Oxford Girl- Mrs. Donna Everett (AR) 1958 Parler H
[Ozark Folk Song Collection- online; Reel 307, Item 5. Collected by Parler.
Listen:
http://digitalcollections.uark.edu/cdm/singleitem/collection/OzarkFolkSong/id/1213/rec/14
R. Matteson 2106]
The Oxford Girl- sung by Mrs. Donna Everett of Huntsville, Ark. on August 11, 1958.
It was in the town of Oxford
I used to run and dwell,
And in this town of Oxford
I ran a flour mill.
I fell in love with an Oxford girl
With a dark and roving eye;
I asked her if she'd marry me,
Or if she'd he my bride.
I asked her to take a walk with me
Through the meadows soft and gay,
That we might have some pleasant talk
And name our wedding day.
We walked along and talked along,
Till we came to a level ground,
And there I picked up a dreadful stick
And knocked this fair maid down.
In falling on her bending knees,
O 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 around
Was bloodied in a flow[1].
I picked her up by her yellow locks,
I hurled her 'round and 'round,
I dragged her to the water's edge
And threw her in to drown.
In calling home at twelve that night,
My mother was dreadful with fear[2],
Oh Willie dear, what have you done
To bloody your hands and clothes?
The only answer that I gave
Was bleeding at the nose.
In about three weeks just after this
This Oxford girl was found,
A-floating down by 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,
Or go on my bail.
Her sister swore my life away,
She swore without a doubt,
That I must be the single man
That laid her sister out.
O Lord, they're going to hang me,
What a dreadful death to die,
Up in the air so high
Between the earth and the sky.
1. usually "gore"
2. lines missing to complete this stanza- it's combined with the next.