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Song Parodies -> "The Ballad of the Holy Fool"
Original Song Title:
"The Ballad of Billy the Kid"
(MP3)Original Performer:
Billy Joel
Parody Song Title:
"The Ballad of the Holy Fool"
Parody Written by:
Melanie Lee
The Lyrics
holy fool (noun): a person who appears unintelligent and unsophisticated but who has other redeeming qualities. Holy fools engage in "deliberate flouting of society's conventions to serve a religious purpose." (Wikipedia) OS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1ASIT5DqN0 The lyrics in brackets go over the instrumental parts.
[instrumental intro]
[April First, Twenty-Eighteen is Easter!
Hallelu…? April Fool…? What to say?
Shall we sing of a boiled egg exploding?
…Or amuse with an ancient day…?]
[Save us now! Save us now!
Save us now! Save us now!]
To a town called Jerusalem, Judea,
Rode a fool with an idea in his head
As his donkey trod the palms
That all the crowd had strewn upon
The rough road to the week ahead…
As he entered town, the people cried, “Hosanna!
Save us now—poor Israel!—from Roman rule!”
But the priests thought it crass:
“Would Messiah ride an ass?”
So the word spread of Jesus the Fool.
‘Cause he ate with tax collectors!
He befriended sinner gals!
He’d treat Gentiles, Jews, Samaritans the same!
He hugged children! He touched lepers!
He made working stiffs his pals!
And the rich man and the beggar called his name!
When he went into the temple, he got indignant,
So he toppled sellers’ booths and threw them down.
Then the priests and scribes took fright:
Would the Romans turn and fight
Because now Jesus the Fool scourged the town!
[Save us now! Save us now!
Save us now! Save us now!]
[Hallelujah! Hosanna! Hosanna!
Gotta save us now! Gotta save us now!
Hallelujah! Hosanna! Hosanna!
Gotta save us now! Gotta save us now!
Hallelujah! Hosanna! Hosanna!
Gotta save us now! Gotta save us now!
Hallelujah! Hosanna! Hosanna!
Overthrow the Romans, if you know how!
Save us! Save us!
Save us! Save us!
Overthrow the Romans, if you know how!]
[Get that fool! Get that fool!
Get that fool! Get that fool!]
Well, one mean day, the greedy bug bit Judas,
And he whispered, “What’ll you pay to end his rule?”
So they paid him 30 coins.
Then the pow’rs-that-be, they joined
To plot the nailing of Jesus the Fool.
Well, they grabbed him in the garden
And condemned him to the cross,
And they nailed him to the wood until his end.
He was buried in a cavern
Till the day the stone was tossed
On the third day: “April Fool! I’m back again!”
In the Borough of Queens in New York City
Sat a gal with a satire in her head.
The converging holidays
Had left this songstress quite amazed:
“April Fool! Resurrect the dead!”
[Save us now! Save us now!
Save us now! Save us now!]
[Hallelujah! Ha-ha! Hallelujah!
How did April Fools fall on Easter Day?
Hallelujah! Ha-ha! Hallelujah!
What a cosmic prank for the Lord to play!
Hallelujah! Ha-ha! Hallelujah!
Have a lamb of Spam, an exploding egg!
Hallelujah! Ha-ha! Hallelujah!
What a Holy Fool! Oh, what a shocking day!
Holy…! Holy…!
Ha-ha…! Holy…!
Holy is the Fool! Happy Easter Day!]
[April First, Twenty-Eighteen is Easter!
Hallelu…? April Fool…? What to say?
Shall we sing of a boiled egg exploding?
…Or amuse with an ancient day…?]
[Save us now! Save us now!
Save us now! Save us now!]
To a town called Jerusalem, Judea,
Rode a fool with an idea in his head
As his donkey trod the palms
That all the crowd had strewn upon
The rough road to the week ahead…
As he entered town, the people cried, “Hosanna!
Save us now—poor Israel!—from Roman rule!”
But the priests thought it crass:
“Would Messiah ride an ass?”
So the word spread of Jesus the Fool.
‘Cause he ate with tax collectors!
He befriended sinner gals!
He’d treat Gentiles, Jews, Samaritans the same!
He hugged children! He touched lepers!
He made working stiffs his pals!
And the rich man and the beggar called his name!
When he went into the temple, he got indignant,
So he toppled sellers’ booths and threw them down.
Then the priests and scribes took fright:
Would the Romans turn and fight
Because now Jesus the Fool scourged the town!
[Save us now! Save us now!
Save us now! Save us now!]
[Hallelujah! Hosanna! Hosanna!
Gotta save us now! Gotta save us now!
Hallelujah! Hosanna! Hosanna!
Gotta save us now! Gotta save us now!
Hallelujah! Hosanna! Hosanna!
Gotta save us now! Gotta save us now!
Hallelujah! Hosanna! Hosanna!
Overthrow the Romans, if you know how!
Save us! Save us!
Save us! Save us!
Overthrow the Romans, if you know how!]
[Get that fool! Get that fool!
Get that fool! Get that fool!]
Well, one mean day, the greedy bug bit Judas,
And he whispered, “What’ll you pay to end his rule?”
So they paid him 30 coins.
Then the pow’rs-that-be, they joined
To plot the nailing of Jesus the Fool.
Well, they grabbed him in the garden
And condemned him to the cross,
And they nailed him to the wood until his end.
He was buried in a cavern
Till the day the stone was tossed
On the third day: “April Fool! I’m back again!”
In the Borough of Queens in New York City
Sat a gal with a satire in her head.
The converging holidays
Had left this songstress quite amazed:
“April Fool! Resurrect the dead!”
[Save us now! Save us now!
Save us now! Save us now!]
[Hallelujah! Ha-ha! Hallelujah!
How did April Fools fall on Easter Day?
Hallelujah! Ha-ha! Hallelujah!
What a cosmic prank for the Lord to play!
Hallelujah! Ha-ha! Hallelujah!
Have a lamb of Spam, an exploding egg!
Hallelujah! Ha-ha! Hallelujah!
What a Holy Fool! Oh, what a shocking day!
Holy…! Holy…!
Ha-ha…! Holy…!
Holy is the Fool! Happy Easter Day!]
God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom. --from 1 Corinthians 1:25
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Voting Breakdown
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| 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
User Comments
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First of all, I haven't heard this song in forever, so thanks for reminding me that it exists. Fun to hear again, and even more fun to read your lyrics along with it - I was skeptical the instrumental bits would work, but they did *perfectly*, (as I'm sure you know). I can see how hard you worked on this; it's really very good. And I too love the serendipity of the converging special days. Great stuff!
Well you can all throw your New Testaments away because here it all is, neatly summarised and rhyming to boot - great effort Melanie, covered the lot - and it is a little ironic that April Fools Day and Easter Sunday are one and the same this year. Is rising from the dead the all-time greatest April Fool prank? - 555
If there's an april Fool's joke in this one it has to be "cause he ate with tax collectors". If that was truly in the Bible surely the right wing parties of the world would be on the side of welfare expanding governments etc.
Peter Anderson: you would think! Check out the stories of Matthew aka Levi and of Zacchaeus.
I am not pious, but I know good parody artistry. 555
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