The Ballad of Matt Bradley

Hey guys, never done one of these before but I am going to give it a shot.

Now as you all can probably tell with my screen name I happen to be a bit of a Matt Bradley fan. Well one thing that I, as many others here, have noticed by now, is that Matt Bradley seems to have a bit of a Folk hero quality to him. This latest incident with Downie seems to have only helped grow it.

Well when I was a kid I learned quite a bit about another folk hero. One Davy Crockett of Tennessee, who fought and died at the Alamo. Well in the 1950s (I think?) Crockett was also popular, and there was the famous "Ballad of Davy Crockett."

The lyrics of this ballad can be found here:

http://www.stlyrics.com/lyrics/classicdisney/theballadofdavycrockett.htm

And a video of Fess Parker, who spawned the Crockett craze by playing him in Disney made for TV movies in the '50s, performing the ballad can be seen here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nOF4cq6qNc

Now there are different variations some with more or less verses some with as many as ten verses. And, I am only so creative, but I felt I had to attempt to create a folk ballad for Brads. I know some of the rhymes may not work as well, but cut me some slack. I was a history major after all, not a poet. Anyway I'm hoping that if we put the new words to the music we have something here. And now I humbly present to the Rink...

The Ballad of Matt Bradley.

Born in Ontario, in Stittsville, cold
Boldest place in the Great White North.
Raised on the ice to be the best he could be
Kill’t him a ’guin when he was only three.

Maaaaaatt, Matt Bradley, the man who don't know fear!

In two-thousand and five the NHL has froze
And the Caps are in the midst of some losing throes.
Now, kickin' ass is somethin' he knows
So he signs a deal, and to DC he goes.

Maaaaaaaatt, Matt Bradley, fightin' for old DC!

On the ice he's skatin' along
Scorin' on Lundqvist and providin' grit by the ton.
Itchin fer fightin' and righting a wrong
He's as smart as a professor, and twice as strong.

Maaaaaaaaatt, Matt Bradley, the champion of us all!

Fought with Ovie through the Lightning war
Till Downie was whipped, beaten, and sore.
An' while he was handlin' this noble chore
Made hisself a legend, for evermore.

Maaaaaaaaatt, Matt Bradley, smakein' goons down!

He gave his blood, and he gave his hands
So's his Capital friends could rule this land.
An' the rest of his life he took the stand
That Lord Stanley's cup was due, to this Capital band.

Maaaaaaaaaatt, Matt Bradley, holdin' his promise dear!

He's heard of Gretzky and Howe and so
To the Stanley Cup playoffs he just has to go.
Where the Capitals will be fighting many a foe
For the Cup in Hockey's greatest show.

Maaaaaaaaaatt, Matt Bradley, fightin' for old DC!

His helmet is biggest, and his blood is the best
And lord knows his heart's stronger than th' rest.
He's with the Cap's looking to beat the West
For Stanley, in what will be the final test.

Maaaaaaaaaatt, Matt Bradley, the champion of us all!

(Edit: If there are any suggestions to improve the verses, or add additional verses, please let me know. One of the best things about Folk Songs is how they evolve over time. Brads is adding to his legend each day, no reason we can't add those exploits to the ballad! We already have the first change in the first verse, h/t to IRockTheRed!)