On Top of Old Smoky Lyrics & Tabs by Dave Van Ronk
On Top of Old Smoky
guitar chords lyrics
On top of Old Smokey
All covered with snow,
I lost my true lover
For courtin' so slow
Now, courtin' is a pleasure
and partin' is grief,
And a false-hearted lover
Is worse than a thief.
For a thief will just rob you
And take what you save,
But a false-hearted lover
Will lead you to the grave.
And the grave will decay you
And turn you to dust;
Not one man in 10 thousand
And the grave will decay you
And turn you to dust;
Not one man in 10 thousand
A poor girl can trust.
They'll hug you and kiss you
And tell you more lies
Than crossties on a railroad
Or stars in the sky.
They'll throw their arms around you
and give your heart ease,
But the minute your back's turned
They love whom they please
Come all you young women
take a learnin' from me
Never place your affections
On a green growin' tree
The leaves they will wither
the roots they will die
you'll all be forsaken
And never know why
Yet if I am forsaken
I'll not be forsworn,
and he's sure he's mistaken
if he thinks I will mourn.
Oh Johnny is a young man
but still younger am I,
An often, as he told me,
that he'd win me or die
On top of Old Smokey
All covered with snow,
I lost my true lover
For courtin' so slow
A'courtin' is a pleasure
a partin' is grief,
And a false-hearted lover
Is worse than a thief.
