The Irish Ballad-Tom Lehrer

[ti:The Irish Ballad] [ar:Tom Lehrer] [al:In Concert] [by:] [offset:0] [00:00.00]The Irish Ballad - Tom Lehrer [00:00.76]Now I'd like to turn to the folk song [00:02.23] [00:03.10]Which has become in [00:03.83]Recent years the particularly fashionable form of idiocy among [00:06.90]The self styled intellectual [00:07.99] [00:11.73]We find that people who deplore [00:12.96]The level of current popular songs [00:14.22] [00:15.05]Although I admit they do [00:16.20]Seem to be recording almost anything these days [00:18.18]Have you heard [00:18.85]Sesue Hayakawa's record of [00:19.84]Remember Pearl Harbor [00:20.93] [00:24.71]These these same people who deplore the level of [00:31.96]Current popular songs and yet [00:33.53]Will sit around enthralled singing [00:35.20] [00:36.14]Jimmy crack corn and I don't care [00:38.29] [00:40.78]Or Green Grow The Rushes [00:42.47]Oh whatever that means [00:43.41] [00:44.99]At any rate for this elite [00:46.27]I have here an ancient Irish [00:47.89]Ballad which was written a few years ago [00:49.61] [00:50.47]And which is replete [00:55.59]With all the accoutrements of this art form [00:57.24] [00:58.03]In particular it has [00:59.04]A sort of idiotic refrain [01:00.36] [01:01.29]In this case rickety tickety tin [01:02.54]You'll notice cropping up from time to time [01:03.93]Running through [01:04.26]I might add [01:05.24] [01:05.92]Interminable verses The large number of verses [01:09.99]Being a feature expressly designed to please the true devotees [01:12.79]Of the folk song who seem to find singing fifty verses of [01:16.74] [01:17.45]On Top Of Old Smoky [01:19.09] [01:21.08]Is twice as enjoyable as singing twenty five [01:22.92] [01:25.15]This this type of song also has [01:29.49]What is known technically in music as [01:31.38]A modal tune which means [01:34.01]For the benefit of any layman who [01:35.53]May have wandered in this evening [01:36.93]That I play a wrong note [01:37.89]Every now and then [01:38.61] [01:41.48]This song though does differ strikingly from the genuine [01:43.16]Folk ballad in that in this song the words [01:45.38]Which are supposed [01:45.97]To rhyme actually do [01:47.55] [01:49.98]I ah I really should say that [01:51.83]I do not direct these remarks [01:54.12]Against the vast army of folk song lovers [01:57.37]But merely against [01:58.30]That peculiar hardcore who seem to equate authenticity with [02:01.73]Artistic merit and illiteracy with charm [02:04.79] [02:07.06]Oh one more thing [02:07.93] [02:10.81]One of the more important aspects of public [02:12.48]Folk singing is audience participation [02:15.27]And this happens to be a [02:16.67]Good song for group singing [02:18.00]So if any of you feel like joining [02:19.20]In with me on this song [02:20.61]I'd appreciate it if you would leave [02:22.28]Right now [02:22.76] [02:30.20]About a maid I'll sing a song [02:32.28]Sing rickety tickety tin [02:33.76] [02:34.54]About a maid I'll sing a song [02:36.75]Who didn't have her family long [02:38.90]Not only did she do them wrong [02:40.82] [02:41.94]She did every one of them in [02:43.78] [02:44.42]Them in [02:45.34]She did every one of them in [02:47.17] [02:48.91]One morning in a fit of pique [02:50.90]Sing rickety tickety tin [02:52.62] [02:53.20]One morning in a fit of pique [02:55.30]She drowned her father in the creek [02:57.62]The water tasted bad for a week [03:00.33] [03:01.35]And we had to make do with gin [03:03.11] [03:03.82]With gin [03:04.33] [03:04.89]And we had to make do with gin [03:07.70] [03:08.51]Her mother she could never stand [03:10.58]Sing rickety tickety tin [03:11.54] [03:12.35]Her mother she could never stand [03:14.38]And so a cyanide soup she planned [03:16.17] [03:16.92]Her mother died with a spoon in her hand [03:19.90] [03:20.49]And her face in a hideous grin [03:23.02] [03:23.53]A grin [03:24.17] [03:24.89]Her face in a hideous grin [03:26.79] [03:28.39]She set her sister's hair on fire [03:30.48]Rickety tickety tin [03:31.90] [03:32.60]She set her sister's hair on fire [03:34.77]And as the smoke and flame rose higher [03:37.06]Danced around the funeral pyre [03:40.33] [03:40.85]Playin' a violin [03:42.65] [03:43.31]'Olin [03:43.81] [03:44.60]Playin' a violin [03:46.34] [03:47.84]She weighted her brother down with stones [03:49.93]Rickety tickety tin [03:50.61] [03:51.14]She weighted her brother down with stones [03:52.85]And sent him off to Davy Jones [03:54.64]All they ever found were some bones [03:57.68] [03:58.47]And the occasional pieces of skin [04:02.29] [04:03.03]Of skin [04:03.58] [04:04.18]Occasional pieces of sking [04:06.03] [04:08.61]One day when she had nothing to do [04:10.63]Rickety tickety tin [04:12.10] [04:12.66]One day when she had nothing to do [04:14.90]She cut her baby brother in two [04:16.96]And served him up as an Irish stew [04:20.07] [04:20.78]And invited the neighbors in [04:22.82] [04:23.48]Bors in [04:24.07] [04:24.60]Invited the neighbors in [04:26.50] [04:27.99]And when at last the police came by [04:29.97]Rickety tickety tin [04:31.17] [04:31.74]And when at last the police came by [04:33.87]Her little pranks she did not deny [04:35.55] [04:36.08]To do so she would have had to lie [04:38.58] [04:39.45]And lying she knew was a sin [04:42.28]A sin [04:42.92] [04:43.68]Lying she knew was a sin [04:46.93]My tragic tale I won't prolong [04:48.82]Rickety tickety tin [04:50.03]My tragic tale I won't prolong [04:51.69]And if you do not enjoy my song [04:53.49]You've yourselves to blame if it's too long [04:56.01] [04:56.65]You should never have let me begin [04:58.91] [04:59.61]Begin [05:00.25] [05:00.90]You should never have let me begin