Adrienne Young      Pretty Ella Arkansas   Birthed 9 daughters and a son   She was a sure shot with a pistol   And here bare feet loved to run   There was raven hair and brown skin   Green eyes and a crooked smile   There were freckles on her shoulders   From sun-kissed country miles      Well her Papa died in prison   The day she turned 16   Set Ella free from a life of sin   When he got that old TB      Ella’d never known her Mama   ‘cept for that picture on the wall   Oh but she blessed her in her prayers each night   Knowin’ someday she would call      Pretty Ella Arkansas   Dangdest thing I ever saw   Racing with a northbound freight   Choose your car and jump inside   Keep the faith and hold on tight   Everything’s gonna be alright   For pretty Ella Arkansas   Just keep following the light      Was in the heat of that same summer   When she met her children’s Pa   At a downtown dance in Hot Springs   Sweat and rhythm filled the hall   When Miller Jacobs saw our girl   He had to blink and rub his eyes   Thought the whiskey must be playin’ tricks   Or there was an angel in disguise      Pretty Ella Arkansas   Dangdest thing I ever saw   Racing with a northbound freight   Choose your car and jump inside   Keep the faith and hold on tight   Everything’s gonna be alright   For pretty Ella Arkansas   Just keep following the light      It happened so fast   Winter blew past   The bride she was dressed in all white      Pretty Ella Arkansas   Birthed 9 daughters and a son   Became the Mother she’d always wished she’d had   Lived ripe and full to 91   Old Miller Jacobs loved that girl   And when they laid herin the ground   Everybody knew he’d be following soon   As the rain came pourin’down      Pretty Ella Arkansas   Dangdest thing I ever saw   Racing with a northbound freight   Choose your car and jump inside   Keep the faith and hold on tight   Everything’s gonna be alright   For pretty Ella Arkansas   Just keep following the light