I try to remember the things that are precious to you
And I’d give you money if that would do
But money won’t do it
That’s not your way
Your money’s been for giving away
Now if you precede me and go to your grave
And the angels knocks the clouds about
When Jesus comes to save I’ll be standing there
To rise with you
And go up
As you do

[Chorus]
And I will always love you
You’ll always be mine
Forever and always
‘Til the end of time
‘Til the mountains split open with the weight of the sun
We’ll rise up together as one

So I let my hair hang down
‘Cause that’s the way you like it
And I’ll keep myself neat and nice for you
And I’ll have good food on your table
And I will keep your house in order

[Chorus]

And I will pray for you
For your wisdom and understanding
And your charity
And even if you’ve been wrong and I’d known it
You’ve always been right
Because that’s God’s order

[Chorus]

And I will smile for you
And I’ll be kind
And I’ll love your babies
Just as I’ve loved mine
And when I could give you nothing
God blessed me
And I gave you a son

[Chorus]

He ran his fingers through her curly hair
When he told her that he’d never really cared
Then he left her alone in the sand
She lost her man, how could she stand

But she stood on that beach at Moonlight Bay
And watched him slowly walk away
Then she fell to her knees on the ground
Without a sound, hair hanging down

[Chorus]
Just another broken heart
Just another broken world
Just another fallen star
And a broken hearted girl

The water was cold at Moonlight Bay
Cold enough to wash the tears away
But it couldn’t wash away the love she had
Ain’t moonlight sad when love’s gone bad

[Chorus]

She walked to his car from the church house
Where he sat waiting in the night
And her hands trembled on her Bible
As she held on firmly to the right

Oh, you’re beggin’ me to go out drinkin’
But drinkin’ only adds to my pain
I love you sweetheart, I love you
But we won’t ever meet again

Oh, I love you sweetheart, I love you
And your tears keep addin’ to my pain
I love you sweetheart, I love you
But we won’t ever meet again

Oh, my heart is almost broken
And then she let go of his hand
I love you sweetheart, I love you
But we won’t ever meet again

You’ve been in the arms of another
And one who says she is my friend
You’ve kissed her and held her and loved her
And taken her places that we’ve been

Oh, my heart is almost broken
And then she let go of his hand
I love you sweetheart, I love you
But we won’t ever meet again

Oh, I love you sweetheart, I love you
But drinkin’ only adds to my pain
I love you sweetheart, I love you
But we won’t ever meet again

Oh, my heart is almost broken
And your tears only add to my pain
I love you sweetheart, I love you
But we won’t ever meet again

Now I’ll tell you in Chicago boys, I was broken man
Dirty movies, credit cards and bills past due again
And that son of mine spit in my face and then I tanned his eye
He got a taste of Appalachian pride

That sassy son of mine, he was more than I could take
I loaded wife and kids and dogs and then I pulled up stakes
Back home here in the old home ‘stead I’ve kept him by my side
And filled him with my Appalachian pride

[Chorus]
We’re praising God in everything we do
Thankful we had this to come back to
We don’t have much money, but we’re dignified
And happy in our Appalachian pride

There’s hell mud in the smoke house, some flower in the ban
Molasses, cans and beans until crop comes in
The kids back in that bedroom, they finally understand
The pride of an Appalachian man

Now we don’t live on welfare, we don’t need the checks no more
We got sick of bill collectors a-banging on the door
We’ll break our backs from dusk till dawn and God is on our side
And we’ll make it just on Appalachian pride

[Chorus]

I was born in east Virginia
To Carolina I did roam
There I met a little woman
Her age and name I did not know
Her age and name I did not know

Her hair was of a dark brown color
And her cheeks were rosy red
On her breast she wore white linen
Oh, the tears that I have shed
Oh, the tears that I have shed

I’d rather be in some dark hollow
Where the sun don’t ever shine
Then to be another’s darling
And know she never will be mine
And know she never will be mine

I was known as Blackie’s gunman
The best gunman in the land
I could shoot the ace of diamonds
With a drop from either hand
With a drop from either hand

With the dice I had no equal
Some of them are with us now
Most of them are sadly sleeping
Beneath the weeping willow bough
Beneath the weeping willow bough

I got tired of New York City, of its sidewalks and its heat
So I got myself a great big horse and I rode him down the street
And then I hollered, “Hi, ho, Silver” and, “Get ’em up, Scout”
But I suffered aggravation and a great humiliation
So I finally said I’d let the story out

[Chorus]
You can’t ride a big white horse into the front of Gatsby’s door
You can’t call out, “Hi, ho, Silver” as you scoot across the floor
Twenty big Italians had me bent down on my knees
And I cried, “Oh, ouch, help Lord” and, “Mama Mia, please”

Well, he broke into a canter down around ol’ Times Square
And my cowboy boots and hat, I left them somewhere way back there
Then he stomped and reared and turned and bucked
And took off to the South
And I slid through Gatsby’s Restaurant with his tail stuck in my mouth

[Chorus]

Now, down at Gatsby’s Restaurant, there’s a picture hanging there
Of a petrified Italian with escargot in his hair
And there’s a big, white horse rug lying by the door
And I’m washing dishes in the back and sweepin’ up the floor

[Chorus]

Free love is the goin’ thing
So I took off my wedding ring
And embarked on my final fling
Of losin’ you

Borrowed love is awful cheap
He was fun but I can’t sleep
I toss and turn and then I weep
I’m losin’ you

[Chorus]
But I’d like to take that man I made
And choke him on the bed we laid
‘Cause he ain’t worth the price I paid
Of losin’ you

I searched my heart to see
If I could catch you in a little lie
And in some way justify
Losin’ you

I thought love grew weak with age
Oh ho, how I misread the gage
You wrote the book, I turned the page
And I’m losin’ you

[Chorus]

Free love is the goin’ thing
So I took off my wedding ring
And embarked on my final fling
Of losin’ you

Borrowed love is awful cheap
He was fun but I can’t sleep
I toss and turn and then I weep
I’m losin’ you

[Chorus]

He ain’t worth the price I paid of losin’ you

Your brown eyes weigh heavy with the burdens of the world
Like what you(‘re) gonna do about the young boys and the girls
People are blind and they don’t understand
But I think you can help them
You’re a good man
Jesus hear the cry and the prayer in the morn of a good man
Jesus feel the pain and the hurt and the need of a good man

[Chorus]
You’re a good man
Reach out for the stars
I’m praying for your wisdom
Like I’m praying for the war
Jesus give you conciliation
Jesus give you inspiration
Jesus save this nation, maybe

You’re worried about the pollution, ’bout the poison in the streams
‘Bout the cruel Asian war or the young man’s broken dreams
Love thy neighbor as thyself
Reach for Jesus’ hands
You can give them courage
You’re a good man
Jesus hear the cry and the prayer in the morn of a good man
Jesus feel the pain and the hurt and the need of a good man

[Chorus]

There’s a difference in the old and the young
That brought a mighty gap
But I don’t think you feel it
It’s laying in your lap
Hold the baby to my breast
And reach out for your hand
We all need the strength of a good man
Jesus hear the cry and the prayer in the morn of a good man
Jesus feel the pain and the hurt and the need of a good man

[Chorus]

Love is a burnin’ thing
And it makes a fiery ring
Bound by wild desire
I fell into a ring of fire

[Chorus]
I fell into a burnin’ ring of fire
I went down, down, down
And the flames went higher
And it burns, burns, burns
The ring of fire, the ring of fire

The taste of love is sweet
When hearts like ours meet
I fell for you like a child
Oh, but the fire went wild

[Chorus 2x]

And it burns, burns, burns
The ring of fire, the ring of fire

Two lovers stood in the white, white sand
Dark-eyed maiden and her tall lover man
With surprise and pain in her eyes
Clung to the hand of her tall lover man

“They’re lyin’ to me, aren’t they, Jim?,” she asked him
“That fair-haired girl with those blue, blue eyes
Is not your wife, is she Jim?”
And with tears in her eyes and her sad, sad cries
She clung to the hand of her tall lover man

In the darkness, he let go off her hand
“I’m not to blame, it was a game
‘Cause that fair-haired woman is my wife
And she will be all of my life”

“You’re lyin’ to me, aren’t you Jim?,” she asked him
“If lovin’ me was a sport, then your life will be short”
She said to him, “My Jim”
And the blade of the maid struck the man
And the blood flowed in the sand from her tall lover man

Two lovers lyin’ in the white, white sand
“I’ll die with you, my tall lover man”
And her blade found its mark in the dark
She clung to the hand of her tall lover man

“They’re lyin’ to me, aren’t they, Jim?,” she asked him
“That fair-haired girl, with those blue, blue eyes
Won’t be your wife, my Jim”
With tears in her eyes and sad, sad cries
She died in the sand with her tall lover man

Oh, I hate but you made it
You’re running, jumping, laughing filled with glee
Oh, I told you that I’d hold you
Just how did you get away from me

I had bars on the window had you chained to the floor
And a moss-covered monster at the door (Twelve feet tall, that ain’t all)
Had a bottomless moat with a hole in the boat
And a big rattlesnake, if you tried to make a break
Had a swarm of bees, a gorilla in the trees
Just how did you get away from me

Oh, where did you get the sense to get through the electric fence
Your handcuffs are gone, you’re running free
What happened to my sniper with his high-powered rifle
Just how did you get away from me

Is it true that you, did you really make it through
How about the tiger in the car (And the dynamite you planted in the jar, in the car)
Did you go like a mole through a hole
Or did you sail like a quail on the pole
Give it to the news on TV (So I can see)
Oh how did you get away from me
Oh how did you get away from me

When I was young and pretty
With a twinkling in my eye
I met a travelin’ man one day
And I guess he told a lie

When we was a courting
He called me sugar pie
Now he calls me other names
It’s root, hog, or die

Root, hog, or die
Tell you the reason why
I met a travelin’ man one day
And I guess he told a lie

A rig a tig tig A rig a tig tig A rig a tig tig tig

He asked me to get married
One cold day in July
But since the day we’ve tied the knot
It’s root, hog, or die

He always promised that I’d get a 50/50 deal
But every time he buys a turnip
All I get’s the heel

Root, hog, or die
Tell the world goodbye
For since the day we tied the knot
It’s root, hog, or die

He told me that I’d always be the apple of his eye
But since I knocked his one eye out
It’s root, hog, or die

My old man don’t work at all
No, he won’t even try
If I don’t work, I’ll starve to death
It’s root, hog, or die

Root, hog, or die
Just me, myself, and I
If I don’t work, I’ll starve to death
It’s root, hog, or die

Now I ain’t young and pretty
There’s no twinkling in my eye
‘Cause since I met that travelin’ man
It’s root, hog or die

Root, hog, or die
Root, hog, or die
‘Cause since I met that travelin’ man
It’s root, hog or die