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Irish Ballad

Tom Lehrer
Version1
90

Chords in this song

Strum
D-DU-UDU
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 every one of them  in,
 Them in,  She did  every one  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 So 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 could 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 weighted her brother down with stones, Sing rickety tickety tin
 She weighted her brother down with stones, and sent him off to Davey Jones
 And all that they ever found were some bones, and occasional pieces of
 Skin, Of skin, occasional pieces of skin
 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 flames rose higher
 Danced around the funeral pyre, playing the vi-o-lin
 o-lin, playing the violin
 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 foolish pranks she did not deny
 For to do so she would have had to lie, and for lying she knew was a sin
 A sin, lying she knew was a sin
 My tragic tale I won't prolong, Sing rickety tickety tin
 My tragic tale I won't prolong, and if you did not enjoy my song
 You've yourselves to blame if it was too long, you should never have let me
 begin, Begin, you should never have let me begin
 From: "Harriet Allen" Date: Fri, 28 Jun 2002 01:27:52 GMT

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Readable chord sheet for Irish Ballad by Tom Lehrer

[Dm]About a maid, I'll s[F]ing a song             Sing [C]rickety tickety [Dm]tin
[Dm]About a maid, I'll s[C]ing a song   Who [F]didn't h[C]ave her f[Dm]amily long
Not [F]only d[C]id she [Dm]do them [F]wrong           [C]She did every one of them[Dm] in,
Them [C]in, She [F]did every [C]one of them [Dm]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    So 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 could 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 weighted her brother down with stones, Sing rickety tickety tin

She weighted her brother down with stones, and sent him off to Davey Jones

And all that they ever found were some bones,   and occasional pieces of

Skin, Of skin, occasional pieces of skin

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 flames rose higher
Danced around the funeral pyre,   playing the vi-o-lin
o-lin,  playing the violin

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 foolish pranks she did not deny
For to do so she would have had to lie, and for lying she knew was a sin
A sin, lying she knew was a sin

My tragic tale I won't prolong, Sing rickety tickety tin
My tragic tale I won't prolong, and if you did not enjoy my song
You've yourselves to blame if it was too long, you should never have let me
begin, Begin, you should never have let me begin

From: "Harriet Allen"                   Date: Fri, 28 Jun 2002 01:27:52 GMT

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