"Jesse James" (circa 1882)
Traditional American Folksong

1.
Went down to the station, no many days ago,
Did something I'll never do again,
I got down on my knees and delivered up the keys
To Frank and his brother, Jesse James.

CHORUS 1
Poor Jesse, good-bye, Jesse,
Farewell, Jesse James,
Robert Ford caught his eye and he shot him on the sly,
And he laid poor Jesse down to die.

2.
O Jesse was a man and friend to the poor,
He would never see a man suffer pain,
But with brother Frank, he robbed the Chicago Bank,
And he stopped the Glendale train.

(Repeat Chorus 1)

3.
O the people in the west, when they heard of Jesse's death,
They wondered how he came to die.
It was Ford's pistol ball brought him tumbling from the wall,
And it laid poor Jesse down to die.

CHORUS 2
O Jesse leaves a wife, she's a mourner all her life,
And the children, they were brave,
But the dirty little coward, he shot Mister Howard,
And he laid poor Jesse in his grave.

4.
Now Jesse goes to rest with his hands upon his breast,
And the devil will be upon his knees,
He was born on day in the county of Clay,
And he came from a Solitary race.

(Repeat Chorus 1 and 2)

5.
This song it was made by Billy Gashade,
As soon as the news did arrive,
He said there was no man with the law in his hand
Who could take Jesse James when alive.

(Repeat Chorus 1 and 2)