May I sleep in your barn tonight, Mister?

guitars; voiceCollected by Merlin Mitchell Transcribed by Mary C. Parler Sung by Alvis and Georgia Wood Combs, Arkansas July 26, 1950 Reel 55, Item 6 May I Sleep in Your Barn Tonight, Mister May I sleep in your barn tonight, Mister? It's so cold lying out on the ground, And the cold dark wind it is whistling, And I have no place to lie down. I have no tobacco or matches, And I'm sure I would do you no harm. I will tell you a story, kind Mister, As it runs through my heart like a song. It was three years ago last summer, I shall never forget that sad day, That a stranger came out from the city, Said he wanted to stop for his health. The stranger was fair, tall, and handsome, And he looked like a man who had wealth, Said he wanted to stop in our country, That he wanted to stop for his health. My wife said she like to be earning, To have something to add to our home, But at last it was finally decided That the stranger might stay in our home. One evening as I came in from my workshop, Whistling and singing with joy, I expected a kind-hearted welcome, That might come from ray wife and my boy. But what did I spy but a letter Placed in our room on a stand, And the minute my eyes fell upon it, I picked it right up in my hand. This note said ray wife and the stranger Had run away and taken my son. Oh, I wonder if God up in Heaven Only knows what the stranger has done.Funding for digitization provided by the Arkansas Humanities Council and the Happy Hollow Foundation