May I sleep in your barn tonight, mister?
It's so cold lying out on the ground;
And the cold north winds to the whistling,
And I have no place to lie down.
Now I have no tobacco or matches,
And I'm sure I would cause you no harm;
I will tell you my story, kind mister,
For it runs through my heart like a storm.
It was three years ago last summer,
I shall never forget that sad day,
When a stranger came out from the city,
And he said that he wanted to stay.
Now this stranger was fair, tall and handsome,
And he looked like a man who had wealth;
And he wanted to stay in the country,
Said he wanted to stay for his health.
Then one night as I came from my workshop,
I was whistling and singing with joy;
I expected a kind-hearted welcome,
From my sweet loving wife and my boy.
Oh. but what did I find but a letter,
It was placed in my room on the stand;
And the moment my eyes fell upon it,
Why I take it right up in my hands.
Now this note said my wife and the stranger,
They had left and have taken my son;
Oh, I wonder if God up in heaven,
Only knows what this stranger has done."
May I sleep in your barn tonight, mister?
It's so cold lying out on the ground;
And the cold north winds to the whistling,
And I have no place to lie down.
