|
ALICE MITCHELL AND FREDDY WARD Sung by: Mrs. Myron Scruggs Recorded in Memphis, TN 12/13/62 Click here to listen to the original recording She lived seventy-four miles from town. While in the city of Memphis, Alice Mitchell cut her down. She chased her from . . . Street, Off down to the custom house grounds. While walking down the pavement, Alice Mitchell cut her down. Chorus: Don't fool with a girl with a razor; She'll cut you every time. This one is trying to plead insane; They say she's out of her mind. But that is a thing I do not believe; It's just as the people say: If you fool with a girl with a razor, She'll kill you any day. They put her on board of the L & M train On one of those beautiful days, And every station that she would pass, You could hear those people say: "There goes that Alice Mitchell; In strong chains she is bound. For the crime she committed in Memphis, She's off for Nashville town." (Chorus) (Dr. Wolf: "Is that all of it? Tell where you learned it." Mrs. Scruggs: "This happened in the early part of eighteen and ninety-two. My aunt used to sing this song to me--uh, Mrs. Charles Walker--at the time I lived in Forrest City. Alice Mitchell died in the asylum a few years after her commitment. Both girls were from prominent families, and about 18 or 19 years old and, as my aunt told, in love with the same man. It was either jealousy or insanity that prompted Alice to kill Freddy.") |
|
All Songs Recorded by John Quincy Wolf, Jr., unless otherwise noted The John Quincy Wolf Folklore Collection Lyon College, Batesville, Arkansas Back to the Song Index Back to the Wolf Collection Homepage ©Copyright 2002 Lyon College |