They found Mary Bellows cuffed to the bed
With a rag in her mouth and a bullet in her head
O poor Mary BellowsShe'd grown up hungry, she'd grown up poor
She left her home in Arkansas
O poor Mary BellowsShe wanted to see the deep blue sea
She traveled across Tennessee
O poor Mary BellowsShe met a man along the way
He introduced himself as Richard Slade
O poor Mary BellowsPoor Mary thought that she might die
When she saw the ocean for the first time
O poor Mary BellowsShe checked into a cheap little place
Richard Slade carried in her old suitcase
O poor Mary Bellows"I'm a good girl, sir" she said to him
I couldn't possibly permit you in
O poor Mary BellowsSlade tipped his hat and winked his eye
And turned away without goodbye
O poor Mary BellowsShe sat on her bed and thought of home
With the sea breeze whistling all alone
O poor Mary BellowsIn hope and loneliness she crossed the floor
And undid the latch on her front door
O poor Mary BellowsThey found her the next day cuffed to the bed
A rag in her mouth and a bullet in her head
O poor Mary BellowsSo mothers keep your girls at home
Don't let them journey all alone
Tell them this world is full of danger
The shun the company of strangers
O poor Mary Bellows
O poor Mary Bellows