Oxford Girl- Linda Lee Jones (AR) 1960 Parler M
[Ozark Folk Song Collection- online; Reel 331, Item 4. Collected by Linda Lee Jones for Mary Celestia Parler. Cf. Betty Lee Jones (relative?).
Listen: http://digitalcollections.uark.edu/cdm/singleitem/collection/OzarkFolkSong/id/72/rec/19
R. Matteson 2106]
M. "Oxford Girl" sung by Linda Lee Jones of Huntsville, Ark. on January 10, 1960.
T'was in the town of Oxford,
I used to roam and dwell,
And in this town of Oxford,
I ran a flour mill.
I fell in love with an Oxford girl,
With dark and roving eyes,
I asked her if she'd marry me,
And if she'd be my bride.
I asked her to take a walk with me,
O'er the meadows soft and gay,
That we might have some pleasant talks,
And appoint our wedding day.
We walked along and we talked along,
Till we came to a level ground,
And picking up a ledgeful stick,
I knocked this fair maid down.
On falling on her bended knees,
Oh Lord have mercy she cried,
Oh Willie dear, don't murder me here,
For I'm not prepared to die.
I heeded not a word she said,
I beat her more and more,
I beat her till the ground all 'round,
Was bloodied by the flow[1].
I picked her up by her yellow locks,
I swung her 'round and 'round,
I drug her to the waters edge,
And threw her in to drown.
I then got home at twelve that night,
My mother was dreadful with fear,
Oh Willie dear, what have you done,
To bloody your hands and clothes?
The only answer that I gave,
Was bleeding from the nose.
In about two weeks just after this,
This Oxford girl was found,
Floating down the river,
That runs through Oxford town.
They took me on suspicion,
They locked me up in jail,
There was no one to entertain me,
Nor go on my bail.
Her sister swore my life away,
She swore without a doubt,
That I might be the single man,
That laid her sister out.
Oh Lord they're going to hang me,
What a dreadful way to die,
Away up in the air so high,
Between the earth and the sky.