beginner
Tom Dooley
Doc Watson
Jam Along
Chord Chart
Verse/Chorus x2
G
C
C
G
D
G
C
G
Chords used:
C
D
G
Lyrics
Hang your head, Tom Dooley, hang your head and cry
You killed poor Laurie Foster and you know you're bound to die
You left her by the roadside where you begged to be excused
You left her by the roadside, then you hid her clothes and shoes
You took her on the hillside for to make her your wife
You took her on the hillside and there, you took her life
You dug the grave four feet long and you dug it three feet deep
You rolled the cold clay over her and tromped it with your feet
Hang your head, Tom Dooley, hang your head and cry
You killed poor Laurie Foster and you know you're bound to die
Trouble, oh, it's trouble a-rollin' through my breast
As long as I'm a-livin', boys, they ain't a-gonna let me rest
I know they're gonna hang me, tomorrow, I'll be dead
Though I never even harmed a hair on poor little Laurie's head
Hang your head, Tom Dooley, hang your head and cry
You killed poor Laurie Foster and you know you're bound to die
In this world and one more, then reckon where I'll be
If it wasn't for Sheriff Grayson, I'd be in Tennessee
You can take down my old violin and play it all you please
For at this time tomorrow, boys, it'll be of no use to me
Hang your head, Tom Dooley, hang your head and cry
You killed poor Laurie Foster and you know you're bound to die
At this time tomorrow, where do you reckon I'll be?
Away down yonder in the holler, hangin' on a white oak tree
Hang your head, Tom Dooley, hang your head and cry
You killed poor Laurie Foster and you know you're bound to dieAbout This Song
Tom Dooley is a tragic murder ballad from North Carolina that Doc Watson made famous, though The Kingston Trio's 1958 hit brought it to mainstream audiences. Based on the real 1866 murder of Laura Foster, for which Tom Dula was hanged, it remains a popular sing-along at jams despite its dark subject matter.
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