dog into their lives.

I'm not very bright but I'm certainly not that dim.
I may not be the sharpest person, but I know that this situation is dangerous.

You see, then, her father, He'll have made me a martyr (you see).
If I die, I will be seen as a martyr for being a victim of such a dangerous dog.

And when me head's been torn to shreds, Bet she's gonna blame him.
If I'm mauled, the daughter will likely blame her father for bringing such a violent dog into their lives.

Aw, I'll turned green.
I'm starting to feel queasy.

Still I might as well go in a blaze of glory, If you know what I mean.
I may as well face this situation with courage, even if it means dying.

Just the same, I wish I had the courage to run. Either that or I wish I had a dirty great gun. Well, if I really gotta die then I better get it over and done.
I wish I had the courage to run away or a weapon to defend myself. If I'm going to die, I'd like it to be over as soon as possible.

Cor, that dog's immense, Still, here I go, over the fence.
The dog is huge, but I'm going to jump over the fence anyway.

Come on, dog, come on, treat me as lunch meat, Savage me and crunch me, here's me foot, have fun. (dog yelp, dying into distance)
I'm daring the dog to attack me and even offering my foot. The sound of the dog yelping is heard in the distance, implying that it attacked me and was killed.

Here! Just what do you think you're doing?
Someone is interrupting me while I'm singing.

Oh, am I glad to see you - my darling!
I'm relieved to see someone I know and care about.

Don't you Darling me! What? Got no feelings, have ya? But...
The person is annoyed that I called them darling because of my lack of apparent feelings in the song.

Not content with standin' there teasin' him for half an hour, ya haf'ta leap over the fence and frighten the life out of our poor little Great Dane puppy! Come here Tickles boy, Tickles! (whistles)
The person is upset that I've been teasing a Great Dane puppy for half an hour and jumped over a fence, frightening the puppy. They then call the puppy over and whistle for him.

Cor!
This word can be interpreted as an expression of surprise or as a shortening of 'cor blimey', a minced oath used to express surprise, excitement or emphasis.