The Irish Ballad

Song Info:
"The Irish Ballad" Was Released In And Was Featured On "Tom Lehrer In Concert", "Tom Lehrer Discovers Australia (And Vice Versa)" And "The Tom Lehrer Collection 1953 - 60". It Was Also Featured On "Songs By Tom Lehrer".

Lyrics:
About a maid I'll sing a song Sing rickety-tickety-tin About a maid I'll sing a song Who didn't have her family long Not only did she do them wrong She did ev'ryone of them in, them in She did ev'ryone of them in

One morning in a fit of pique Sing rickety-tickety-tin One morning in a fit of pique She drowned her father in the creek The water tasted bad for a week And we had to make do with gin, with gin We had to make do with gin

Her mother she could never stand Sing rickety-tickety-tin Her mother she cold never stand And so a cyanide soup she planned The mother died with a spoon in her hand And her face in a hideous grin, a grin Her face in a hideous grin

She set her sister's hair on fire Sing rickety-tickety-tin She set her sister's hair on fire And as the smoke and flame rose high'are Danced around the funeral pyre Playin' a violin, -olin Playin' a violin

She weighted her brother down with stones Rickety-tickety-tin She weighted her brother down with stones And sent him off to davy jones All they ever found were some bones And occasional pieces of skin, of skin Occasional pieces of skin

One day when she had nothing to do Sing rickety-tickety-tin One day when she had nothing to do She cut her baby brother in two And served him up as an irish stew And invited the neighbors in, -bors in Invited the neighbors in

And when at last the police came by Sing rickety-tickety-tin And when at last the police came by Her little pranks she did not deny To do so she would have had to lie And lying, she knew, was a sin, a sin Lying, she knew, was a sin

My tragic tale, I won't prolong Rickety-tickety-tin My tragic tale I won't prolong And if you do not enjoy the song You've yourselves to blame if it's too long You should never have let me begin, begin You should never have let me begin