One bright day in the middle if the night,
2 dead boys got up to fight.
Back 2 back they faced each other,
drew their swords and shot each other
A deaf Policeman head this noise,
he came and shot the 2 dead boys.
If you don't believe this lie is true,
ask the blind man, he saw it too.


My ma used to sing this to me all the time when I was a kiddie. I've recent;y mae it my siggy Anyonw know any variations of it...origins maybe, stories in general even.

Wow I remember this from back in high school, apparently it dates back to the civil war and is American. No one seems to know the exact origins or artist but one theory states that a spiritualist or medium wrote it to celebrate the breakdown between realms of the living and the dead that was taking place at that time. The full version goes like this.

One fine day in the middle of the night
Two dead boys got up to fight
Back to back they faced each other
Drew their swords and shot each other

One was blind and the other couldn’t see
So they chose a dummy for a referee
A blind man went to see fair play
A dumb man went to shout 'hooray'!

A paralysed donkey passing by
Kicked the blind man in the eye
Knocked him through a nine inch wall
Into a dry ditch and drowned them all

A deaf policeman heard the noise
And came to arrest the two dead boys
If you don’t believe this story’s true
Ask the blind man he saw it too!

OMFG!


that's crazy! I didn't expect a return like this. I got some great stories to tell!


thnx for the info!

BobGeorge909 said:

That's cool. There are literally over a hundred variations but this seems to be the extended cut. For your info it's also featured in the childrens poetry book The Silver Treasury of Light Verse by Oscar WIlliams (it's available at Amazon).

Ladies and gentlemen, hobos and tramps,
Cross-eyed mosquitoes and bow-legged ants,
I come before you to stand behind you,
To tell you something I know nothing about.
Next Thursday, this is Good Friday,
There will be a Mother’s Day meeting for fathers only;
Admission is free, so pay at the door,
Pull up a seat and sit on the floor.
We will discuss a story you’ve all heard before.
One bright morning, in the middle of the night,
Two dead boys, got up to fight,
They lived on the corner, in the middle of the block
On the second floor, of a vacant lot.
One had a fiddle, one had a drum,
And one had a pancake stuck to his bum,
Back to back they faced each other,
Drew their swords and shot each another,
One was blind and the other couldn’t see
So they chose a dummy for a referee.
A blind man went to see fair play,
A dumb man went to shout 'hooray!'
A paralyzed donkey passing by,
Kicked the blind man in the eye,
Knocked him through a nine inch wall,
Into a dry ditch and drowned them all,
A mute onlooker shrieked in fright
And a lame man danced at the ghastly sight
A deaf policeman heard the noise,
And came to arrest the two dead boys,
One dead boy who had no feet
Began to run down the street.
The other dead boy who could not talk,
Said "Oh Policeman let me walk."
If you don’t believe this little lie is true
Ask the blind man he saw it too!