The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #54638 Message #847067
Posted By: Stewie
13-Dec-02 - 09:00 PM
Thread Name: Lyr Add: Mary and the Baby Hungry? / Borning Day
Subject: Lyr Add: BORNING DAY (Hellerman/Minkoff)
It is a fine song, but it is not Jamaican. It was written by Fred Hellerman and Fran Minkoff and its title is 'Borning Day'. I posted it to the forum long ago, but the search engine no longer finds it. Here it is again:
BORNING DAY
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
Authors: Fred Hellerman and Fran Minkoff Copyright Appleseed Music Inc ASCAP.
Source: Ronnie Gilbert 'Alone With' Mercury LP MG 20917