Weela Wallia - Clancy Brothers 1965
[This is a version (based loosely on The Cruel Mother) of the children's game-song usually found in Ireland that is titled Old Mother Lee or Weela Wallia. See also: River Sáile- Fergus (Dublin) early-1900s in this collection.
R. Matteson 2012]
Weela Wallia - Clancy Brothers 1965
There was an old woman who lived in the wood,
Weela weela wallia;
There was an old woman who lived in the wood,
Down by the river Sallia.
She had a baby six months old,
Weela weela wallia;
She had a baby six months old,
Down by the river Sallia.
She had a penknife three foot long,
Weela weela wallia;
She had a penknife three foot long,
Down by the river Sallia.
She stuck the knife in the baby's head,
Weela weela wallia;
The more she stabbed it, the more it bled,
Down by the river Sallia.
Three big knocks came a-knocking at the door,
Weela weela wallia;
Two policeman and a man,
Down by the river Sallia.
"Are you the woman what killed the child?"
Weela weela wallia;
"Are you the woman what killed the child
Down by the river Sallia?"
"I am the woman what killed the child."
Weela weela wallia;
"I am the woman what killed the child
Down by the river Sallia."
The rope got chucked and she got hung,
Weela weela wallia;
The rope got chucked and she got hung,
Down by the river Sallia.
The moral of this story is,
Weela weela wallia;
Don't stick knives in baby's heads
Down by the river Sallia.