Print This Page#01204 Print This Page
One night it was dark and was stormy,
Along came a tramp in the rain;
He was making his way to some station,
To catch a long distance train.
"May I sleep in your barn tonight, mister?
It is cold and I'm out on the ground;
And the cold north winds they are whistling,
And I have no place to lie down.
"I have no tobacco or matches,
And I fear I won't do you no harm;
I will tell you my story, kind mister,
For it runs through my heart like a song.
"It was just a year ago last summer,
I shall never forget that sad day,
When a stranger came out from the city,
And he said that he wanted to stay.
"Oh, this stranger was fair, tall and handsome,
And he looked like a man who had wealth;
And he said that he came to this country,
Said he was staying here for his health.
"One night as I came from my workshop,
I was whistling and singing with joy;
I was expecting a kind-hearted welcome,
From my own darling wife and my boy.
"But what did I find but a letter,
It was placed in the room on the stand;
And the moment my eyes fell upon it,
I took it right up in my hands.
"Oh, this note said my wife and the stranger,
They are gone and have taken my son;
And I wonder if God up in heaven,
Only knows what the stranger has done."
Variant of Can I Sleep in Your Barn Tonight, Mister? popularized by Charlie Poole (1892-1931) and the North Carolina Ramblers (CO 15038-D, 1925). Sung by Catherine Powers (b.1938) of Pouch Cove, NL, and published in MacEdward Leach And The Songs Of Atlantic Canada © 2004 Memorial University of Newfoundland Folklore and Language Archive (MUNFLA).
