Verse
G#m
Come closer to the fireside;
B
pull in your chair
F#
I've a story to tell you;
G#m
faint hearted beware
G#m
It's a tale of tragic sorrow
B
and the dark deeds of love
F#
I'm the only man here knows the tale,
G#m
and I'll tell you all I know.
[Verse 2]
G#m
This talk of John MacNaghten
B
and his darling Mary Ann
F#
And how he came to hang that day
G#m
in the town of Strabane
G#m
It's true that he shot Mary Ann;
B
put her in the grave
F#
Yet every lady in the land
G#m
prayed that he'd be saved.
[Verse 3]
G#m
MacNaghten was a charming rogue;
B
the finest knew his name
F#
He dealt the cards with noble folk
G#m
and played the gambler's game
G#m
But the lure of pleasant parlours
B
and ladies grand and fair
F#
Took all his money and his land
G#m
and left him to despair.
[Verse 4]
G#m
Now with a heart that was as low
B
as a man's heart can go
F#
He went to his old friend Andrew Knox
G#m
and told him all his woe
G#m
"Come in, come in," Knox said to him.
B
"You're welcome my good man.
F#
Come meet my wife Honoria
G#m
and my daughter Mary Ann."
[Verse 5]
G#m
Now Mary Ann was just fifteen
B
with beauty seldom seen
F#
With golden hair and skin so fair
G#m
which nothing could exceed.
G#m
MacNaghten bowed and took her hand;
B
she curtsied gracefully.
F#
He vowed to marry Mary Ann
G#m
and so their fate was sealed
[Verse 6]
G#m
Miss Knox was soon enchanted
B
with MacNaghten's worldly way
F#
As hand in hand they strolled the land
G#m
that would all be hers someday
G#m
She said she'd gladly be his wife
B
if her father would agree
F#
But he said he'd rather see her dead
G#m
than in MacNaghten's company
[Verse 7]
G#m
MacNaghten's mind swung with rage
B
as he formed his final plan:
F#
He'd kill the MP Andrew Knox
G#m
and take his Mary Ann.
G#m
The coach was bound for Dublin town,
B
the Knoxes all on board.
F#
In Strabane he made his stand
G#m
with a pistol and a sword.
[Verse 8]
G#m
MacNaghten thought that Mary Ann
B
was seated on the right.
F#
He shot three times through the left;
G#m
the bullets pierced her side.
G#m
Andrew Knox then fired two shots;
B
MacNaughten quickly fled.
F#
He was now a hunted man
G#m
and Mary Ann was dead.
[Verse 9]
G#m
MacNaghten soon was caught and tried;
B
they sentenced him to die.
F#
His words of love for Mary Ann
G#m
brought tears to the ladies' eyes.
G#m
On the gallows he was proud and brave;
B
he spoke no final words.
F#
He put the rope around his neck
G#m
and he jumped off with great force.
[Verse 10]
G#m
But the rope broke with a mighty crack
B
and he fell down to the ground.
F#
The soldiers they all turned their backs
G#m
and the people gathered round.
G#m
They called out to MacNaghten to
B
take the chance and run
F#
But he climbed back on the gallows
G#m
as the crowd stood still and stunned.
[Verse 11]
G#m
It was then he spoke his final words;
B
his voice was cracked and dry.
F#
There was silence in the winter air
G#m
and a strange look in his eye.
G#m
He said that he would rather die
B
than live his life in shame.
F#
He'd rather die than let
G#m
Half-Hanged MacNaghten be his name!
[Verse 12]
G#m
Now the hanging of MacNaghten
B
and the death of Mary Ann
F#
Is known by rich and poor alike
G#m
all across the land.
G#m
They say it's because of the love of gold
B
that Mary Ann Knox died,
F#
2x
But you know now the story's told
G#m
they both were killed by pride.