Waxford Girl- Mrs. W.F. Bell (AR) 1960 Parler P
[Incorrect title, should be Export Girl/Export Town. Ozark Folk Song Collection- online; Reel 337, Item 3. Collected by Randy Terry for Mary C. Parler.
Listen: http://digitalcollections.uark.edu/cdm/singleitem/collection/OzarkFolkSong/id/184/rec/22
R. Matteson 2106]
The Waxford Girl- sung by Mrs. W.F. Bell of Fayetteville, Ark. on January 10, 1960
Three weeks ago last Saturday night,
Oh, cursed be the day,
The devil put it in my mind
To take my lover's life.
I went into her sister's room
At eight o'clock that night,
But little did she think then
At her I had a fight.
I asked her to take a walk with me
A little ways away,
That she and I might have a talk
About our wedding day.
So side by side we walked along
Till we came to a silent place,
I drew a stake from off the fence
And knocked this fair maid down.
Down on her bended knees she knelt
And loud for mercy did cry,
Oh love, oh love, don't murder me,
For I'm not fit to die.
I paid little attention to what she said
But only struck her the more,
Till the cold damp blood came rushing down
To never be restored.
I run my fingers through her coal-black hair
To cover up my sins,
I carried her down the riverside
And there I plunged her in.
And as I returned back to my home
I met my brother John,
He asked what made me look so pale
And yet so very warm[1].
I went into my mother's room
At twelve o'clock that night,
My mother being in trouble
She raised a tur'ble fright.
My son, my son, what have you done
To bloody up your hands and clothes?
The answer I gave her,
Been bleeding at the nose.
I asked her for a candlestick
To light me off to bed,
I asked her for a handkerchief
To bind my aching head.
I rolled and I rolled and I tumbled all night,
I could not be in peace,
It seemed as though the fire of hell
Was burning in my breast.
Six days had passed and this fair maid
Had never yet been found,
And one day her body came
Floating through Expert Town.
Come all young men, fair warning take
And to your lover be true,
And never let the devil get
The upper hand of you.