Verse
C# F#
My name is Donald White, you see
G#7 C#
I stand before you all
C# F# C#
I was judged by you a murderer
G#7
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
G#7 C#
That you will ever hear
[Verse 2]
C# F#
If I had some education
G#7 C#
To give me a decent start
C# F# C#
I might have been a doctor or
C# G#7
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
G#7 C#
That’s how my life begun
[Verse 3]
C# F#
Oh, the inmates and the prisoners
G#7 C#
I found they were my kind
C# F# C#
It was there inside the bars
C# G#7
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
G#7 C#
Life’s hurried tangled road
[Verse 4]
C# F#
And there’s danger on the ocean
G#7 C#
Where the salt sea waves split high
C# F# C#
And there’s danger on the battlefield
C# G#7
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
G#7 C#
Was in society
[Verse 5]
C# F#
So I asked them to send me back
G#7 C#
To the institution home
C# F# C#
But they said they were too crowded
C# G#7
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
G#7 C#
Or nothing I would say
[Verse 6]
C# F#
And so it was on Christmas Eve
G#7 C#
In the year of ’59
C# F# C#
It was on that night I killed a man
C# G#7
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
G#7 C#
If I wasn’t put away
[Verse 7]
C# F#
But I’m glad I’ve had no parents
G#7 C#
To care for me or cry
C# F# C#
For now they will never know
C# G#7
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
G#7 C#
Wrap around my face
[Verse 8]
C# F#
Farewell unto the old north woods
G#7 C#
Of which I used to roam
C# F# C#
Farewell unto the crowded bars
C# G#7
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
G#7 C#
I’m on that hanging tree
[Verse 9]
C# F#
But there’s just one more question
G#7 C#
Before they kill me dead
C# F# C#
I’m wondering just how much
C# G#7
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
G#7 C#
Of your society?