With the braggart dash and swagger of the soldiers of fortune amongst whom Deutsch had served, the headsman presents the Baptist's head with exaggerated courtliness to Salome. |
The headsman, on the other hand, had scarcely anything to do to earn his hundred guilders. |
And as I said this, I untied my cravat, and appeared to prepare for the headsman. |
While Henry VIII, said to be a gout sufferer, could do his explaining with a headsman for anyone bold enough to ask him about his diet, simpler folks may need to settle for a flack. |
Set in the 16th century, it shows us the romantic life of a headsman, that is, the executioner who must chop people's heads off when they misbehave. |
The song is supposed to be read as a metaphor: the lover is like a headsman. |