I'm looking for the lyrics of an alternative version of the well known ballad The Cruel Mother, which goes something like this

There was an old woman and she lived in the woods Weile Weile Waile, There was an old woman and she lived in the woods Down by the Rived Saile.

It's the Weile Weile Weila version I guess.

Please email all info to me at : tankathy@hotmail.com

Thanks!!

There was an old woman who lived in the woods, w-w-w
There was an old woman who lived in the woods, d-b-r-s//
She had a baby six months old,
She had a baby six months old,//
She had a penknife three foot long,
She had a penknife three foot long,//
She stuck the knife in the baby's head,
The more she stuck, the more it bled,//
Three big (knocks) came knocking at the door,
Two policemen and a man,//
"Are you the woman what killed the child,"
"Are you the woman what killed the child,"//
"I'm the woman what killed the child,"
"I'm the woman what killed the child,"//
(Who got chucked) and she got hung,
(Who got chucked) and she got hung,//
The moral of this story is,
Don't stick knives in baby's head,//

Hope this is helpful. If others have a more accurate rendering, please correct.

Helen

Subject: RE: Bloody Gore -- But Just For Laughs
From: Helen
Date: 29-Oct-97 - 02:24 AM

Found it> Guess where. In a good old-fashioned book, which was about 10 feet from my chair. Oh well, luckily my reading skills have improved and not deteriorated since I started using the Internet. ;->

WEILE WAILE

There was an old woman and she lived in the woods
Weile, weile, waile
There was an old woman and she lived in the woods,
Down by the river Saile

She had a baby three months old
Weile, weile, waile
She had a baby three months old
Down by the river Saile;

She had a penknife long and sharp,
Weile, weile, waile
She had a penknife long and sharp
Down by the river Saile;

She stuck the penknife in the baby’s heart
Weile, weile, waile
She stuck the penknife in the baby’s heart
Down by the river Saile;

Three policemen and a detective bobby came knocking at the door
Weile, weile, waile
Three policemen and a detective bobby came knocking at the door
Down by the river Saile;

They pulled the rope and she was hung
Weile, weile, waile
They pulled the rope and she was hung
Down by the river Saile;

And that was the end of the woman in the woods
Weile, weile, waile
And that was the end of the baby too
Down by the river Saile.

>From Soodlum’s Irish Ballad book, Oak Publications, London, 1982.

HTML line breaks added. --JoeClone, 17-Mar-02.