[Verse 1]
I met a little girl in Knoxville
Down beyond the well
And every Sunday evening
Out in her home I dwelled
We went to take an evenin' stroll
About a mile from town
I picked a stick up off the ground
And knocked that fair girl down

[Verse 2]
She fell down on her bended knees
For mercy she did cry
"Oh Willie, 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 it her blood did flow

[Verse 3]
I grabbed her by her golden curls
And drug her 'round and 'round
Throwing her into the river
That flows through Knoxville-town
Go there, go there, you Knoxville girl
With dark and rolling eyes
Go there, go there, you Knoxville girl
You can never be my bride
[Verse 4]
I rolled and tumbled the whole night through
My dreams were living hell
And then they came from Knoxville
To carry me to jail
I'm here to waste my life away
Down in this dirty old cell
Because I murdered that Knoxville girl
The girl I loved so well

[Spoken Outro]
Aw, thank ya. Kinda sad, kinda pretty, kinda gross. I don't know.​