56, Ar -

Daddy went to heaven in a chariot of fire

Mama went to hell when her Chevy blew a tire

Maggie went to limbo when a candle lit her curls

I lingered here in Arkansas to kill the pretty girls

Daddy was a preacher and he always said to me:

Be fearful of the Lord, my son, and what He’ll to do thee

The people said a twister took my Daddy away

But I always knew he rode upon a chariot that day

Mama couldn’t stand the strain and every day she cried

I’m said to say she spent her days with a bottle by her side

She drove up on the mountain till she couldn’t get no higher

The tire popped and the Chevy dropped, and we lost her in the fire

I fell in love with Maggie and her golden curly hair

But all them fellers followed her and told her she was fair

And then one night by candlelight as she went off to bed

Somehow that candle fell on her and now poor Maggie’s dead

I have walked the narrow path according to God’s will

But these corpses that have followed me keep telling me to kill:

Chase them all, cut their throats and leave 'em to the crows —

And have no fear, no one will ever know

I lingered here in Arkansas;

no moral code have I

They call the town another name whenever someone dies

They called the town 184 when I came here to dwell

And they’ll call it 56…

When I’m in…

Hell