[Verse 1] I know not my father, though pictures have I Theres only my mother, my sister, and I And a small lonely cabin, near the woods and a stream We witness such terrible things The man took an interest in Mama so dear She had me in trouble in only four years While Mama was workin, he came to our home And hurt us while Mama was gone [Chorus] In the sad ole cool waters that run through the stream Where the willows cry sadly for sins they have seen His face towards the heavens, in judgment he lays For making my poor sister cry [Verse 2] I told my poor Mama, of the deed I had done Our bodies were beaten, our innocence gone I stabbed him, I slit him with my pocketknife For making my poor sister cry God up in Heaven had mercy on me With noone to save us, twas all up to me I never had planned it, to take a mans life But he made my poor sister cry [Chorus] In the sad ole cool waters that run through the stream Where the willows cry sadly for sins they have seen His face towards the heavens, in judgment he lays For making my poor sister cry But he made my poor sister cry
sister, poor, cry, stream, mama