Lizzie Borden Society Forum

Does anyone recognize this song....I was searching around and stumbled across a video for it, then looked up the lyrics....quite odd, but somewhat amusing....entitled "You Can't Chop Your Papa Up In Massachusetts"



Yesterday in old Fall River, Mr. Andrew Borden died
And they got his daughter Lizzie on a charge of homicide
Some folks say she didn't do it, and others say of course she did
But they all agree Miss Lizzie B. was a problem kind of kid

'Cause you can't chop your papa up in Massachusetts
Not even if it's planned as a surprise
No, you can't chop your papa up in Massachusetts
You know how neighbors love to criticize

She got him on the sofa where he'd gone to take a snooze
And I hope he went to heaven 'cause he wasn't wearing shoes
Lizzie kinda rearranged him with a hatchet so they say
Then she got her mother in that same old-fashioned way!

But you can't chop your mama up in Massachusetts
Not even if you're tired of her cuisine
No, you can't chop your mama up in Massachusetts
You know it's almost sure to cause a scene

Well, they really kept her hoppin' on that busy afternoon
With both down- and up-stairs chopping while she hummed a ragtime tune
They really made her hustle and when all was said and done
She'd removed her mother's bustle when she wasn't wearing one

Oh, you can't chop your mama up in Massachusetts
And then blame all the damage on the mice
No, you can't chop your mama up in Massachusetts
That kind of thing just isn't very nice

Now, it wasn't done for pleasure and it wasn't done for spite
And it wasn't done because the lady wasn't very bright
She'd always done the slightest thing that mom and papa bid
They said, "Lizzie, cut it out," so that's exactly what she did

But you can't chop your papa up in Massachusetts
And then get dressed and go out for a walk
No, you can't chop your papa up in Massachusetts
Massachusetts is a far cry from New York

No, you can't chop your papa up in Massachusetts
Shut the door, and lock and latch it, here comes Lizzie with a brand new hatchet
Can't chop your papa up in Massachusetts
Such a snob, I've heard it said, she met her pa and cut him dead
You can't chop your papa up in Massachusetts
Jump like a fish, jump like a porpoise, all join hands and habeas corpus
Can't chop your papa up in Massachusetts
Massachusetts is a far cry from New York

It's good to give the link to the lyrics.

Yes that song, once it gets in my head, stays there for days!
I hope I can get it out again tonight!

Oops! here's a link to the lyrics, and to the video as well!

Lyrics: http://www.guntheranderson.com/v/data/lizziebo.htm

Video: http://youtube.com/watch?v=qim5xxf4-2Y

Thanks! Stefani used a video of that song by the original players at one of her Fall River "Lizzie" lectures. I swear it was days after I arrived back home before I got it out of my brain. There's something about that song . . .

"Lizzie Borden" was a big hit for the Chad Mitchell Trio. Wish I could find a free download of it to post.

The song comes from Leonard Sillman's New Faces of 1952. In the surrounding sketch, it seems that everyone wants to get the trial over with in order to keep it from interfering with the hoedown(!) The trial consists of Lizzie's being asked, "Did you do it, Lizzie?," to which she answers, "Goodness, no!" The judge and both (!) attorneys agree that that's good enough, and Lizzie is set free. Everyone dances including Lizzie, who swings a hatchet.

I didn't mean to imply that it didn't come from New Faces. I just mean it was a BIG HIT for The Chad Mitchell Trio. I remember singing the song before I knew much of anything about Lizzie...she still was discussed in this area during my childhood. I have a real nostalgia for the song.

In those days we'd buy magazines of lyrics and do outdoor sing-a-longs. This song was really popular. I can remember dozens of kids in my neighborhood singing this at the top of their lungs.

I certainly didn't mean to imply that you meant to imply that it didn't come from New Faces. I remember the Chad Mitchell version well and loved it (aside from the canned laughter and the fact that they called Lizzie "Elizabeth" in their initial recital of the famous quatrain (which substituted "and when the job was nicely done" for "and when she saw what she had done")).

My bad! I completely overlooked the video. (As for the date, the movie was from 1954, but the show was from 1952.) [/i]

Silly me...So I decided I needed a laugh and go onto www.youtube.com to watch the Fall River Hoedown...... http://youtube.com/watch?v=qim5xxf4-2Y I see that "MondoLizzie" has posted this video...I recognize the name and sudddenly remeber that Stefani has a blog called Mondo Lizzie....so I click....only to find out that it was Stefani that posted that video on youtube! I don't know why it didn't occur to me before! So Stefani, thanks for posting that video! I've realized I've watched almost all of the videos that you posted on Lizzie!