They caught Tom Dooley in my backyard when I
was only ten.
The posse rode in fast and hard
but he never rode again.

When the sheriff arrived Tom folded his hand for
he knew he was no longer free.
He offered no fight and he didn't run,
he just stared real hard at me.

Though he tried to smile he could barely grin, yet
he didn't say a thing.
He shed no tear when the women moaned or
when some began to scream.

My pa kept tending to his chores,
with a hollow look in his eye.
But mom gave Tom a tearful wave,
like when lovers say goodbye.

Tom glanced at pa and he stared at ma, then he
looked real hard my way.
His eyes said more than a heart could read, or a
tongue has words to say.

They caught Tom Dooley in my backyard when I
was only ten.
The posse rode in fast and hard
but he never rode again.

They hung Tom Dooley from the old oak tree; I
watched them take his life.
They left him hanging and swinging free, so I cut
him down with my knife.