False Accuser's Lament

I said I’d seen the killin'
And could identify the felon
Who shot a man beneath the town hall
I was one of few
The jury never knew
Lied to line our pockets with the banker’s jealous gold
He said his lovin' woman sinned
Let alone with a friend
He couldn’t have his children’s mother shamed
Who I saw shoot and run
Could’ve been anyone
But for the price of a new plow a local man was framed
Now the nightly terror is the portion to be paid
I hear the guilty gavel, I see his body sway
Father, please forgive me for I’ve falsely testified
They had me swear upon a Bible and I lied
I never strayed before
But the pain of being poor
Lord, what the hell came over me?
This ain’t who Mama raised
Another dollar-fearin' slave
But the thought of losing all our land was blinding, you see
Now the nightly terror is the portion to be paid
I hear the guilty gavel, I see his body sway
Father, please forgive me for I’ve falsely testified
They had me swear upon a Bible and I lied
The seeds had all been sown
Soon the crops were nearly grown
But the rain let up, the ground turned hard as nails
That banker took my home
Now I’m in these hills alone
Oh, from time to time I see his wife in a long black veil
Oh how the nightly terror is the portion to be paid
I hear the guilty gavel, I see his body sway
Father, please forgive me for I’ve falsely testified
They had me swear upon a Bible and I lied
Father, please forgive me for I’ve falsely testified
They had me swear upon a Bible and I lied