SIMON CRUTCHFIELD'S GRAVE
(Black)


The Wilburn Brothers - 1973
McPeak Brothers - 1980
The Rarely Herd - 1992
The East Coast Bluegrass Band - 1998






I remember very well a tale my Daddy used to tell
About ol' Simon Crutchfield and his friends
Now Mary was his pretty wife
And they loved every breath of life
Before they took ol' Riley Harper in


Now Simon plowed and worked the fields
And Mary cooked their meals
And Riley kept and eye out on the plains
Still no one knew just when this episode came to an end
They only knew of Simon Crutchfield's grave


Mary Crutchfield, you should be ashamed
Get on your knees and pray your soul be saved
Riley Harper, if the devil is to blame
Why can't you drive by Simon Crutchfield's grave?


In the year of 1864 a blizzard blew across the moor
All the crops were snowed out, none were saved
And the only way to get to town
Was a wagon road that wound around
Through the woods by Simon Crutchfield's grave


Now some folks say that they layed there
At least six months or more
Before an old fur trapper found their bones
He claimed they wrote their epitaph upon the cabin door
Just as it reads today on marble stone


Mary Crutchfield, here lies Mary Crutchfield
She betrayed the love that Simon gave
Riley Harper, here lies Riley Harper
'Cause he couldn't drive by Simon Crutchfield's grave