Mad Tom of Bedlam
Jolie Holland Lyrics

To see mad tom of bedlam,
I have traveled ten thousand miles to witness the madness of Tom of Bedlam.

Mad maudlin goes on dirty toes,
A woman known as Mad Maudlin walks barefoot to protect her shoes from the gravel roads.

To save her shoes from gravel
She values her shoes highly and takes care to protect them.

So well that we sing bonnie boys, bonnie mad boys
We sing praises to the handsome and mad Bedlam boys.

Bedlam boys are bonnie
The insane Bedlam boys are attractive despite their madness.

For they all go bare, and they live in the air
They have nothing to lose and they exist in a different reality than the rest of us.

And they want no drink nor money
They do not have the same desires as regular people.

I went down to satan's kitchen
I went to a place where sinners congregate.

For to break my fast one morning
To have a meal in the morning.

And there I got souls piping hot
I received souls that were still fresh and warm from the oven.

All on the spit a-turning
The souls were being slowly roasted on spits.

A spirit hot as lightening
A fiery spirit guided me on my journey.

Did on that journey guide me
It led me on my way as I traveled.

The sun did shake and the pale moon quake
The world around me was disrupted by my journey.

Wherever they did spy me
The natural world was affected by my presence.

My staff has murdered giants
My weapon has been used to slay even the strongest foes.

And my pack a long knife carries
I am always prepared with a sharp blade.

For the slice mince pies from children's thighs,
My knife has been used to cut meat from the thighs of children for cooking.

From which to feed the faeries
The faeries are fed with the meat from the children's thighs.

Tonight I'll go a murdering
Tonight, I plan to kill someone.

The man in the moon to a powder
My target is the mythical man in the moon, who I want to reduce to dust.

His dog I'll shake and his staff I'll break
I also plan to harm his loyal dog and destroy his staff.

And I'll howl a wee bit louder
I will revel in my violence and make noise to draw attention to myself.