Standard (EADGBE)

Verse 1

There was an old man, who lived in a green wood,

Nobody knew him, or what he had done,

 But mothers would say to their children 'Beware of Mad John'.

Verse 2

John would sing with the birds in the morning,

Laugh witht the wind in the cold hand of night,

But people from behind their curtains said 'He's not quite right'.

Refrain

John, had it sussed,

 He was living the life of a tramp,

 His bed was the cold and the damp,

 But the sun was his friend: he was free.

Verse 3

So here was a wise one, who loved all the haters,

Loved them so much that their hate turned to fear,

And shaking from behind their curtains the loved ones would hear:

Verse 4

Ay-diddle aye di, diddle aye di and di di,

Ay-diddle aye di, diddle aye di, di di,

Ay-diddle aye di, diddle aye di, diddle aye di, aye diddle aye-di di.