----Written by Mikko Saari
Tom Dooley
Macabre Minstrels Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
There's been many songs written about different killers.
This one's the story of a Sheriff Grayson, a beautiful young woman,
And a condemned man named Tom Dooley.
Tomorrow morning at sunrise, Tom Dooley must hang.
(chorus)
Hang down your head Tom Dooley,
Hang down your head Tom Dooley,
Poor boy, you're bound to die.
I met her on the mountain,
There I took her life.
I killed her on the mountain
I stabbed her with my knife.
(chorus)
This time tomorrow
They'll be hangin' me.
If 'twasnt for Sheriff Grayson
I'd be in Tennessee.
(chorus 2x)
This time tomorrow,
I reckon where I'll be:
Down in some lonesome valley,
Hangin' from a white oak tree.
(chorus 2x)
Poor boy you're boy you're bound to die
The lyrics of Tom Dooley tells the story of a killer named Tom Dooley who murdered a young woman on the mountain with a knife. The song is set in a historical context where many songs were written about different killers. Dooley is a condemned man who is set to hang at sunrise the next day, and while he bemoans his fate, he is resigned to it as well. The lyrics also mention Sheriff Grayson who is seemingly involved in the conviction of Dooley but is not specified in the story of the murder.
The chorus of the song repeats the phrase "Hang down your head Tom Dooley, poor boy you're bound to die," which is an example of a "hanging song." This genre of song was popular in the 19th century and often featured lyrics that centered around the notion of imminent or past hangings. Tom Dooley has been identified as a ballad from the Southern Appalachian region and was made popular by the Kingston Trio in the late 1950s. The song was based on the real-life story of Tom Dula (pronounced Dooley), a Civil War veteran who was hanged for the murder of his fiance Laura Foster in 1868. The song was first collected by folklorist Frank C. Brown in 1916 and was performed in the Appalachian Mountains up until the 1930s.
Line by Line Meaning
Throughout history,
There's been many songs written about different killers.
There are countless songs written about murderers throughout history.
This one's the story of a Sheriff Grayson, a beautiful young woman,
And a condemned man named Tom Dooley.
The song is about Sheriff Grayson, a young woman, and Tom Dooley, a man who has been sentenced to death.
Tomorrow morning at sunrise, Tom Dooley must hang.
Tom Dooley will be executed at sunrise tomorrow morning.
(chorus)
Hang down your head Tom Dooley,
Hang down your head and cry (ay-ay),
Hang down your head Tom Dooley,
Poor boy, you're bound to die.
The chorus repeats, urging Tom to face his impending death with a heavy heart.
I met her on the mountain,
There I took her life.
I killed her on the mountain
I stabbed her with my knife.
Tom admits to murdering a woman on the mountain by stabbing her with a knife.
(chorus)
The chorus repeats.
This time tomorrow
They'll be hangin' me.
If 'twasnt for Sheriff Grayson
I'd be in Tennessee.
Tom knows he will be executed soon, but acknowledges that he would have gone free if not for Sheriff Grayson's intervention.
(chorus 2x)
The chorus repeats twice.
This time tomorrow,
I reckon where I'll be:
Down in some lonesome valley,
Hangin' from a white oak tree.
Tom predicts that he will be hanging from a white oak tree in a lonely valley at this time tomorrow.
(chorus 2x)
The chorus repeats twice to close the song.
Poor boy you're boy you're bound to die
The song ends with the repeated refrain that Tom will soon face death.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: DAVE GUARD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Beneath The Floorboards (True Crime)
These cartoons/motion comics are great!! And the remastering is amazing! I loved your original mixes, but these ones really pop. Especially this track! I added a few of your songs to my "Songs Inspired By Actual True Crime Playlist". But it's kind of cheating as basically your whole catalogue could be on that playlist!