Lyrics:

PRETTY BOY FLOYD
(Woody Guthrie)

If you'll gather round me children,
a story I will tell
Of Pretty Boy Floyd, an outlaw,
Oklahoma knew him well

It was in the town of Shawnee
It was Saturday afternoon
His wife beside him in his wagon
as into town they rode

A deputy sheriff approached them
in a manner rather rude
Using vulgar words of language
and his wife she overheard

Pretty Boy grabbed a long chain,
and the deputy grabbed his gun
And in the fight that followed,
he laid that deputy down

(NOT this version - 2 verses
Then he took to the trees and rivers
to lead a life of shame
Every crime in Oklahoma
was added to his name

Yes he took to the trees and timbers
on the Canadian river shore
And the outlaw found a welcome
at many a farmer's door
NOT this version)

There's a many a starving farmer,
the same old story told,
How the outlaw paid their mortgage,
and saved their little home

Others tell you of the stranger
that came to beg a meal
And underneath his napkin
left a thousand dollar bill

It was in Oklahoma City,
It was on a Christmas day
There come a whole carload of groceries
And a letter that did say

Well, you say that I'm an outlaw,
and you say that I'm a thief
Here's a Christmas dinner
for the families on relief

Now as through this world I've rambled,
I've seen lots of funny men
Some rob you with a sixgun,
some with a fountain pen

But as through your life you travel,
And as through your life you roam
You'll never see an outlaw
drive a family from its home

recorded by Seeger - 3 Saints