When first I took the ring off I was surprised to see
Another ring just underneath as white as snow can be
Through rich and poor, sickness and health until the day we die
Oh, the day I took the ring off I lay right down and cried
Oh mother, if you're listening please say a prayer for me
I love a lovely lady from the green hills of Tennessee
I know Jesus loves a sinner, He must love me most of all
Tell Brenda I am sorry but there's no love for me in Arkansas
No love in Arkansas
That Mississippi river, it's muddy and it's wide
And you can't see what you're leaving
'Til you look back from the other side
And there I saw the years I'd spent and all the years I'd left to go
I took that ring from my finger
And through it in the muddy Mississippi river down below
Oh mother, if you're listening please say a prayer for me
I love a lovely lady from the green hills of Tennessee
I know Jesus loves a sinner, He must love me most of all
Tell Brenda I am sorry but there's no love for me in Arkansas