There's a low green valley
By the old Kentucky shore
Where I whiled many happy hours a way
Just a sitting and a singing
By the little cottage door
Where lived my darling Nelly Gray
Chorus:
Oh my poor Nelly Gray
They have taken you away
And I'll never see my darlin' any more
I am sitting by the river
And I'm weeping all the day
For you've gone from the old Kentucky shore
When the moon had climbed the mountain
And the stars were shining too
Then I'd take my darlin Nelly Gray
And we'd float down the river
In my little red canoe
While my banjo so sweetly I would play
My eyes are getting blinded
And I cannot see my way
Hark, there's someone knocking at the door
Oh, I hear the angels calling
And I see my Nelly Gray
Farewell to the old Kentucky shore
One night I went to see her
But she's gone, the neighbors say
The white man bound her with his chain
They have taken her to Georgia
For to wear her life away
As she toils in the cotton and the cane.
My canoe is underwater now
And my banjo is unstrung
I'm tired of living any more
My eyes shall look downward
And my songs shall be unsung
While I stay on the old Kentucky shore
Oh my darling Nelly Gray
Up in heaven there they say
That they'll never take you from me anymore
I'm coming, coming, coming,
As the angels clear the way
Farewell to the old Kentucky shore
Verse
| I | IV | I | V |
| I | IV | I-V | I |
Chorus
| IV | I | I | V |
| I | IV | I-V | I |