This is a ballad about my mother and father.
The Ballad Of Patsy And The Red Fox
There was a woman from Watertown
Patsy to her family she was known
She married The Red Fox
And they gained a business for their own
And when she was pregnant with her son
The doctors said premature he would be
That is if the birth could be even done
But Patsy was a woman
Whose will was strong
So she put in the work
That would be long
So added to the emotional toil Of being a wife
She added to that breathing exercises
That saved her babies life
Because of this heroic deed
I was born
My mother is a hero
Even though a uniform she has not worn
My mother is a hero
This I know is true
I know it with my whole heart
Just as I know the sky is blue
The Red Fox she called him
For the color of his hair
And if a person was rude to her
My fathers temper did flare
Upon a train in Europe, some time ago
A Moroccan stole her purse
But The Running Moroccan was chased by The Red Fox
And this fox was the Moroccans’ curse
The purse my father regained
And everything went grand
All the Moroccans in Europe now know
Around Patsy at a distance they should stand
And to my Mother I give the highest respect For her noble act
And The Moroccans
They too respect Patsy, because with a red fox she made a pact
This is a ballad about my mothers grandfather
Ballad Of Thomas Kiely
In early 1900’s America
A girl was born called Alice
In the place where Mary gave birth to her
Was hidden some malice
This place was Massachusetts
And the hospital said Alice had downs syndrome
And to her father Thomas Kiely
They said she couldn’t go home
They wanted to put her in an institution
For the mentally impaired
But when he heard this news
He was not despaired
They wanted to put her there
For her whole life
But good Thomas knew
She would not suffer that strife
He was a man from Ireland, County Waterford
He could be stern as a pine
So he told the people at that place
She belongs to me, I love her and she’s mine
He said: I’m taking her back to Ireland
If you don’t give her to me to have here
And with those words he spoke
He caught them by the ear
Stone hearts are faint
And can easily be pushed around
That is why Thomas Kiely
Was right to stand his ground
Little Alice spent her days
At home with Mom and Dad
Sisters and brothers were there too
And the times they were glad
They sang songs together
Often with Alice holding fathers hand
This was a family
Living upon their land
ballad of patsy and the red fox
FamilyFolklore 