carrie brown

the first time i saw carrie brown

she was so young and fair

a voice like spring rain fallin' down and sunlight in her hair

i'd never seen her face before so i asked all around

her daddy owns a grocery store and she lives in bristol town

carrie darlin' carrie carrie brown i cry

if i can't marry carrie brown believe i'd rather die

i laid my last ten dollars down

though i didn't need a thing

just to touch sweet carrie brown

when she handed me my change

i hung around 'till closin' time i scarce believed my eyes

my darlin' walkin' arm in arm

with a boy named billy wise

i walked around in bristol town a bitter broken man

a heart that pined for carrie brown and a pistol in my hand

we met again on state street poor billy wise and me

i shot him in virginia and he died in tennessee

now i'm down in the bristol jail and all i do is cry

'cause the jury found me guilty and the judge says i must die

i'm just a poor young mountain boy

ain't never been to town

and i've come to ruination for the love of carrie brown