LYRICS:

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
Naughty children who just won’t stop misbehavin’
Paying all the prices for their naughty fun
7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1

Mama McGinnis had her own little business
In a house on the edge of town
Men would swing by with a twinkle in their eye
But they never seemed to stick around
They came and they went
Which helped her pay the rent
But then they left her with something else
Despite her profession
she would never use protection
Now she’s raising seven children by herself

They had no school and no supervision
And they had no rules and a wicked disposition
Mama had to stay inside and work all day
So she sent her seven children out to play

Twelve year old Gail was a mischievous gal
With a penchant for a match’s flame
Her mama always warned her,
But Gail would ignore her.
Doing anything to disobey
One day, she found a book of matches
And she took ‘em to a neighbor’s barn filled with hay
Alas, bad fortune for Gail
The moment the flame hit the bale
Confined to her fiery jail
With the walls closing in
And she never came home again

They had no school and no supervision
And they had no rules and a wicked disposition
Mama had to stay inside and work all day
So she sent her six children out to play

Russ was only six, but was never short of tricks
Found happiness in causing harm
Trampling flowerbeds, poisoning the neighbors’ pets
and triggering fire alarms
One day, he saw a wounded fawn in the forest
And he chased it just to take it down
Alas, bad fortune for Russ
A viper struck out from the brush
The venom was more than enough to do the boy in
And he never came home again

They had no school and no supervision
And they had no rules and a wicked disposition
Mama had to stay inside and work all day
So she sent her five children out to play

Then were the twins, Hank and Henrietta
Who would scoff at all authority
Whatever were the rules,
they would find a way to break ‘em
Didn’t matter what the penalty
Then one day, Mama said to stay away
From the deep and dark and endless woods
Alas, bad luck for the twins
Rebelliously venturing in
To the tree-laden labyrinth
On a course with no end
And they never came home again

They had no school and no supervision
And they had no rules and a wicked disposition
Mama had to stay inside and work all day
So she sent her three children out to play

Peter was seven and Dolores was eleven
And Nate was just shy of nine
Nothing was as mean
as when they worked as a team
Terrorizing everything in sight
Nate would distract em
and Dolores would attack em
And Peter would pick em clean
Alas, bad luck for the three
They barked up the wrong tree
The daughter of Don Luigi
gave her father their names
And they never came home again

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
Naughty children who just couldn’t stop misbehavin’
Paying all the prices for their naughty fun
7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1