The Songs He Sang
Old Smoky: Lyrics
As performed by Cisco Houston
Woody Guthrie
Appears on:Lonesome Valley
On top of Old Smoky All covered with snow I lost my true lover From a-courtin' too slow A-courtin' is a pleasure But parting is grief And a false-hearted lover Is worse than a thief A thief will but rob you Of all that you save And a false-hearted lover Will send you to the grave And the grave will decay you And turn you to dust Not a girl in ten-thousand That a poor boy can trust She'll hug you and kiss you And tell you more lies Than the crossties in the railroad Or the stars in the sky On top of Old Smoky I went there to weep A false-hearted lover Is worse than a thief
The Cisco Special
On top of Old Smoky All covered with snow I lost my true lover From a-courtin' too slow A-courting's a pleasure And parting is grief And a false-hearted lover Is worse than a thief A thief he will rob you And take what you savee And a false-hearted lover Will send you to your grave Your grave will decay you And turn you to dust Not a girl in ten-thousand That a poor boy can trust She'll hug you and kiss you And tell you more lies Than the crossties on the railroad Or the stars in the sky Come all you young maidens Take warning from me Don't place your affections On a green willow tree The leaves they will wither And the roots they will die You'll all be forsaken And you'll never know why
Of note:
Minor variations between the two versions, until the different endings. The key idea to focus is that many versions say not a boy/girl in a hundred, but Cisco is far more cynical. He sure sounds as if he means it, but on Lonesome Valley he also sings:
Well, I don't mind marryin' But I can't stand settlin' down
So which was the real Cisco? Broken hearted, or libertine?
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