There's a rise Above the river Where the hangmans tree Hugs the rim A brace of crows Crowd the bank Like mourners On their way To the Mercy bridge A whistle blows A freight rolls by Pallbearers rest Their load It all seems clear Life's gone from here As he is lowered In the hole Chorus Mary seems uncertain now As she follows To his rest She lost her one true love And he lost his With a bullet
To the chest A life of crime Is a long short road Every moment filled With dread And never leaves much room For love In the shadows Of its dead Chorus Mary climbs the Mercy bridge Oer the water Dark and cold Shell wash away all her tears In the waters healing flow Chorus x 3 Oh Mary Can't you see It was not meant to be He was born to dangle Beneath the hanging tree