John Hardy was a desperate little man
Carried a razor every day
He killed a man on the West Virginia line
Should'a seen John Hardy gettin' away
John Hardy had a pretty little gal
The dress she wore was blue
She came skippin' thru the old jailhouse
Sayin' "Pappy, I'll be true to you"
And John Hardy has another little gal
The dress she wore was red
She followed John Hardy to his hanging grounds
Sayin' "Pappy, I would rather be dead"
John Hardy stood in that old barroom
So drunk he could not see
Sheriff came by and took him by the hand
"Johnny come and go with me"
And the man John Hardy was to be hung
There came a storm and a hail
And the wind blew the hanging scaffold down
Threw John Hardy back in jail
Well I been to the east and I been to the west
I been this wide world 'round
I been to the river and I been baptized
Take me to my burying grounds
