Waxford Girl- Nora Carpenter (KY) 1972 REC
[Digital Appalachia
Listen: http://dla.acaweb.org/cdm/singleitem/collection/berea/id/3474/rec/1
R. Matteson 2016]
Waxford Girl- sung, played on banjo, and recorded by Nora Carpenter at her home in Salyersville, Maggoffin County, Kentucky 07-07-72
There was a rich old farmer,
Who lived in Waxford town;
He had one charming daughter,
But [her] beauty wasn't found[1].
I went to see that loving girl,
At eight o'clock last night;
I asked her to take a walk with me,
Down to the meadows bright.
We walked along hand in hand,
Till we came to the level ground,
I drew a stake from the side of the road,
Then I knocked that fair one down.
I knocked her to her bended knees
"Oh Lord," she did cry
Saying "John, oh John don't murder me
for I'm not prepared to die.
He drew her by curly hair
He threw her o'er the ground
He threw her in the water
That goes to Waxford Town.
I started at twelve o'clock
At twelve o'clock at night
I woke my dear old mother,
I woke her in a fright.
Saying John oh John what have you done
With a blood-stain on your clothes?"
The answer I gave back to her
Was bleeding of the nose
I asked her for a candlestick
To light me off to bed;
The voice and the ghost of the Waxford girl
Came rolling through my head.
The voice and the ghost of the Waxford girl
No comfort could I find
The gates of hell have opened wide,
And before my eyes did shine.
1. The first stanza has been adapted from a different ballad, the text is associated closely with "Girl I Left Behind Me."