Lyrics of
Long Black Veil

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
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