Well, as long as Peace posted the DT lyrics, maybe I should post the corrected lyrics from Hudson. Looks like the the DT text came from OCR.

Sidney Allen

Come all you rounders if you want to hear
The story about a cruel mountaineer.
Sidney Allen was the villain's name.
It was in a court house he won his fame.

The caller called the juror right at half past nine.
Sidney Allen was the prisoner; he was right on time.
He mounted to the bar with his pistol in his hand
And he sent Judge Mathey to the promised land.

Just in a few minutes the place was in a roar
The dead and the dying were lying on the floor.
With a 39 special and a 38 fall
Sidney backed the sheriff up against the wall.

The sheriff he was in a mighty close place
With the mountaineer staring him right in the face.
He turned to the window and then he said,
"In a few more minutes we'll all be dead."

Sidney got on his pony and away he did ride,
His friends and his nephew riding by his side.
They all shook hands and swore they would hang
Before they would give up to the Valton gang.

Sidney Allen traveled, and he wandered all around
Until he was captured in that far western town.
They carried him to the station with a ball and chain,
And they put poor Sidney on that last-bound train.

They arrived at Sidney's home just at 11:41,
Met his wife and his daughter and his two little sons.
They all shook hands and they knelt down to pray,
And they said, "Oh, Lord don't take our Papa away."

The people all gathered from far and near
To see poor Sidney sentenced to the electric chair;
But to their great surprise the judge he said,
"He's going to the penitentiary instead."

DT #777
Laws E5
From Hudson, Folksongs of Mississippi
Collected by Mr. T.A. Bickerstaff of Tishomingo MS, from Mr. J.E. Quillen of Maud, Alabama.
This courthouse massacre occurred in Hillsville VA in 1912
SOF
apr97

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There are no tunes for any of the songs in the Hudson book, but I'd say that "Casey Jones" is a good possibility. Here's what Hudson says about the background story:

The ballad is apparently based on the sensational courthouse massacre at Hillsville, Virginia, in 1912. "when Judge Thornton L. Massie sentenced Floyd Allen to a year in the penitentiary...the sentence was received with a volley of pistol shots from the sentenced man and from twenty of his relatives and retainers in the court room. In less than a minute 200 shots had been fired; the judge, the sheriff, and the prosecuting attorney lay dead; the clerk of the court and several of the jurors were suffering from bullet wounds; and the murderers had swung onto their horses and headed into the mountains." [Literary Digest, March 30, 1912]

The next song in the Hudson book is Kenny Wagner, another great story.

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Here's the Traditional Ballad Index entry on the song:

Sidney Allen [Laws E5]

DESCRIPTION: The Allen Family is in court; Sidney and the others break out by shooting the judge and starting a gunfight in the court. Recaptured and brought home, he is sentenced to a long prison term instead of being executed
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1936 (Hudson)
KEYWORDS: prison fight trial feud
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
1912 - Trial of the Allen family
FOUND IN: US(Ap,MW,SE,So)
REFERENCES (8 citations):
Laws E5, "Sidney Allen"
Hudson 104, pp. 242-243, "Sidney Allen" (1 text)
Gardner/Chickering 140, "Sidney Allen" (1 text)
Thomas-Makin', p. 155, (no title) (1 text, 1 tune)
Warner 113, "Hillsville, Virginia" (1 text, 1 tune)
Burt, pp. 254-255, "Sidney Allen" (1 text)
Darling-NAS, pp. 191-192, "Sidney Allen" (1 text)
DT 777, SIDALLEN
Roud #612
RECORDINGS:
Vernon Dalhart, "Sydney Allen" (Domino 3642, 1925; Banner 1672, 1926)
Henry Whitter, "Sydney Allen" (OKeh 40109, 1924)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Casey Jones (I)" [Laws G1] (meter)
cf. "Claude Allen" [Laws E6] (subject)
Notes: The members of the Allen family seem to have been the backest of backwoodsmen. Floyd Allen was sentenced to a year in prison by Judge Thornton L. Massie, whereupon the whole family started shooting and made their escape. Later captured, Claud (no e, according to contemporary sources) and Floyd were eventually executed; Sidney ("Sidna") was sentenced to prison. - RBW
File: LE05

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