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