One night it was dark, it was storming, When along came a tramp in the rain,

voice; guitarsReel 428, Item 12 Collected by Hubert Charles Peterson By M.C.Parler TRAMP IN THE RAIN One night it was dark, it was storming, When along came a tramp in the rain, He was making his way to a station, For to catch a long distancetrain. May I sleep in your barn tonight, Mister? For it's cold lying out on the ground, And to beg for matches I've any I am sure I will do mm you no harm. Now my wife said she'd like to be earning Some money to add to her home She talked 'til we finded a cottage That the Stranger might come in our home. One evening I was coming from my work shop Whistling and ringing for joy Was expecting a kind hearted welcome It would be from my wife and boy. Nothing did I find but a letter Placed in a room on a stand And the moment my eyes fell upon it I picked it right up in my hand Oh, the words written on it Was enough to run a man wild For it told me my wife and the stranger Had left and had taken my child. If there be a God up in heaven Which we are all told to believe I know He will give to that rascal A doom, a doom he sought to receive. Sung by Lowell Harness, Leslie, Arkansas, December 21, 1962.Funding for digitization provided by the Arkansas Humanities Council and the Happy Hollow Foundation