Let me tell the tale of Isabel, a boy that she loved so And that cheatin' man that they let go He would come home when the sun would rise if he ever came at all And he'd tell a story tall, tall, tall Well she's gonna wait all night, she's a faithful wife And her man is doing wrong, wrong, wrong I can see that you've been cryin' by the dampness of your face For a moment let me plead my case I was booked for drunk-in-public and on six or seven counts Of loitering and my missed doubts Well I pled and I pled and every word that I said Made that old judge just hate me more And I sat next to a crazy man, tellin' tales of Vietnam And he wouldn't leave my ears alone Well I tried and I tried, and I cried and I cried But that old guard won't let me go And I stood there thinkin' in my cell about my boy and Isabel And how I'm gonna change my life Well I got a call from Misses Long, she told me that you done me wrong This boy and me are long, long gone She saw you with that girl again; the one you said was just a friend This friend of yours is half your age Well I'm gonna wait all night, 'cause I'm a faithful wife And this boy and me are long, long gone And she sat there with the coldest stare as the truth was folded in her hair Her foot went through that hardwood floor Well I know when you lie; I can see it in your eyes You looked surprised when I'd knew where you'd gone