[Verse 1]
Come all you young people and stand close around
And listen to the story how Lulie Vars got drowned
She loved this young John Collier, engaged to be his wife
He ruined her reputation and then he took her life

[Verse 2]
They went to Elkhorn City about sixty miles away
He promised they would marry and their secret it would stay
They went out for a little walk, hand-in-hand, they strolled
In the middle of December and the wind was blowin' cold

[Verse 3]
They walked down by the river, still water, it runs deep
She could tell by the way he looked at her, in the bottom, she would sleep
She threw her arms around him, beggin' for her life
"I'll go back to my mother, if I can't be your wife"

[Bridge]
Poor Lulie, she went missin', nowhere could be found
They searched the country over for miles and miles around

[Verse 4]
John Collier joined the army, four months came and passed
In the bottom of that river, her body was found at last
They took her from the river to a nearby town
That railroad still around her neck weighed about thirty pounds
[Verse 5]
When Lulie's mother got the news, she was sitting in her home
She quickly left her chair to bring her baby home
John Collier was arrested, locked behind the bars
He'll spend his whole life payin' for the murder of Lulie Vars