Well, today has been   A sad and lonesome day   Yeah, today has been   A sad and lonesome day   I'm just sitting here thinking   With my mind a million miles away      Well, they're doing the double shuffle   Throwing sand on the floor   They're doing the double shuffle   They're throwing sand on the floor   When I left my longtime darling   She was standing in the door      Well, my pa, he died and left me   My brother got killed in the war   Well, my pa, he died and left me   My brother got killed in the war   My sister, she ran off and got married   Never was heard of anymore      Samantha Brown lived in my house   For 'bout four or five months   Samantha Brown lived in my house   For 'bout four or five months   Don't know how it looked to other people   I never slept with her even once      Well, the road's washed out   Weather not fit for man or beast   Well, the road's washed out   Weather not fit for man or beast   Funny, the things you have the hardest time parting with   Are the things you need the least      And I'm forty miles from the mill   I'm dropping it into overdrive   I'm forty miles from the mill   I'm dropping it into overdrive   Set my dial on the radio   I wish my mother was still alive      I seen your lover-man comin'   Comin' across the barren fields   I see your lover-man comin'   Comin' across the barren fields   He not a gentleman at all, he's rotten to the core   He's a coward and he steals      Well, my captain, he's decorated   He's well-schooled and he's skilled   My captain, he's decorated   He's well-schooled and he's skilled   He's not sentimental, don't bother him at all   How many of his pals have been killed      Last night the wind was whispering   I was trying to make out what it was   Last night the wind was whispering something   I was trying to make out what it was   Yeah, I tell myself some thing's coming   But it never does      I'm gonna spare the defeated   I'm gonna speak to the crowd   I'm gonna spare the defeated   'Cause I'm going to speak to the crowd   I'm gonna teach peace to the conquered   I'm going to tame the proud      Well, the leaves are rustling in the wood   Things are falling off of the shelf   Leaves are rustling in the wood   Things are falling off the shelf   You're gonna need my help, sweetheart   You can't make love all by yourself