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Throughout history 00:06
There have been many songs written about the eternal triangle 00:07
This next one tells the story of a Mr. Grayson 00:12
A beautiful woman 00:14
And a condemned man name Tom Dooley 00:18
When the sun rises tomorrow 00:22
Tom Dooley must hang 00:25
00:29
Hang down your head, Tom Dooley 00:31
Hang down your head and cry 00:35
Hang down your head, Tom Dooley 00:39
Poor boy, you're bound to die 00:42
I met her on the mountain 00:46
There I took her life 00:50
Met her on the mountain 00:54
Stabbed her with my knife 00:57
Hang down your head, Tom Dooley 01:02
Hang down your head and cry 01:05
Hang down your head, Tom Dooley 01:09
Poor boy, you're bound to die 01:13
This time tomorrow 01:17
Reckon where I'll be 01:21
Hadn't ha' been for Greyson 01:25
I'd been in Tennessee 01:28
Well now boy 01:31
Hang down your head and cry (Tom Dooley) 01:32
Hang down your head and cry (Poor boy) 01:36
Well a, hang down your head and cry (Tom Dooley) 01:39
Poor boy, you're bound to die 01:44
Hang down your head and cry (Tom Dooley) 01:48
Hang down your head and cry 01:51
Hang down your head and cry (Tom Dooley) 01:55
Poor boy, you're bound to die 01:59
This time tomorrow 02:03
Reckon where I'll be 02:07
Down in some lonesome valley 02:10
Hanging from a white oak tree 02:14
Hang down your head, Tom Dooley 02:18
Hang down your head and cry 02:22
Hang Down your head, Tom Dooley 02:26
Poor boy, you're bound to die 02:29
Well now boy 02:32
Hang down your head, Tom Dooley 02:33
Hang down your head and cry 02:37
Hang down your head, Tom Dooley 02:41
Poor boy, you're bound to die 02:44
Poor boy, you're bound to die 02:48
Poor boy, you're bound to die 02:52
Poor boy, you're bound to 02:56
Die 02:58
02:58

Tom Dooley

By
The Kingston Trio
Album
The Kingston Trio (1959)
Viewed
2,450,842
Learn this song

Lyrics:

[English]

Throughout history

There have been many songs written about the eternal triangle

This next one tells the story of a Mr. Grayson

A beautiful woman

And a condemned man name Tom Dooley

When the sun rises tomorrow

Tom Dooley must hang

...

Hang down your head, Tom Dooley

Hang down your head and cry

Hang down your head, Tom Dooley

Poor boy, you're bound to die

I met her on the mountain

There I took her life

Met her on the mountain

Stabbed her with my knife

Hang down your head, Tom Dooley

Hang down your head and cry

Hang down your head, Tom Dooley

Poor boy, you're bound to die

This time tomorrow

Reckon where I'll be

Hadn't ha' been for Greyson

I'd been in Tennessee

Well now boy

Hang down your head and cry (Tom Dooley)

Hang down your head and cry (Poor boy)

Well a, hang down your head and cry (Tom Dooley)

Poor boy, you're bound to die

Hang down your head and cry (Tom Dooley)

Hang down your head and cry

Hang down your head and cry (Tom Dooley)

Poor boy, you're bound to die

This time tomorrow

Reckon where I'll be

Down in some lonesome valley

Hanging from a white oak tree

Hang down your head, Tom Dooley

Hang down your head and cry

Hang Down your head, Tom Dooley

Poor boy, you're bound to die

Well now boy

Hang down your head, Tom Dooley

Hang down your head and cry

Hang down your head, Tom Dooley

Poor boy, you're bound to die

Poor boy, you're bound to die

Poor boy, you're bound to die

Poor boy, you're bound to

Die

...

Vocabulary in this song:

Vocabulary Meanings

hang

/hæŋ/

A2
  • verb
  • - to suspend or be suspended from above

head

/hɛd/

A1
  • noun
  • - the part of the body above the neck where the brain is

cry

/kraɪ/

A1
  • verb
  • - to shed tears as an expression of emotion

poor

/pʊər/

A1
  • adjective
  • - lacking sufficient money to live at a standard considered comfortable or normal in a society

boy

/bɔɪ/

A1
  • noun
  • - a male child or young man

die

/daɪ/

A1
  • verb
  • - to stop living

mountain

/ˈmaʊntɪn/

A2
  • noun
  • - a large natural elevation of the earth's surface rising abruptly from the surrounding level

life

/laɪf/

A1
  • noun
  • - the condition that distinguishes animals and plants from inorganic matter

knife

/naɪf/

A1
  • noun
  • - an instrument with a sharp blade used for cutting

time

/taɪm/

A1
  • noun
  • - the indefinite continued progress of existence and events in the past, present, and future regarded as a whole

valley

/ˈvæli/

B1
  • noun
  • - a low area of land between hills or mountains, typically with a river or stream flowing through it

tree

/triː/

A1
  • noun
  • - a woody perennial plant, typically having a single stem or trunk growing to a considerable height and bearing lateral branches at some distance from the ground

sun

/sʌn/

A1
  • noun
  • - the star that provides light and heat to Earth

rises

/ˈraɪzɪz/

A1
  • verb
  • - get up from a sitting or lying position.

white

/waɪt/

A1
  • adjective
  • - of the color of milk or fresh snow, due to the reflection of all wavelengths of visible light; the opposite of black.

Grammar:

  • When the sun rises tomorrow, Tom Dooley must hang.

    ➔ Future tense with modal verb 'must'

    "Must" indicates obligation or necessity. This sentence describes a future event that is predetermined.

  • Hang down your head, Tom Dooley

    ➔ Imperative mood

    ➔ The phrase "Hang down your head" is a direct command or instruction.

  • Poor boy, you're bound to die

    ➔ 'Be bound to' structure

    "Be bound to" expresses certainty about a future event. It means something is certain to happen.

  • There I took her life

    ➔ Past simple tense

    "Took" is the past simple of "take", used to describe a completed action in the past.

  • Stabbed her with my knife

    ➔ Past simple tense with preposition 'with'

    "Stabbed" is past simple, and "with" indicates the instrument used to perform the action.

  • Hadn't ha' been for Greyson, I'd been in Tennessee

    ➔ Third conditional (mixed type)

    ➔ This sentence is a mixed conditional. "Hadn't ha' been for" is a shortened and folksy version of "If it hadn't been for." The structure implies that if Greyson hadn't been involved (past condition), Tom Dooley would be in Tennessee now (present result).

  • Reckon where I'll be

    ➔ Informal future with 'reckon'

    "Reckon" is a colloquial verb meaning 'think' or 'suppose'. Here, it's used to express a guess about the future. "I'll be" is a contraction of "I will be", indicating future tense.