Take a Message to Mary lyrics

These are the words of a frontier lad

who lost his love when he turned bad.

Take a message to Mary, but don't tell her where I am

Take a message to Mary, but don't say I'm in a jam

You can tell her I had to see the world

or tell her that my ship set sail

You can say she'd better not wait for me

But don't tell her I'm in jail

Oh, don't tell her I'm in jail.

Take a message to Mary, but don't tell her what I've done

Please don't mention the stagecoach

and the shot from a careless gun

You can tell her I had to change my plans

and cancel out the wedding day

But please don't mention my lonely cell

Where I'm gonna pine away

until my dying day.

Take a message to Mary, but don't tell her all you know

My heart's aching for Mary, Lord knows I miss her so

Just tell her I went to Timbuktu,

Tell her I'm searching for gold

You can say she'd better find someone new

to cherish and to hold

Oh, Lord, this cell is cold.

Mary, Mary, oh, Lord, this cell is cold.