1) Gather round me children, while I tell a story
Of the mountains in the days when
guns was law.
When two families got disputin'
It was sure to end in shootin'
So just listen close,
I'll tell you what I saw.
*****
2) Oh, the Martins and the Coys,
They was reckless mountain boys,
And
they took up family feudin' when they'd meet.
They would shoot each other quicker
Than it took your eye to flicker;
They
could knock a squirrel's eye out at ninety feet.
******
3) All their fightin' started one bright Sunday morning,
When old Grandpa
Coy was full of mountain dew;
Just as quiet as a church-mouse
He stole in the Martin's hen-house,
'Cause
the Coys they needed eggs for breakfast too.
******
4) Oh, the Martins and the Coys,
They was reckless mountain boys,
And
old Grandpa Coy has gone where angels live.
When they found him on the mountain
He was bleedin' like a fountain,
For
they punctured him till he looked like a sieve.
******
5) So the Coys started right out to avenge him,
And they didn't even
take time out to mourn.
They went out to do some killin'
Where the Martins was distillin',
And they found old Abel
Martin makin' corn.
******
6) Oh, the Martins and the Coys,
They was reckless mountain boys,
And
old Abel Martin was the next to go.
Though he saw the Coys a-comin'
He had hardly started runnin'
When a volley shook the hills and laid him low.
******
7) After that they started out to fight in earnest,
And they scarred
the mountains up with shot and shell.
There was uncles, brothers, cousins -
Sure, they bumped 'em off by dozens;
Just
how many bit the dust it's hard to tell.
*******
8) Oh, the Martins and the Coys,
They was reckless mountain boys;
At
the art of killin' they became quite deft.
Though they knowed they shouldn't do it,
Still before they hardly knew
it
On each side they only had one person left.
******
9) Now, the one remaining Martin was a maiden,
And as pretty as a picture
was this Grace,
While the one survivin' boy
Was the handsome Henry Coy -
And the folks all knew they'd soon meet
face to f ace.
*******
10) Oh, the Martins and the Coys,
They was reckless mountain boys,
And
their shootin' and their killin' sure played hob.
For it didn't bring no joy
To know that Grace and Henry Coy
Both
had sworn that they would finish up the job.
******
11) So at last they met upon a mountain pathway,
And Henry Coy he aimed
his gun at Grace.
He was set to pull the trigger
When he saw her pretty figger -
You
could tell that love had kicked him in the face.
******
12) Oh, the Martins and the Coys,
They was reckless mountain boys,
And
they say their ghostly cussin' gives you chills,
For the hatchet sure was buried
When sweet Grace and Henry married
It
broke up the best dern feud in these here hills.
******
13) Now you may think this is where the story ended,
But I'm tellin'
you them ghosts don't cuss no more,
For since Grace and Henry wedded
They fight worse than all the rest did,
And
they've carried on the feud just like before.