When first I came to Louisville   Some pleasure there to find   A damsel there from Lexington   Was pleasing to my mind   Her rosy cheeks, her ruby lips,   Like arrows pierced my breast   And the name she bore was Flora   The lily of the West      I courted lovely Flora   Some pleasure there to find   But she turned unto another man   Which sore distressed my mind   She robbed me of my liberty   Deprived me of my rest   Then go, my lovely Flora   The lily of the West   Way down in yonder shady grove   A man of high degree   Conversing with my Flora there   It seems so strange to me   And the answer that she gave to him   It sore did me oppress   I was betrayed by Flora   The lily of the West      I stepped up to my rival   My dagger in my hand   I seized him by the collar and   I boldly bade him stand   Being mad to desperation   I pierced him in the breast   I killed a man for Flora   The lily of the West      I had to stand my trial   I had to make my plea   They placed me in the criminal box   And then commenced on me   Although she swore my life away   Deprived me of my rest   Still I love my faithless Flora   The lily of the West