Here's a bluegrass-style retelling of the same story.
ECHO MOUNTAIN As recorded by James King on "The Bluegrass Storyteller" (2005)
Now up on Echo Mountain in the spring of thirty-two Jim and Becky Johnson, with a Bible and a mule, Set out to raise a fam'ly, but the babies didn't come, So when they found that old stray hound, they loved him like a son.
But soon their prayers were answered; the baby had his mama's eyes. How that old dog loved him! He would never leave his side. They could always trust that faithful hound with the baby they all loved, Till the day the child was missin' and the dog was drenched in blood.
Now the cries on Echo Mountain are a painful thing to hear. All the neighbors know the reason for the Johnsons' bitter tears. When a man don't use good judgment, it's the innocent who pay. Now the cries on Echo Mountain will haunt me to this day.
Jim picked up his rifle; he shot and killed the hound. Oh, but there inside the cabin was the baby safe and sound. When they found the back door open and two wolves lyin' still, They knew they'd made a grave mistake with the righteous blood they spilled.
Now up on Echo Mountain you'll find a lonesome grave Marked with a handmade marble stone that reads: "God bless the brave." When daddy tells the story of the dog that saved my life, He always asks forgiveness and the tears still fill his eyes.
Now the cries on Echo Mountain are a painful thing to hear. All the neighbors know the reason for the Johnsons' bitter tears. When a man don't use good judgment, it's the innocent who pay. Now the cries on Echo Mountain will haunt me to this day.
When a man don't use good judgment, it's the innocent who pay. Now the cries on Echo Mountain will haunt me to this day.
[Also recorded by Cedar Hill on "Stories" (2004) and by Dry Branch Fire Squad on "Echoes of the Mountain" (2009).