I was raised with loving care
   on a farm in Tennessee,
My parents raised me tenderly,
   they had no child but me,
My mind was set on ramblin',
   with them I couldn't agree,
So I left my aging parents,
   and them no more to see.

There was a wealthy gentleman,
   lived on a farm nearby,
He had a beautiful daughter,
   on her I cast my eye,
She was so tall and slender,
   so pretty and so fair,
There never was another,
   to her I could compare.

I started out in this wide world,
   strange faces for to see,
I met Miss Maggie Walker,
   and she fell in love with me,
Her pockets all lined in greenbacks,
   and on the Book I swore,
If she'd be mind and only mine,
   that I would roam no more.

I asked her if it mattered,
   if I crossed over the plains,
She said it makes no difference,
   if you never return again,
I knew by the way she said it,
   she'd never change her mind,
So we shook hands and parted,
   and I left that girl behind.

I started out on leaving,
   to the saltworks I was bound,
And when I reached the saltworks,
   I viewed the city round,
The money and work were plentiful,
   and the girls were kind to me,
But the only object on my mind,
   was a girl from Tennessee.

I started out one morning,
   down on the market square,
The mail train was arriving,
   I met the carrier there,
He handed me a letter,
   so I could understand,
That the girl I left in Tennessee,
   had married another man.

I turned my horse all around and round,
   not knowing what to do,
I handed back the letter,
   I'd read it through and through,
I turned around and backed up,
   and the company I resigned,
And I drove all around from town to town,
   for the girl I left behind.