BORNING DAY
(Fred Hellerman and Fran Minkoff)

Mary and the baby hungry.
Oh, we know what hungry be.
So we bring them peas and rice, a little ginger tea,
Only pigeon peas and rice, a little ginger tea.
Mary thank us with her eyes.
She poor the same as we.
She poor the same as we.

Mary and the baby lonely,
And lonely is not good to be.
So we sit a while and chat a while, keep them company.
Stay a while, make the baby smile, pass the time of day.
When we see how pleased they be,
It makes us glad we stay,
So glad that we could stay.

Mary and the baby weary.
Oh, we know what weary be.
So we make a bed, a pillow for their head, with down from the mahoe tree,
Only down from the mahoe tree to rest them soft and good.
We be sad these are all we had,
But we do the best we could.
We do the best we could.

Mary and the baby rest easy,
We go away and let them be.
On hushed tiptoe with voice held low, and we look up and see
Star of hope shine in the sky, to mark the baby's birth.
Seem to say it's the borning day
Of better times on earth,
Of better times on earth.

As sung by Ronnie Gilbert on "Alone With" Mercury LP MG 20917.
Also recorded by The Brothers Four (1966) and by Harry Belafonte.
Pseudo-Caribbean carol.
@poverty
filename[ BORNDAY
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