| «I'm not in your town to stay,»
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| said a lady old and gray
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| to the warden of the penitentiary
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| «I'm not in your town to stay
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| And I’ll soon be on my way
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| I’m just here to get my baby out of jail
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| Oh warden, I’m just here to get my baby out of jail»
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| «I tried to raise my baby right
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| I have prayed both day and night
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| That he wouldn’t follow footsteps of his dad
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| I have searched both far and wide
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| And I feared that he had died
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| But at last I’ve found my baby here in jail
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| Oh warden, at last I’ve found my baby here in jail»
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| «It was just five years today
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| When his daddy passed away
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| He was found beneath the snow so cold and white
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| T’was then I bowed to take his ring
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| And his gold watch and his chain
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| Then the county laid his daddy in the grave
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| Yes warden, the county laid his daddy in the grave»
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| «I will pawn you his watch
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| I will pawn you his chain
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| I will pawn you my diamond wedding ring
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| I will wash all your clothes
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| I will scrub all your floors
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| If that will get my baby out of jail
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| Yes warden, if that will get my baby out of jail»
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| Then I heard the warden say
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| to the lady old and gray:
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| «I'll go bring your darling baby to your side»
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| Two iron gates swung wide apart
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| She held her darling to her heart
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| She kissed her baby boy and then she died
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| But smiling, she kissed her baby boy and then she died
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| «I'm not in your town to stay,»
|
| said a lady old and gray
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| «I'm just here to get my baby out of jail
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| Yes warden, I’m just here to get my baby out of jail» |