There where no cuckoos, no sycamores
We played about the forest floor
Underneath the silver maples, the balsams and the skyWe popped the heads off dandelions
Assuming roles from nursery rhymes
Rested on the riverbank and grew up by
And by and grew up by and byFrail my heart apart
And play me a little shady grove
Ring the bells of Rhymney
Till they ring inside my head foreverBounce the bow, rock the gallows
For the hangman's reel
And wake the devil from his dreamI'm goin' back to Harlan
I'm goin' back to Harlan
I'm goin' back to HarlanAnd if you were Willie Moore
And I was Barbara Allen or Fair Ellen
All sad at the cabin door
A-weepin' and a-pinin', for love
A-weepin' and a-pinin', for loveFrail my heart apart
And play me a little shady grove
Ring the bells of rhymney
Till they ring inside my head foreverBounce the bow, rock the gallows
For the hangman's reel
And wake the devil from his dreamI'm goin' back to Harlan
I'm goin' back to Harlan
I'm goin' back to HarlanI'm goin' back to Harlan
I'm goin' back to Harlan
I'm goin' back to HarlanI'm goin' back to Harlan
I'm goin' back to Harlan
I'm goin' back to Harlan