Traditional

There was an old woman in our town, in our town did dwell
She loved her husband dearly, but another man twice as well

She went to the see the doctor to see what she could find her,
To see what she could find, sir, for to make her old man blind

"Feed him eggs and marrow bones, feed them to him all
And that will make him so damn blind that he cannot see you at all."

So she fed him eggs and marrow bones. She fed them to him all
And that did make him so damn blind that he couldn't see her at all

"Well, now that I'm getting old and blind, I'm tired of my life
So I'll go to the river's edge, and there I'll end my strife"

"To drown yourself to drown yourself!" said she, said she, "now that would be a sin,
I'll go down to the river bank and kindly push you in."

So the old woman, she took a running jump for to push the old man in
The old man he stepped aside, and the old woman she fell in

She yelled for help, she screamed for help. Loudly she did bawl.
The old man said "I am so goll-durned blind that I cannot see you at all."

She swam along, she swam along till she came to the river's brim
But the old man he got a big long pole, and he pushed her further in

So now the old woman is dead and gone, and the devil has got her soul
And wasn't she just a durned old fool, that she didn't grab that pole

Eggs, eggs and marrow bones will make your old man blind
But if you want for to do him in, creep up from behind