Lyrics
I met a liitle 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 Willy dear, don't kill me here, I'm unprepared to die"
She never spoke another word, I only beat her more
Until the ground around me with all her blood did pour
I took her by her golden curls and I drug her round and around
Throwing her into the river that flows through Knoxville town
Go down, go down, you Knoxville girl with the dark and rolling 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 my 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
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Credits
Performances
This song is unreleased by Elvis Costello, but he has performed it in concert on at least four occasions: 1986-11-28 in London, 1987-04-20 in Atlanta, and — most appropriately — 2005-03-10 and 2008-05-06 in Knoxville.
Recordings
- The Blue Sky Boys, 1937 ("The Story of The Knoxville Girl")
- The Louvin Brothers, on Tragic Songs Of Life, 1956
- The Wilburn Brothers, B-side of "Which One Is To Blame," 1958
- Stonewall Jackson, on The Great Old Songs, 1968
- The Osborne Brothers, on Bobby & Sonny, 1972
- Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, on "Henry Lee" CD single, 1996
- The Lemonheads, on Car Button Cloth, 1996
- Charlie Louvin, on Charlie Louvin, 2007
Bootlegs
- This section is incomplete.
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