Breaking hearts in Halifax County,
The three fine daughters of farmer Brown
Turning heads of the boys in the schoolyard
Catching whistles from the men downtown
No one knows why they went rowin',
The three fine daughters of farmer Brown,
They didn't know that the rocks on the river'd be
The 'Three Sisters' island, where they'd all drown
Widower Brown had a girl named Nellie
She was the oldest and toughest of three
She would take her daddy's well-sharpened sickle
And carve "kill men" in the sycamore tree
The men came a courtin' but she'd keep her distance
Never cracked a smile, just played it coy
Some say she's as tender as a petal
She'd act tough 'cause her daddy wanted a boy
Old man brown had a girl named Dottie
The middle button and the most vain of the three
She'd take her daddy's fat leather boot strap
And whip anyone who'd call her 'Dorothy'
The men would fawn her and she would repay 'em
And peck 'em where they'd find it safe to kiss
Like the barn or the porch or the upstairs parlor
Anywhere that'd keep 'em from her father's fist
Farmer Brown had a girl named Becca
She was the youngest and most reverent of all
She would take her daddy's King James Bible
And go study Scripture at the brethren hall
The men would avoid her 'cuz she would condemn them
For cussing and drinking and chasing the Browns
She'd say "Repent and join God forever!
The pleasure of sin's not as good as it sounds."
One day the three with nothing in common
Spied upon an abandoned row boat
Maybe their sense of adventure had pushed
The three young girls to set the ship afloat
They didn't know the strength of the river
The merciless current that pulled them down
Maybe it was due to the weight of their denim
But the three girls' bodies were never found
Some may recall the singing of the sirens
Luring in the sailors to wreck and drown
Some say they still hear the fightin'
And the flirtin'
And the preachin'
Of the daughters of farmer Brown