I went down to Taneytown
I went down to Taneytown
To see what I could see

My mama told me never go
I'm damn near twenty two years old
Sometimes I fear this holler swallow me

She ran off to Gettysburg
Went off with that new beau of hers
I snuck off after dark

It's a long way down the county road
The stars were bright and the moon was low
Down to where the black top highway starts

I went down to Taneytown
I went down to Taneytown
I went down to see what I could see

Now everybody stared at me
You'd think that they ain't never seen
A colored boy before

Well they chunked at me and called me names
They'd have whopped me sure but the sheriff came
I slipped off ran through the dry goods store

I ran down Division Street
Some of them boys followed me
Down to the railroad track

There's four of them and I can't fight
But I had my old Randall knife
I cut that boy and I never did look back

I went down to Taneytown
I went down to Taneytown
I went down to see what I could see

Cross the fields and woods I run
Like a bullet from a rabbit gun
Back home to my bed

Now Ma came in from Gettysburg
Her and that new beau of hers
"Boy you look like hell"; alls she said

A month went by without a word
Somebody down the holler heard
About that boy they hung

He begged those men to spare his life
But I dropped my bloody Randall knife
He picked it up so they thought he was the one, yeah

I went down to Taneytown
I went down to Taneytown
I ain't goin' back there anymore

Copyright: BMG Rights Management, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Writer(s): STEVE EARLE