I met a little girl in Knoxville A town we all know well And every Sunday evening Out in her home I'd dwell
We went to take an evening walk About a mile from town I picked a stick up off the ground And knocked that fair girl down
She fell down on her bended knees For mercy she did cry Oh Willie dear, don't kill me here I'm not prepared to die
She never spoke another word I only beat her more Until the ground around me Within her blood did flow
I took her by her golden curls And I drug her round and round Throwing her into the river That flows through Knoxville town
Go down, go down, you Knoxville girl With the dark and roving eyes Go down, go down, you Knoxville girl You can never be my bride
I started back to Knoxville Got there about midnight My mother she was worried And woke up in a fright
Saying 'Dear son, what have you done To bloody your clothes so?' I told my anxious mother I was bleeding at the nose
I called for me a candle To light myself to bed I called for me a handkerchief To bind my aching head
Rolled and tumbled the whole night through As troubles was for me Like flames of hell around my bed And in my eyes could see
They carried me down to Knoxville And put me in a cell My friends all tried to get me out But none could go my bail
I'm here to waste my life away Down in this dirty old jail Because I murdered that Knoxville girl The girl I loved so well