Key: D
Introduction:
Dm
Down the crooked road a ways
Bb Dm
A child's shadow hiding in the Briar
F Dm F Dm
Tending to a twisted heart
Bb Gm
that's bent and broken
Bb Gm
wounded and abandoned
A7 Dm
left amongst the rotted root to rot
Dm
Moon, crimson moon
Bb Dm
Rose Marie's walking down the crooked road a ways
F Dm F Dm
All aglow, her fair white skin
Bb Gm Bb Gm
Portrait of beauty, angel to many
F Dm F Dm
Hears the hush crying from the briar
Bb Gm Bb Gm
Reaches in her hand to see what's the matter
C Gm
and is dragged through the darkness
C Gm
beneath the lonely cypress
Bb Gm
The town's beloved daughter
Bb Gm
carried to her death in the turbid waters
A7 Dm
and set afloat downstream
F Dm F Dm
Whole town erupts, bursts into flame
Bb Gm Bb Gm
Parties go a-searching down the crooked road a ways
F Dm F Dm
Find old Rufus there drunk and asleep
Bb Gm Bb Gm
Fishing by the water must have killed our beloved daughter
F Dm F Dm
Can't hold back these waves of anger
Bb Gm
Tie a rope around his neck
Bb Gm
See if he still hollers
A7 Dm
Another innocent soul hangs over the briar