G7  C

[Verse 1]
    C                G
Was on one Christmas evening
    G               C      C7
The snow lay on the ground
         F                 C
Near his home in North Carolina
        G7            C
In this murder he was found

[Verse 2]
    C                G
His name was Charlie Lawson
    G               C      C7
And he had a loving wife
          F               C
So, we'll never know what caused him
   G7                C
To take his family's life

[Verse 3]
     C                 G
They say he killed his wife at first
        G               C      C7
And the little ones did cry
         F               C
"Please, Papa, won't you spare our lives?
       G7            C
For it is so hard to die!"

[Verse 4]
         C                G
But, the raging man could not be stopped
   G                    C      C7
He would not heed their call
     F              C
Just kept on firing fatal shots
  G7                 C
Until he killed them all


[Instrumental]
C    G
G    C  C7
F     C
G7   C

[Verse 5]
    C                  G
And when this sad, sad news was heard
   G               C      C7
It was an awful surprise
       F                   C
He had killed six children and his wife
    G7                   C
And then he closed their eyes

[Verse 6]
    C                   G
And now, farewell, kind friends and home
     G              C       C7
I'll see you all no more
  F                 C
Into my breast I'll fire one shot
            G7               C
And then my troubles will be o'er

[Verse 7]
     C             G
They did not carry him to jail
   G              C      C7
No lawyers did he pay
            F                   C
But they'll have his trial in a-nother world
        G7             C
On the final Judgement Day