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Me and my brother was down close to the depot |
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When I heard the report of a pistol |
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I hollered, 'I wonder what was that!' |
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He run out and come back and he said |
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'That was a report of a pistol' |
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And I thought I was gonna faint when he said it |
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'Mr. Garfield's been shot down, shot down, shot down |
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Mr. Garfield's been shot down low' |
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Lord, I knew the President was supposed to be down the depot that day |
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But I just wouldn't let myself believe that he'd been shot |
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Me and my bother run out there and everybody was all confused |
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And hollering' and running' round |
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And I stepped up to this one lady and I said that |
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'Ma'am what was it really that happened Ma'am?', and she said that |
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'Mr. Garfield's been shot down, shot down, shot down |
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Mr. Garfield's been shot down low' |
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Well, it looked like everybody felt just about as bad as I did |
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Everybody started drift off to home |
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Me and my brother did too |
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Then a few weeks later, I heard that the President was still alive |
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So I told my brother, I said, 'Hey let's get on a train |
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And go to that Big House up there and see how the President is' |
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'Let's go up there to where he's laid up hurt and sick we'd see him' |
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So we went on up there and that big White House |
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And there was a soldier boy standin' round upside, outside |
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And, I sidled up to him and I said to that soldier boy |
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I said 'Who was it that did it? |
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Who was it that shot the President?' |
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And he said that, 'It was Charlie Guiteau that shot Mr. Garfield' |
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And I said, 'Charlie Guiteau done shot down a good man, good man |
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Charlie Guiteau done shot down a good man low |
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Charlie Guiteau done shot down a good man, good man' |
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That soldier boy said that |
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Miss Lucretia Garfield was always at his bedside |
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In the heat of the day fannin' him when he was hot |
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And he said just that mornin' that he had been at the window |
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And he'd overheard Miss Lucretia and Mr. Garfield talkin' |
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And Mr Garfield said, 'Crete, honey', he called her Crete |
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He said, 'Crete, honey, if somethin' worse would happens to me' |
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He said, 'You get yourself a good man' |
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And she said, 'Now James', she called him James |
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She said, 'James, I won't hear to that now |
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'Cause I love you too much' |
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And he said that 'You'll make some good man a good wife, good wife |
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You'll make some man a good wife gal |
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Don't pull in single harness all your life, good gal |
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Don't pull in single harness all your life' |
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That's what he said, 'Don't pull in single harness all your life' |
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Well a little while later, we come back around there |
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And things have changed |
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The flag was hangin' halfway up the flagpole |
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And everybody was cryin' and standin' 'round sad |
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And I walked back up to this soldier boy and I said |
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'Soldier boy, is he, is Mr Garfield?' and he said, 'Yeah, he's gone' |
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Gonna lay him by that cold lonesome branch down low |
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Mr. Garfield's been shot down low |
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Oh, Mr. Garfield's been shot down, shot down, shot down |
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Mr. Garfield's been shot down low |
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Have you heard the news? |
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Mr. Garfield's been shot down, shot down, shot down |
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Mr. Garfield's been shot down low, Lord |
