I have seen it spelled Stack O Lee too!

The Furry Lewis version is my favorite. He does some good guitar picking in it. In that it is Billie Lyons's sister who pleads for his life before Stagerlee shoots him.

The Mississippi John Hurt version is a different story. In that Stagerlee shoots Billy because he stole his $5 Stetson Hat, whereas in most other versions, he shoots him because of a gambling argument. I would call that my second favorite.

Of course Hurt makes up for it with Louis Collins who does get shot in a gambling argument under conditions similar to those in which Billy Lyons was shot.

There was a court case, of which there is ballads about the $5 hat case, but I don't recall the details. It is not Stagerlee. I have read that the "original" John Hardy was arrested for shooting a man over something like $5.

Here is a question for John Hurt experts. I seem to recall he has two versions of Stagerlee. One where he says "that cruel Stagerlee" and one where he says "that mean ol' stagerlee." Am I remembering correctly, or am I confusing two different versions.

Murray