"I believe Shawn parodied "MTA", that timeless
Kingston Trio standard.
--Albert "
It
actually predates the Kingston Trio by a few years,
written in 1948 by Jacqueline Steiner for the campaign of
Bostonian leftist mayoral candidate Walt O'Brian. It was
given a longer-than-average lease on life by Alan
Lomax, and passed from him to the Weavers, whose
recording of it inspired Dave Guard of the Kingston Trio to
record it on their album "Make Way." I have a horrible
suspicion that my brother has at least two of the above
versions in his bedroom.
Edmund