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Lizzie Borden - This article is about the Lizzie Borden made famous by the nursery rhyme; for the film-maker, see Lizzie Borden (filmmaker)
Lizzie Andrew Borden (July 19, 1860 - June 1, 1927) was an American woman accused of murder, but acquitted, and remembered chiefly as the subject of an American nursery rhyme: - Lizzie Borden took an axe
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- And gave her mother forty whacks.
- And when she saw what she had done
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- She gave her father forty-one.
She was tried for the axe murders of her father and stepmother. The anonymous rhyme represents a gross overestimate of the number of axe wounds (her mother suffered 19, her father 11), but it has ensured that she is remembered as a figure of American folklore. Lizzie was the youngest child born to Andrew and Sarah Morse Borden. Lizzie's father, a banker, was one of the richest people in Fall River. When Lizzie was two years old, her mother died; her father's second marriage a few years later supposedly caused dissension within the family over matters of inheritance and because of the lower social status of his new wife's family. On August 4, 1892, Lizzie and Bridget Sullivan, the maid of the household, discovered the corpses of Mr. Andrew J. Borden and Abby Durfee Gray Borden, Lizzie's father and his second wife. Both had been slain by multiple axe blows. The Bordens were one of the wealthiest and most prominent families of Fall River, Massachusetts. A circumstantial case against Lizzie was made, without any identification of a murder weapon and no incriminating physical evidence such as bloodstained clothes. The case against Lizzie was based mostly on the testimony of a pharmacist that said that Lizzie had attempted to purchase prussic acid, a form of cyanide, and that a neighbour had seen her burning a dress. Borden's trial occurred in June of 1893. It took two weeks, a quite long time for the period. On June 20, 1893, after ninety minutes of deliberation, the jury acquitted Lizzie of the crime. Although acquitted of the crime, many people believed that she had done it and ostracized her. Lizzie and her surviving sister split their inheritance. Later in life, Lizzie changed her name to Lizbeth and became somewhat eccentric. She died of complications from gall bladder surgery in 1927, at the age of sixty-six. Many books expounding different theories have been written about the crime. The sisters died within a few days of each other in June 1927. Lizzie Borden was even made the subject of an opera. External links Borden, Lizzie Borden, Lizzie A Lizzie Borden song: Fall River Hoedown by Michael Martin Brown, 1954 Originally a production number in New Faces of 1952, a Broadway musical revue. Later recorded by The Chad Mitchell Trio.
Yesterday in old Fall River, Mr. Andrew Borden died And they got his daughter Lizzie on a charge of homicide Some folks say she didn't do it, and others say of course she did But they all agree Miss Lizzie B. was a problem kind of kid 'Cause you can't chop your papa up in Massachusetts Not even if it's planned as a surprise No, you can't chop your papa up in Massachusetts You know how neighbors love to criticize She got him on the sofa where he'd gone to take a snooze And I hope he went to heaven 'cause he wasn't wearing shoes Lizzie kinda rearranged him with a hatchet so they say Then she got her mother in that same old-fashioned way! But you can't chop your mama up in Massachusetts Not even if you're tired of her cuisine No, you can't chop your mama up in Massachusetts You know it's almost sure to cause a scene Well, they really kept her hoppin' on that busy afternoon With both down- and up-stairs chopping while she hummed a ragtime tune They really made her hustle and when all was said and done She'd removed her mother's bustle when she wasn't wearing one Oh, you can't chop your mama up in Massachusetts And then blame all the damage on the mice No, you can't chop your mama up in Massachusetts That kind of thing just isn't very nice Now, it wasn't done for pleasure and it wasn't done for spite And it wasn't done because the lady wasn't very bright She'd always done the slightest thing that mom and papa bid They said, "Lizzie, cut it out," so that's exactly what she did But you can't chop your papa up in Massachusetts And then get dressed and go out for a walk No, you can't chop your papa up in Massachusetts Massachusetts is a far cry from New York No, you can't chop your papa up in Massachusetts Shut the door, lock and latch it, here comes Lizzie with a brand new hatchet Can't chop your papa up in Massachusetts Such a snob, I've heard it said, she met her pa and cut him dead (or) Cross your fingers, knock on wood, local girls makin good You can't chop your papa up in Massachusetts Jump like a fish, jump like a porpoise, all join hands in a habeas corpus Can't chop your papa up in Massachusetts Massachusetts is a far cry from New York!
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