Knoxville Girl- Maxine Hite (AR) 1959 Parler C
[Ozark Folk Song Collection- online; Reel 264, Item 23. Collected by Mrs. Laura Willie For Mary C. Parler Transcribed by Frances Majors
Listen:
http://digitalcollections.uark.edu/cdm/singleitem/collection/OzarkFolkSong/id/2812/rec/6
R. Matteson 2106]
The Knoxville Girl-- Sung by Mrs. Maxine Hite of Prairie Grove, Arkansas on January 9, 1959
I fell in love with a Knoxville girl,
With a black and roguish eye;
I promised that I'd marry her,
Some night with me she'd fly.
I went into her mother's room
At twelve o'clock that night,
But little did her mother think
I held her in despite.
I asked her to walk with me
And view the light of day;
And there we'd walk and friendly talk
About our wedding day.
So along we walked, hand in hand,
Till we came to Knoxville town;
I drew my knife from out my belt
And struck that fair one down.
She fell onto her bended knees,
For mercy, she did cry;
For heaven's sake, don't murder me;
I'm not prepared to die.
I picked her up in my arms so cold
And kissed both cheeks and chin[1];
And as a rolling tide came by
I gently tossed her in.
See how she sinks, see how she dies,
In the dark and rolling tide;
Instead of being there tonight
She should have been my bride.
Then I returned to my master's room
At two o'clock that night;
My master rose and let me in
By the lighting of the light.
My master cross-questioned me,
What stained my hands and clothes.
The answer that I gave to him
Was bleeding at the nose.
Next morning I was taken down
And bound in irons cold;
Her sister swore my life away,
Which grieves I could not hold.
Come all you bold and reckless boys,
And do the girls no harm;
For if you do, you'll surely rue
The day that you were born.
1. From The Distressed Maid/Lily-White Hand ballads (see Phoebe Smith's version, an English traveller)