Performance Works: Telling Stories

I killed a man where three roads meet.
The truth to you I’ll tell.
He drew first, but I was faster
And I buried him where he fell.

Oedipus Rex, Oedipus Rex,
Another sad story of death and sex.
You killed your pa and you married your ma.
They don’t even do that in Arkansas!

I solved the riddle and I killed the Sphinx
And I saved the whole damn town.
Some dirty rounder had murdered the king
And the queen and I boogied on down.

Oedipus Rex, Oedipus Rex,
You’re the one no one suspects.
You killed your pa and you married your ma.
They don’t even do that in Arkansas!

Oedipus, Oedipus, come here quick.
There’s a plague that’s a-coming on down.
The gods say the man that murdered the king
Is living right here in town.

Call the blind man, get him here quick
‘Cause he’ll know what to do
Oedipus, Oedipus, you better get right
‘Cause the murderin’ man was you.

Oedipus Rex, Oedipus Rex,
How could a guy get so complex?
That he killed his pa and he married his ma.
You’re gonna get a lickin’ so ha, ha, ha.

I killed my pa and I married my ma.
You’d think my life is cursed,
But every afternoon on the Donohue show
There’s a story that’s ten times worse.

Oedipus Rex, Oedipus Rex,
You ought to meet my cousin. He’s Oedipus Tex.
He killed his ma and he married his pa.
That’s a thirty-dollar fine in Arkansas!

Oedipus Rex, Oedipus Rex,
Oedipus won’t be needing his specs.
‘Cause he killed his pa and he married his ma.
They don’t even do that in Arkansas!