Shorty George from Understudy by The Great Park

shorty george

well shorty george he was no friend of mine
shorty george no friend of mine
taking all the women and leaving all the men behind

some are born to sin and some are born to pray
he said you can’t kill me i was born this way
to take all the women and leave all the men behind

and he was strung up by his neck but happy to tell
how he beat on their heads like a clapper on a bell
taking all the women leaving all the men behind

well the doctor told me it’s your wife come quick
and i've had shot horses half as sick
taking all the women and leaving all the men behind

and so i ran through the house like a hen without a head
i would have murdered george all over again
for taking all the women and for leaving all the men behind

how can you blame a poor man like me for crying
when his lady ain’t dead but surely dying
taking all the women and leaving all the men behind

i followed them all to the burying ground
i never knew how much i loved her til they laid her down
taking all the women leaving all the men behind

so people keep the ones you care about close
and don’t go dancing on the graves of ghosts
taking all the women and leaving all the men behind

and there are dark days a-coming i won’t see them again
the fields are on fire high winds on the way
taking all the women leaving all the men behind

Includes lyrics from ‘Shorty George’ from Best Loved American Folk Songs, collected and arranged by John and Alan Lomax, 1947.

• Acoustic
• acoustic folk
• folk
• problem folk
• singer-songwriter
• trouble folk
• Germany