The Ballad of Frankie Lee and Judas Priest-Thea Gilmore

[00:00.94]music [00:14.46]Well, Frankie Lee and Judas Priest [00:17.29]They were the best of friends [00:20.19]So when Frankie Lee needed money one day [00:23.30]Judas quickly pulled out a roll of tens [00:26.58]And placed them on a footstool [00:29.77]Just above the plotted plain [00:33.31]Sayin’, “Take your pick, Frankie Boy [00:36.47]My loss will be your gain” [00:38.84] [00:40.31]Well, Frankie Lee, he sat right down [00:41.75]And put his fingers to his chin [00:46.27]But with the cold eyes of Judas on him [00:49.64]His head began to spin [00:52.89]“Would ya please not stare at me like that,” he said [00:55.81]“It’s just my foolish pride [00:59.38]But sometimes a man must be alone [01:02.52]And this is no place to hide” [01:04.68] [01:06.62]Well, Judas, he just winked and said [01:08.78]“All right, I’ll leave you here [01:12.87]But you’d better hurry up and choose which of those bills you want [01:18.38]Before they all disappear” [01:19.25]“I’m gonna start my pickin’ right now [01:21.66]Just tell me where you’ll be” [01:25.72]Judas pointed down the road [01:28.47]And said, “Eternity!” [01:30.76] [01:32.02]“Eternity?” said Frankie Lee [01:35.18]With a voice as cold as ice [01:38.38]“That’s right,” said Judas Priest, “Eternity [01:41.05]Though you might call it ‘Paradise’” [01:44.41]“I don’t call it anything” [01:47.19]Said Frankie Lee with a smile [01:50.69]“All right,” said Judas Priest [01:53.93]“I’ll see you after a while” [01:55.39] [02:00.65]Well, Frankie Lee, he sat back down [02:01.04]Feelin’ low and mean [02:03.30]When just then a passing stranger [02:06.41]Burst upon the scene [02:09.58]Saying, “Are you Frankie Lee, the gambler [02:12.47]Whose father is deceased? [02:15.87]Well, if you are, there’s a fellow callin’ you down the road [02:18.95]And they say his name is Priest” [02:20.71] [02:22.73]“Oh, yes, he is my friend” [02:25.71]Said Frankie Lee in fright [02:28.83]“I do recall him very well [02:31.51]In fact, he just left my sight” [02:35.30]“Yes, that’s the one,” said the stranger [02:38.95]As quiet as a mouse [02:41.20]“Well, my message is, he’s down the road [02:44.57]Stranded in a house” [02:45.99] [02:47.99]Well, Frankie Lee, he panicked [02:50.83]He dropped ev’rything and ran [02:54.38]Until he came up to the spot [02:58.47]Where Judas Priest did stand [03:00.80]“What kind of house is this,” he said [03:04.09]“Where I have come to roam?” [03:07.07]“It’s not a house,” said Judas Priest [03:10.24]“It’s not a house . . . it’s a home” [03:12.25] [03:13.71]Well, Frankie Lee, he trembled [03:15.15]He soon lost all control [03:20.76]Over ev’rything which he had made [03:23.07]While the mission bells did toll [03:26.05]He just stood there staring [03:28.19]At that big house as bright as any sun [03:32.45]With four and twenty windows [03:35.58]And a woman’s face in ev’ry one [03:38.61] [03:39.05]Well, up the stairs ran Frankie Lee [03:41.67]With a soulful, bounding leap [03:44.96]And, foaming at the mouth [03:47.79]He began to make his midnight creep [03:51.75]For sixteen nights and days he raved [03:54.59]But on the seventeenth he burst [03:58.07]Into the arms of Judas Priest [04:00.93]Which is where he died of thirst [04:03.43] [04:04.85]No one tried to say a thing [04:07.14]When they took him out in jest [04:10.61]Except, of course, the little neighbor boy [04:13.74]Who carried him to rest [04:16.95]And he just walked along, alone [04:21.72]With his guilt so well concealed [04:25.39]And muttered underneath his breath [04:28.37]“Nothing is revealed” [04:30.48]music [04:37.09] [04:44.08]Well, the moral of the story [04:47.33]The moral of this song [04:50.61]Is simply that one should never be [04:53.47]Where one does not belong [04:56.50]So when you see your neighbor carryin’ somethin’ [04:59.59]Help him with his load [05:03.24]And don’t go mistaking Paradise [05:06.15]For that home across the road [05:09.00]music