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Fatal Flower Garden Lyrics

It rained it poured
It rained so hard
Rained so hard all day
'Till all the boys in our school
Came out to talk and play

They tossed the ball
Again so high
Then again so low
Till it fell into a flower garden
Where no one's allowed to go

When a tipsy Gypsy lady
Dressed in yellow and green
Says come here come here
My pretty little boy
And get your ball again

No I won't come in
I shan't come in
Without my playmates all
I'm gonna get my father and tell him all about it
And then the tears shall fall

First she offered an apple sweet
Then a tangerine
Then she offered a diamond
That seemed to do the trick that enticed him in

She took him by the lily-white hand
And led him through the hall
She took him to an upper room
Where no one could hear him call
No not a soul

Bury the bible at my feet
The testament at my head
If my dear father should call for me
Tell him that I am dead

Bury the bible at my head
The testament at my feet
If my dear mother should call for me
Tell her that I'm asleep
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Cover art for Fatal Flower Garden lyrics by Andrew Bird

this is a traditional american folk song. it's sung by nelstone's hawaiians on the anthology of american folk music, which, by the way, is an incredible collection of early american folk recordings.

Cover art for Fatal Flower Garden lyrics by Andrew Bird

what album is this on?

Cover art for Fatal Flower Garden lyrics by Andrew Bird

Swimming Hour, I believe.

Cover art for Fatal Flower Garden lyrics by Andrew Bird

Definitely one of my favorite songs by Andrew Bird. Even before I knew all the lyrics, I loved the song.

Cover art for Fatal Flower Garden lyrics by Andrew Bird

I never knew all the lyrics until I looked them up. This song was recommended to me by a friend, and I never realized how depressed he actually was until I saw all the lyrics. When I did, I asked him about it, and he admitted his depression. This song probably saved his life.

I like this song a lot, should I be worried?

Cover art for Fatal Flower Garden lyrics by Andrew Bird
Cover art for Fatal Flower Garden lyrics by Andrew Bird

I am now 68 years old and when I was a young school girl in the 1950's and early 1960's, I sang this song, with similar lyrics as a solo in school. Everyone, including me thought it was such a sad ballad. It was taught to me by my father, who was born in 1922, also sang it in elementary school as a solo. There are some differences in the lyrics, but the story is the same, especially at the very beginning, about the ball landing in the flower garden and the last two stanzas. As I recall, we sang it to a lovely little tune, repeating the last lines of each stanza. I never knew the name of the song. I am studying the history of the stream of ballads as they traveled from Scotland to Ulster to Pennsylvania and into the Appalachians. I am just curious to know it's origins. It is reported to be an American folk ballad, but I am wondering if it started here or elsewhere and came with the emigrants settling this part of the country. I am in North Carolina and some of my ancestors on my father's side are from England and Scotland. I hadn't thought of this song for years, but my study of Scottish, Irish and Appalachian music brought it back to memory. As to what is the meaning of this song, all I know is that it is sad.

Memory
 
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