The sheep's in the meadow The cow's in the corn Now is the time for a child to be born He'll laugh at the moon And cry for the sun And if it's a boy he'll carry a gun Sang the crow on the cradle
And if it should be that this baby's a girl Never you mind if her hair doesn't curl With rings on her fingers And bells on her toes And a bomber above her wherever she goes Sang the crow on the cradle
The crow on the cradle The black and the white Somebody's baby is born for a fight The crow on the cradle The white and the black Somebody's baby is not coming back Sang the crow on the cradle
Your mother and father will sweat and they'll save To build you a coffin and dig you a grave Hush-a-bye little one, never you weep For we've got a toy that can put you to sleep Sang the crow on the cradle
Bring me my gun, and I'll shoot that bird dead That's what your mother and father once said The crow on the cradle, what can we do Ah, this is a thing that I'll leave up to you Sang the crow on the cradle Sang the crow on the cradle