My Children Are Laughing

My children are laughing behind my back,
My children are laughing behind my back,
They sit by the coffin that stands by my bed
And they'll be glad when their old man's dead.

My children are laughing behind my back,
My children are laughing behind my back,
They blow out the candles that stand at my head
And they'll be glad when their old man's dead.

My children are laughing behind my back,
My children are laughing behind my back,
But I won't die for a long, long time.
No, I'm gonna live for a long, long time.

I'll sit in my window and drink my gin
And be as old as my old ma been,
I'll sit in my window and I won't cry,
And I'll laugh like hell when my children die!

Collected by Sam Eskin
RG