Here is Fiddlin' John Carson's version. It is interesting to reflect that the percentage of folksongs, both 20th century and pre-20th century, in Fiddlin' John's repertoire was greater than that in Uncle Dave Macon's.

CHARMING BETSY

Oh, I'm going round the mountain, Charming Betsy
I'm a-going round the mountain, Cora Lee
If I never no more for to see you
(It's) Pray, Lord, remember me

The first time I saw Charming Betsy
She's a-running on that eastbound train
And the next time I seen Charming Betsy
She's a-wearing the ball and chain

[ This next stanza is also repeated after remaining stanzas as a chorus]:
Goodbye, Miss Charming Betsy
Goodbye, little Cora Lee
If I never no more for to see you
Pray, Lord, remember me

Sometimes I live in the country
Sometimes I live in town
Sometimes I have a great notion
For to jump in the river and drown

Take these here rings that I give you
To wear them upon your hand
If I never no more for to see you
Don't you marry no railroad man

Source: transcription in Gene Wiggins 'Fiddlin' Georgia Crazy: Fiddlin' John Carson, His Real World and the World of his Songs' Uni of Illinois Press 1987, p 166-167.

Fiddlin' John Carson 'Charming Betsy' Okeh 40363. Recorded in Atlanta, Georgia, 15 April 1925.
PS.

Wiggins' discussion of the song is quite extensive. Of particular interest is his comment that, in his research, it is the only version he unearthed that seems to have no comic intent. In the second stanza, 'she's' in lines 2 and 4 are John's pronunciation for 'she was'. A printed version of the song, collected in 1909, escapes the 'problem' of having 2 women by substituting ''fore I leave', but practically all versions provide a 'Cora Lee'. The warning against 'marrying a railroad man' probably relates to a time in the mountains when rivalry existed between railroad men and local boys, particularly for women's favours. I like Wiggins' comment about 'ball and chain', a line that is common in folksong: 'It makes a good strong line for a stanza. Anyone who finds a ball and chain on him or her has experienced what students of Aristotle call "reversal of fortune"'. The following is also of interest:

That Betsy may have acquired the ball and chain for running illegal whisky is suggested by John's saying she was 'running' on the train where we should expect him to say she was 'riding' on it. T.S. McCamy, writing from Dalton, Georgia, in 1914, said the song was composed by a moonshiner whose still was discovered by the revenuers. Betsy stood off the officers until he got away, but she was captured. The 'heartless and ungrateful lover', according to McCamy, was making light of Betsy in the song. John could have known such a story, but I am sure he did not see the song as expressing any such attitude. [Wiggins p 168]

--Stewie.