Knoxville Girl- Ralph E. Frazier (TN) 1966 Burton
[From Burton and Manning I, 1967. Their notes follow.
R. Matteson 2016]
This ballad appears to be a variant of "The Lexington Murder." It closely parallels several other murders of young ladies by drowning.
THE KNOXVILLE GIRL- Sung by Ralph E. Frazier, January 21, 1966. Collected by Sue Frazier.
1. In a little town in Knoxville
I used to live and dwell,
And in this little Knoxville town
I owned a flour mill.
I fell in love with a Knoxville girl
with dark and rolling eyes.
I promised her that I'd marry her,
but I knew she'd never mine.
2. I called at her sister's house
About nine o'clock one night,
And this tittle Knoxville girl
was always in a fright[1].
I asked her to take a walk with me
down to yon meadows gay;
That we might have a social talk
and name our wedding day.
3. We walked along, we talked along,
til we came to the level ground;
There I picked up a hedgewood stick
I knocked this poor girl down.
She fell down on her bended knees,
"Oh Lord have mercy,' she cried.
"Oh Willie, my dear, don't you murder me here,
For I'm not prepared to die."
4. I beat her for every word she said,
I beat her more and more,
I beat her till the ground around
Stood in a bloody gore.
I took her by her yellow hair,
I drug her 'round and 'round.
I drug her to the still water deep
that flows through Knoxville town.
5. And just about six weeks later,
this Knoxville girl was found
A-floating down the still water deep
that flows through Knoxville town.
Her sister swore my life away,
she proved it to no doubt.
She proved that I was the very boy
that led her sister out.
6. And now they're going to hang me,
a death I hate to die;
They're going to hang me up
so high between the earth and sky.