Tom: C
C F
My name is Donald White, you see
G7 C
I stand before you all
C F C
I was judged by you a murderer
G7
And the hangman’s knot must fall
C F C
I will die upon the gallows pole
F
When the moon is shining clear
C F
And these are my final words
G7 C
That you will ever hear
[Verse 2]
C F
If I had some education
G7 C
To give me a decent start
C F C
I might have been a doctor or
C G7
A master in the arts
C F C
But I used my hands for stealing
F
When I was very young
C F
And they locked me down in jailhouse cells
G7 C
That’s how my life begun
[Verse 3]
C F
Oh, the inmates and the prisoners
G7 C
I found they were my kind
C F C
It was there inside the bars
C G7
I found my peace of mind
C F C
But the jails they were too crowded
C F
Institutions overflowed
C F
So they turned me loose to walk upon
G7 C
Life’s hurried tangled road
[Verse 4]
C F
And there’s danger on the ocean
G7 C
Where the salt sea waves split high
C F C
And there’s danger on the battlefield
C G7
Where the shells of bullets fly
C F C
And there’s danger in this open world
C F
Where men fight to be free
C F
And for me the greatest danger
G7 C
Was in society
[Verse 5]
C F
So I asked them to send me back
G7 C
To the institution home
C F C
But they said they were too crowded
C G7
For me they had no room
C F C
I got down on my knees and begged
C F
“Oh, please put me away”
C F
But they would not listen to my plea
G7 C
Or nothing I would say
[Verse 6]
C F
And so it was on Christmas Eve
G7 C
In the year of ’59
C F C
It was on that night I killed a man
C G7
I did not try to hide
C F C
The jury found me guilty
C F
And I won’t disagree
C F
For I knew that it would happen
G7 C
If I wasn’t put away
[Verse 7]
C F
But I’m glad I’ve had no parents
G7 C
To care for me or cry
C F C
For now they will never know
C G7
The horrible death that I die
C F C
And I’m also glad I’ve had no friends
C F
To see me in disgrace
C F
For they’ll never see that hangman’s hood
G7 C
Wrap around my face
[Verse 8]
C F
Farewell unto the old north woods
G7 C
Of which I used to roam
C F C
Farewell unto the crowded bars
C G7
Of which’ve been my home
C F C
Farewell to all you people
C F
Who think the worst of me
C F
I guess you’ll feel much better when
G7 C
I’m on that hanging tree
[Verse 9]
C F
But there’s just one more question
G7 C
Before they kill me dead
C F C
I’m wondering just how much
C G7
To you I really said
C F C
Concerning all the boys that walk
C F
A road just like me
C F
Are they enemies or victims
G7 C
Of your society?
