Sheena Wellington has this one as "The Little Sunday School" on her STRONG WOMEN album (Greentrax CDTRAX 094). The album is a live recording at the Nitten Folk Club and the audience response to this particular song is very enthusiastic, with hoots, cheers, and wild applause at the end--no tepid response for a "cleaned up" version here!

In the liner notes, she writes, "a short version of a very long song learned in early childhood from my father...It has several variants in the UK and North America. I have always believed God has a sense of humour!"

Here are the lyrics as she sings them:

Young folk, old folk, everybody come
to our little Sunday School and you shall have some fun
Bring your toffee apples and sit down upon the floor
And we'll tell you Bible stories that you've never heard before!

Adam was the first man so we all believe
One morning he was filleted and introduced to Eve
He had no-one to tell him but he soon found out the way
And that's the only reason we're all living here today!

Esau was a hunter with a very hairy chest
His chest it was so hairy he'd no need to wear a vest
His father left him property not far away from Norwich
But the damn fool went and swapped it for a basinful of porridge.

Jonah was a traveller with a tendency to sail
He went and booked his passage on a Transatlantic whale
The atmospheric pressure got too heavy for his chest
So Jonah pushed the button and the whale did all the rest.

Pharoah had a daughter with a very winning smile
She found the infant Moses in the rushes by the Nile
She took him home to her papa who said he believed her tale
It was just about as probable as Jonah and the whale.

Moses was a prophet of the Israeletic stock
With his mighty umbrel he struck water from the rock
The multitude around him, they gave a mighty cheer
But they were disappointed when they found it wasn't beer.