Down the crooked road a ways A child's shadow hiding in the briar Tending to a twisted heart that's bent and broken Wounded and abandoned left amongst the rotted root to rot
Moon, crimson moon Rose marie's walking down the crooked road a ways All aglow, her fair white skin Portrait of beauty, angel to many Hears the hush crying from the briar Reaches in her hand to see what's the matter And is dragged through the darkness Beneath the lonely cypress The town's beloved daughter Carried to her death in the turbid waters And set afloat downstream
Whole town erupts, bursts into flame Parties go a-searching down the crooked road a ways Find old rufus there drunk and asleep Fishing by the water must have killed our beloved daughter Can't hold back these waves of anger Tie a rope around his neck See if he still hollers Another innocent soul hangs over the briar