I once had a true love
Her name was Maggie Brown
Her eyes they were the color
Of the sun burning down
And she had hair that smelled like jasmine
I loved her from the start
How was I to know she'd have
A cold black heart
Well, Maggie was my true love
The only kiss I knew
I'd meet her at the oak tree
In the cool evening dew
Where we would walk beside the levee
Our fingers intertwined
While the crimson moon gazed through
The needles of the pines
We'd lay beside each other
Staring at the sky
Listenin' to the whistlin'
Of the train blowin' by
As it was on it's way to Macon
The town where I was born
We'd make love in the darkness
'Til the hours of the morn
Waterfalls and rainbows
Sweet salvation sin
As I lay there sleeping
Against her golden skin
My friends now gather around
And listen close the story takes a turn
I wasn't fair young Maggie's
Only lover I did learn
I went down by the oak tree
Lookin' for my lass
And walked east towards the levee
With the sunset in my past
And then I ran through briers and brambles
Until I finally found
My Maggie and her true love
There lyin' on the ground
My eyes they filled with fire
They didn't see me there
I watched as she made love to him
Caressed him with her hair
I don't remember how it happened
I guess I just saw red
I drew my pistol from my belt
And shot them graveyard dead
I once loved a maiden
Her name was Maggie Brown
But now I'm riding on a boxcar
Back to Macon town
The setting sun will never let me forget
What deed I have done
Until the day they hunt me down
I'm livin' on the run