As mentioned in my last post above, here is another take on John Hardy, which I like very well:

John Hardy
(Dwight Diller)

John Hardy, he was a ramblin' man
Packed a gun and a razor every day
Hopped off a freight at the North Fork station,
There he aimed to stay, oh, boy,
There he aimed to stay.

Said he wasn't gonna work in no sunshine
And he wasn't gonna work in the rain
Just lay around till the pay train come
And he roll in a big crap game, oh, boy
Roll in a big crap game.

John Hardy was a-standin' in the Darksey bar
Unconcerned in the game
When a yella gal threw down a fifty-cent piece
Said, "Now John Hardy's in the game," oh, boy
"Now John Hardy's in the game."

John Hardy pulled out his blue steel gun
Laid it by his side
Sayin', "The very first punk that steals Lou's dough,
"Gonna blow his belly open wide," oh, boy,
"Gonna blow his belly open wide."

He rolled them bones on the barroom floor,
Won the twenty-cent pot.
Up grabbed a rounder for the very next throw,
It cost him a fatal shot, oh, boy,
Cost him a fatal shot.

"I never lied to my forty-four gun,
"And hit's never lied to me.
"That feller skinned me in craps last week,
"We're as even as can be," oh, boy,
We're as even as can be."

Oh, Lou cried, "Get out of this Shawnee Camp,
"You better get out when you can!" "No!
"When I leave it'll be at a walk.
"Nobody ever said I ran," oh, boy,
"Nobody ever said I ran."

John Hardy hid out in the camps and the hills,
There along the line,
When he slipped into Grover for to catch that train
The law had figgered out his mind, oh, boy
The law had figgered out his mind.

Tom Campbell throwed the cuffs around his wrists,
Carried John down to Keys Cove
Said, "The sheriff and the judge is a-waitin' for you there,
"Show you to your new home," oh, boy,
"Show you to your new home."

The jailer was a-comin' down the street,
With John Hardy's breakfast in his hand,
Oh, somebody'd wrote upon the plate,
"John Hardy's killed another man," oh, boy,
"John Hardy's killed another man."

John Hardy went before old Judge Herndon,
'Quirin' about his bail.
"Well, there ain't no bond for a murderin' man,
"Get John Hardy back in jail," oh, my,
"Get John Hardy back in jail."

John Hardy stood on the scaffold high,
In the year of ninety-four.
Said, "Heaven's baptized me in the cold Tugg Ford,
"I'm ready for eternity's door," oh, boy,
"Now I'm ready for that door."

"I repent of my ways and what I done
"But hit's too late to change.
"Oh, gamblin' and a-drinkin' have done me bad,
"Boys, don't follow in that game," oh, my,
"Boys, don't follow in that game."

John Hardy's woman was a-standin' by;
She was all dressed in red.
When they slipped the noose around his throat, says
"Johnny, how I hate to see you dead," oh, boy,
"Johnny, how I hate to see you dead."

They slipped the black cap over his head,
The hangman was a-standin' by
Hundreds of people had gathered 'round
To watch John Hardy die, oh, boy,
Watch John Hardy die.

The trapdoor dropped, and there he hung.
When they finally cut him down
They dumped his body in a six-foot hole
There in the buryin' ground, oh, my,
There in the buryin' ground.

John Hardy, he lived a gambler's life,
But he died a disciple's death.
His body lays a moulderin' in that cold tomb
But his soul has gone home to rest, oh, boy,
Yes, it's gone on home to rest.

From Dwight Diller, "New Plowed Ground",
Yew Pine Mountain Music, 1998

DRO