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Cat​-​Eye Willie Claims His Lover

from Tanglewood Tree by Dave Carter & Tracy Grammer

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about

© 2000 David Robert Carter (BMI), administered by Tracy Grammer Music

lyrics

bonnie brown lay down the jack of diamonds
young cody took the king of clubs in trade
the queen of hearts was dealt to simple simon
but cat-eye willie drew the ace of spades

now bonnie make the bed that you were born in
turn your daddy's picture to the wall
for you'll not marry cody come the mornin
tonight ol shufflin willie comes to call

bonnie brown, you can run and hide, fly my honey lamb
you can cry have mercy and crawl the cane for cover
but you're bound for the butcher's bride
the slew-foot devil won't be denied
when cat-eye willie comes to claim his lover

as the hour of midnight was approachin
she heard his goblin bootheels on the floor
the tattered rags like raven wings in motion
the hammer hand upon the bedroom door

"have mercy on this high-born lily maiden
the fairest of the valley so they say"
"'twas you who mocked my bent back, heavy laden
no mercy had you in your heart that day"

bonnie brown, you can run and hide . . .

now he has had away her coat of leather
and he has had away her daisy dress
but as he slumbers on her bed of feathers
she breaks a silver dagger in his chest

"oh hold your pillow to my breast to stay the crimson flood
for my darlin, oh my darlin you have spilled my mortal blood"
"no i will not your darlin be while i have breath and spit in me"
"then i curse your proud house down 'til you're buried in the ground"

bonnie brown, you can run and hide ...

now twenty years her suitors have been idle
and twenty years her cat-eye boy has grown
and he has stolen ruttle horse and bridle
and taken to the cullion road alone

"oh build my tomb down in some meadow lonely
mark it with the traitor diamond knave
for i have served one master, true and only
and i shall sleep beside him in the grave"

bonnie brown, you can run and hide ...

credits

from Tanglewood Tree, released March 14, 2000

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Tracy Grammer image

Tracy Grammer Greenfield, Massachusetts

Writer. Actor. Storyteller. Singer. Multi-instrumentalist. Former head cheerleader, now a fearless navigator of the heart.

“One of the finest pure musicians anywhere in folkdom.” - Boston Globe

“A brilliant artist.” - Joan Baez

“Her gifts as a musician are like that of a painter who is a master of chiaroscuro, offering light and shadow at every turn.“ - Mary Chapin Carpenter ... more

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