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The Cruel Mother

17 Dec 97 - 11:35 PM (#17796)
Subject: The Cruel Mother ( alternative version????)
From: tankathy@hotmail.com

Hi all,

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!!

18 Dec 97 - 03:29 AM (#17813)
Subject: RE: The Cruel Mother
From: dulcimer

Done by the Clancy Brothers on one of their live albums. I listen over the next few days and post.

18 Dec 97 - 03:56 AM (#17817)
Subject: RE: The Cruel Mother
From: Wolfgang

Zhis song has been posted at least twice in the last few months. Do a forum search and enter "lived in the woods" under Body Search and you'll get them.
Wolfgang

18 Dec 97 - 04:04 AM (#17818)
Subject: Lyr Add: WEELA WALLIA
From: dulcimer

Sorry about the grammar in the last post. At 2:30 AM sometimes the eyes and brain don't coordinate. Here are the lyrics as I hear them. The refrain of Weile, Weile, Waile is done at the end of each first line and Down by the River Saile (pronounced Sawyer) at the end of each second line. Words I can't make out well have ().

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.

18 Dec 97 - 06:39 PM (#17898)
Subject: RE: The Cruel Mother
From: Helen

Here it is

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.

25 Oct 05 - 12:54 AM (#1590265)
Subject: RE: The Cruel Mother
From: GUEST,Juba

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,w-w-w She had a baby six months old d-b-r-s

She had a pen knife three foot long, w-w-w She had a pen knife three foot long d-b-r-s

She stuck the knife in the bubby's head,w-w-w The more she stuck, the more it bled d-b-r-s

Three big (knocks) came knocking at the door, w-w-w Two policemen and a hangman too d-b-r-s

(low pitch voice)"Are you the woman what killed the child," w-w-w "I'm the woman what killed the child d-b-r-s

They pulled her rope and she was hung, w-w-w That was the end of the women in the woods d-b-r-s

That was the end of the bubby too. w-w-w The moral of this story is, (shout and not sing) Don't stick knives in baby's head. d-b-r-s