Kind friends you have heard the story, And the song called Twenty One Years, All of how two lovers parted, Of their sorrow, pain and tears. I am another who's heartbroken, And I'm in this lonesome jail; I was the honest ranger, Tried for fame but soon I failed. I was a cowboy singer, And I played the old guitar, But my mind was set on roaming, I started out for lands a-far. Soon fell with bad companions, And we robbed the Western mail; Shot and killed some helpless lady, as i think my face grows pale. I had a pretty sweet heart, and she though the world of me, But we parted at the station, Down in sunny Tennessee. Last night from her I got a letter, Saying, âI can never be your bride;â As the moon shone though my window, I bowed my head and cried. Never more we'll stroll together; Down in dear old Lover's Lane, I must spend my life in prison, I pray on high we'll meet again.