Long Black Veil is a country ballad written by Danny Dill and Marijohn Wilkin in 1959. The song narrates the tale of a man wrongly accused of murder and executed, while his alibi, having been in the arms of his best friends wife, remains a secret he takes to his grave. The song is noted for its somber mood and theme of loyalty, betrayal, and lost love.
Ten years ago on a cool dark night There was someone killed beneath the town hall light There were few at the scene and they all did agree That the man who ran looked a lot like me
The judge said, "Son, what is your alibi? If you were somewhere else then you won't have to die" I spoke not a word although it meant my life I had been in the arms of my best friend's wife
She walks these hills in a long black veil She visits my grave where the night winds wail Nobody knows, no, and nobody sees Nobody knows but me
The scaffold was high and eternity neared She stood in the crowd and shed not a tear But sometimes at night when the cold wind moans In a long black veil she cries over my bones
She walks these hills in a long black veil She visits my grave where the night winds wail Nobody knows, no, and nobody sees Nobody knows but me Set8