'Twas in the town of Export; the town where I did dwell,

voiceCollected by Mary Celestia Parler; Transcribed by Neil Byer Jimmie Morris Timbo, Ark. November 5, 1954 Reel 213, Item 5 The Export Girl 'Twas in the town of Export; the town where I did dwell, 'Twas in the town of Export, I owned a flour mill, I fell in love with a fine young girl with a dark and rolling eye, I promised I would marry her if me she'd never deny. Then I fell in love with another one, that I loved just as well, The devil put it in my head the first I loved to kill, I said to her, "We'll take a walk out on the meadow wide"; And little did I dream that I was goin' to take her life. We walked along; we talked along, till we came to a level ground, Then picking up a club of hedge, I knocked that fair maid down; Then falling on her bended knee, "Oh, Lord, have mercy," she cried, "Oh, Willie dear, don't murder me here, for I'm not pre­pared to die." But little attention did I pay, I beat her only the more, I beat her till the ground all round was in a bloody Then I picked her up by the yellow locks, and I slung her around and around, I dragged her to the river side, and I threw her in to drown; "Lie there, lie there, you Export girl, lie there, lie there," I cried, "Lie there, lie there, you Export girl, for you never shall be my bride." gore. Reel 213, Item 5, con't. I reached my home at the midnight hour, and I fell across my bed, I cried aloud, "Oh, Mother dear, come bathe my aching head"; "Oh, Willie dear, what have you done that there's blood on your hand and clothes?" And the answer that I gave to her was "bleeding at the nose." O, Lord, they're going to hang me; O, how I dread to die; To be hung up before my friends between the earth and sky.Funding for digitization provided by the Arkansas Humanities Council and the Happy Hollow Foundation