I met a little girl in Knoxville, a town we all know well
And every Sunday evening, out in her home I'd dwell
We went to take an evening walk, about a mile from town
I picked a stick up off the ground, and I beat that fair girl down
♪
She fell down on her bended knees, for mercy she did cry
Oh Willy dear, don't kill me here, I'm unprepared to die
She never spoke another word, I only beat her more
Until the ground around us with all her blood did pour
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I took her by her golden curls and I drug her 'round and 'round
Throwing her into the river that flows through Knoxville town
Go down, go down, you Knoxville girl, with the dark and rolling eye
Go down, go down, you Knoxville girl, you can never be my bride
♪
I headed back to Knoxville, got there about midnight
My mother, she was worried and woke up in a fright
Saying, "Dear son, what have you done to bloody your clothes so?"
I told my anxious mother, I was bleeding at my nose
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I called for me a candle, to light myself to bed
I call for me a handkerchief, to bind my aching head
Rolled and tumbled, the whole night through, as troubles was for me
Like flames of Hell around my bed, and then my eyes could see
♪
They carried me down to Knoxville, and they put me in a cell
My friends all tried to get me out, but none could go with my bail
I'm here to waste my life away, down in this dirty old jail
Because I murdered that Knoxville girl, the girl I loved so well