The Irish Ballad
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"The Irish Ballad" is a song by the satirist Tom Lehrer. Lehrer's original version is accompanied by his piano-playing, while the Irish-music band Darby O'Gill has recorded a more "authentic" version which appears on their 2002 CD Waitin' For A Ride.
Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.
Sung in a traditional Irish style, the ballad recounts the story of "a maid" who murders a different member of her family in each successive verse. The song's punchline is in the penultimate verse, when the maiden is finally arrested. She does not deny having committed the murders, for "lying she knew was a sin."
