Am

[Verse]
Am
She was the parson's only daughter
Am
And a poor sharecropper's dream
Am
Her voice as sweet as falling water
Am
From the cool clear mountain stream

[Verse]
Am
We came to share a love forbidden
Am
A union cursed by family
Am
To be forever unforgiven
Am
When we swore eternity

[Verse]
Am
We settled hard on twenty acres
             G                     Am
Ploughed the fields and worked the land
Am
But when the fever came to take her
         G           Am
With its unforgiving hand

[Verse]
           Dm                 Am
I tried to soothe her shaking body
       G                D
But no peace could I provide
           Dm                        Am
She said, "I hear the angels singing softly
             G                  Am
I'm bound to cross that great divide"

[Verse]
        Dm           Am
Take my ashes to the river
          G                D
Where the water's cold and deep
        Dm           Am
Take my ashes to the river
         G               Am
Pray the lord my soul to keep

[Verse]
Am
One mournful morning in late November
         G             Am
Faithful to her last desire
Am
I burned her body down to embers
            G              Am
Scooped the ashes from the fire

[Verse]
            Dm                      Am
Down on the banks of the Blackstone River
       G             D
For to drown her memory
       Dm         Am
As her spirit I delivered
            G              Am
I heard her calling out to me

[Verse]
        Dm           Am
Take my ashes to the river
          G                D
Where the water's cold and deep
        Dm           Am
Take my ashes to the river
         G               Am
Pray the lord my soul to keep