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Gallows Pole

From Wikisource
Gallows Pole
by Lead Belly

A traditional folk song derived from The Maid Freed from the Gallows and first recorded by Leadbelly in 1939 as Gallis Pole.

41188Gallows PoleLead Belly

Father, did you bring me the silver,
Father, did you bring me the gold?
What did you bring me, dear father,
Keep me from the gallows pole?

Yeah, what did you?
Yeah, what did you?
What did you bring me, keep me from the gallows pole?

Spoken: In olden times years ago, when you put a man in prison behind the bars in a jailhouse, if you had fifteen or twenty-five or thirty dollars you could save him from the gallows pole 'cause they gonna hang him if you don't bring up a little money. Everybody would come to the jailhouse and boy would ran upside the jail; he was married, too. As for who brang him something, lot of comfort, here comes his mother.

Mother, did you bring me the silver,
Mother, did you bring me the gold?
What did you bring me, dear mother,
Keep me from the gallows pole?

Yeah, what did you?
Yeah, what did you?
What did you bring me, keep me from the gallows pole?

Son, I brought you some silver,
Son, I brought you some gold.
Son, I brought you a little of everything,
Keep you from the gallows pole.

Yeah, I brought it.
Yeah, I brought it.
I brought you, keep you from the gallows pole.

Spoken: Here come his wife. His wife brought him all kind of clock parts and trace change. Everything in the world she could to get him out of the jailhouse.

Wife, did you bring me the silver,
Wife, did you bring me the gold?
What did you bring me, dear wifey,
Save me from the gallows pole?

Yeah, what did you?
Yeah, what did you?
What did you bring me, keep me from the gallows pole?

Friends, did you bring me the silver,
Friends, did you bring me the gold?
What did you bring me, my dear friends,
Keep me from the gallows pole?

Yeah, what did you?
Yeah, what did you?
What did you bring me, keep me from the gallows pole?