Tom Dooley

Hang down your head, Tom Dooley
Hang down your head and cry
Hang down your head, Tom Dooley
Poor boy, you're bound to die

I met her on the mountain,
There I took her life
Met her on the mountain,
Stabbed her with my knife

Hang down your head, Tom Dooley
Hang down your head and cry (ah-uh-eye)
Hang down your head, Tom Dooley
Poor boy, you're bound to die

This time tomorrow
Reckon where I'll be
Hadn't-a been for Grayson,
I'd-a been in Tennessee

(well now, boy) Hang down (your head) your head (Dooley) and cry
Hang down your head and cry (ah poor boy, ah well-ah)
Hang down (your head) your head (Dooley) and cry
Poor boy, you're bound to die (ah well now boy)
Hang down (your head) your head (Dooley) and cry
Hang down your head and cry (ah poor boy, ah well-ah)
Hang down (your head) your head (Dooley) and cry
Poor boy, you're bound to die

This time tomorrow
Reckon where I'll be
Down in some lonesome valley
Hangin' from a white oak tree

Hang down your head, Tom Dooley
Hang down your head and cry (ah-uh-eye)
Hang down your head, Tom Dooley
Poor boy, you're bound to die
(ah well now boy)
Hang down your head, Tom Dooley
Hang down your head and cry (poor boy ah well uh)
Hang down your head, Tom Dooley
Poor boy, you're bound to die
Poor boy, you're bound to die
Poor boy, you're bound to die Poor boy, you're bound to----die

Tom Dooley is an old North Carolina folk song based on the 1866 murder of a girl named Laura Foster in Wilkes County. It is best known today because of a hit version recorded in 1958 by The Kingston Trio.

History: from Wikipedia:

Impoverished Confederate veteran Tom Dula, Foster's lover and probable fiancé, was convicted of her murder and hanged in 1868. The lyrics to the song were written by a local poet, Thomas C. Land, shortly after the hanging.

Dula's lover, Anne Foster Melton, whose comments led to the discovery of the body, was acquitted in a separate trial based on his word. Many believed she was the real killer and that Dula admitted guilt to protect her. Though Dula's trial was widely publicized for its time, and former governor Zebulon Vance represented him pro bono, fanciful legends soon sprang up based on interpretations of the song.

A man named "Grayson," mentioned in the song as pivotal in Dula's downfall, has sometimes been characterized as a romantic rival of Dula's or a vengeful sheriff who captured him and presided over his hanging. Some variant lyrics of the song portray Grayson in that light, and the spoken introduction to the Kingston Trio version did the same. Col. James Grayson was actually a Tennessee politician who had hired Dula on his farm when the young man fled North Carolina under suspicion and was using a false name. Grayson did help North Carolinians capture Dula and was personally involved in returning him to North Carolina, but otherwise played no role in the case.

Dula was tried in Statesville, because it was believed he could not get a fair trial in Wilkes County. He was given a new trial on appeal but he was again convicted, and hanged on May 1, 1868. His alleged accomplice, Jack Keaton, was set free. On the gallows, Dula reportedly stated, "Gentlemen, do you see this hand? I didn't harm a hair on the girl's head."

Dula's last name was pronounced "Dooley," leading to some confusion in spelling over the years. (The pronunciation of a final "a" like "y" is an old feature in Appalachian speech, as in the term "Grand Ole Opry").

The doleful ballad was probably first sung shortly after the execution and is still commonly sung in North Carolina. The song was selected as one of the Songs of the Century.

DISCLAIMER: All the songs contained in this site are believed to be in the public domain. The music and information are intended only for personal enjoyment. I have tried to give credit to every website on which I found either the midi or the lyrics for this file. If there is any material used on this site that the author objects to, it will be removed upon notification