Fri 7 Mar 2008
My mother taught me this when I was very little (Or: evolution of folklore)
Posted by Ety under Uncategorized
One bright day in the middle of the night
Two dead boys went out to fight
Back to back they faced each other
Drew their swords and shot each other
A deaf policeman heard that noise
He came and killed those two dead boys
I find the variations of the Two Dead Boys poem fascinating. Everyone who knows it knows a slightly different version, and it changes as it gets passed along (like traditional folk songs and poems - The Three Ravens/Twa Corbies is another one that interests me).
I’ve since added the lines “If you don’t believe this lie is true / Ask the blind man, he saw it too” to the end, after picking them up from other people’s versions.
I stand before you to sit behind you to tell you something I know nothing about.
There will be a gentlemen’s meeting for ladies only, so wear your best clothes if you have none.
Free admission, pay at the door; great seats, right on the floor!
I’m probably not remembering this right, but I’ve seen it as both a separate rhyme and as part of the Two Dead Boys.
Further reading: The British Columbia Folklore Society; or just google two dead boys for other people’s posts and sites about it.
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