words and music by Arlo Guthrie



I had a friend, a friend I could trust

He went into the park and got busted

Doing the ring-a-round-a-rosy rag

Went in the park late at night

And he put a lot of people over eighty up tight

He was doing the ring-a-round-a-rosy rag



CHORUS:

Ring around, ring around rose

Touch your nose and blow your toes and mind

Doing the ring-around-a-rosy rag

(It really was a drag)

Ring around, ring-around-a-rose

Touch your nose and blow your toes and mind

Doing the ring-around-a-rosy rag



We ought to send Officer Joe Strange

To some Australian mountain range

So we all can do the ring-around-a-rosy rag

Would you like to put Philidelphia up tight

One mass ring-around-a-rosy

In the middle of the night?

We all should do the ring-around-a-rosy rag