Intro: verse 1 On the banks of the river where the willows hang down And the wild birds all warble with a low mourning sound Down in the hollow where the water runs cold It was there I first listened to the lies that you told verse 2 Now I lie on my bed and I see your sweet face The past I remember time cannot erase A letter you wrote me it was written in shame And I know that your conscience still echoes my name verse 3 Now the nights are so long, lord sorrow runs deep And nothing is worse than a night without sleep I walk out alone and look at the sky Too empty to say, too lonesome to cry verse 4 If the ladies were blackbirds and the ladies were thrushes I'd lie there for hours in the chilly cold marshes If the ladies were squirrels with a high bushy tail I'd fill up my shotgun with a rock salt and nails