A long time ago in Cottingley, there were two little girls, Fran and Elsie
And every morning they would go play by the stream
When their mother asked why, they said, “To see the fairies”
She said, “Girls don’t bother me with your stories and your cold, wet feet”
They said, “Mama, it’s true, we will prove it to thee”
Well, their daddy did dabble in photography
So they borrowed his quarter-plate to capture the scene
And a half-hour later they emerged from the stream
With smiles that beamed triumphantly
They said, “I told you so, mama, take a gander at me”
In her hand lay a photo of Frannie and a little pixie
Well, their mother was a student of Theosophy
So she took the photos down to the society
To ask those wise men, in all of their esteem
If the photos were real or a forgery
Sherlock said, “It was elementary”
They were as real as the truth of one plus two is three
So, those photos did divide the country
Into the great civil war of the make-believe
And people came from far to Cottingley
Just for the chance to tice a fairy
Keep your voice hushed and let your open eyes see
Listen real close and you just might hear them sing
I guess some people just want to believe
In something a little greater than the grass beneath their feet
If it gets you through the long day, it’s alright with me
Elsie on her deathbed, she came clean
They were just two little girls with some paper figurines
I mean, how on Earth could she cop to the scheme
That the world’s greatest sleuth was taken in by a teen
I guess that Elsie and her paper fairies made fools of us all
Elsie and her paper fairies made fools of us all
