Oxford Town- Earnest Hugley (CO) pre1964
[From: Colorado Folksong Bulletin - Volume 3 - Page 46, 1964.
R. Matteson 2016]
Oxford Town- Sung by Mr. Earnest Hugley, Englewood, Colorado, before 1964
T was in that town of Oxford
Where I did live and dwell;
T was in that town of Oxford
I owned a flouring mill.
I fell in love with an Oxford girl
Who had dark, rolling eyes.
She promised me we'd marry,
And to me that she'd be tied.
I went into her father's house
Er very late at night.
I asked his fair one if we might
Walk along, and talk along, and have some
pleasant talk.
We walked along; we talked along
Till we came to level ground.
I picked up some hedgewood
And struck this fair one down.
She fell upon her bending knees.
"Oh, Lord, O Mercy," she cried.
"Oh, Willie Dear, don't murder me here.
For I'm not prepared to die. "
But I paid no heed to her dying call;
But I beat her more and more
Till on the ground and all around
Was but a bloody flow.
I picked her up by her long yellow hair
And swung her round and round.
I threw her in the river
That flowed through Oxford town.
"Lie there, lie there you Oxford girl.
To me, you'll never be a bride.
Lie there, lie there you Oxford girl.
To me, you'll never be tied. "
I went into my mother's house
Very late at night
My mother, being worried,
Woke with an awful fright.
Saying, " Son O son what have you done
To bloody your hands and clothes?"
The answer that I gave to her
Was "Bleeding at the nose."
I was taken upon suspicion
And placed in an Oxford jail.
No one to entertain me,
No one to go my bail.
I rolled and I tumbled,
No comfort could I find
Till the gates of Hell were opened;
And then my eyes did shine.