It was the first time ever he saw her   He saw his future in a long white cotton gown   Sittin' there at the church house, she was gonna get baptized   They was gonna have dinner on the grounds      So the very next Friday, he got off at the sawmill   He slicked his hair back, he had a pocket full of pay   When she opened up the front door, he was grinnin' like a possum   As he handed her a daisy, she heard him say      Hey, let's go dancin' to the tune of a twenty dollar bill   They've got a fine fiddle band at the barn up on the hill   And by midnight we just might wind up dancin' standin' still   By my daddy's lantern light, let me walk you home      After they got married, it didn't seem like no time   They just sayin' their goodbye's, he's a goin' to the big world war   'Bout a lifetime later, she's a waitin' at the depot   He said I ain't a gonna leave you, no, never no more      Said let's go dancin' to the tune of a twenty dollar bill   They've got a fine fiddle band at the barn up on the hill   And by midnight we just might wind up dancin' standin' still   By my daddy's lantern light, let me walk you home      In front of friends and kinfolk and all of us grandkids   In the same little church house, in a long white cotton gown   He bent down and he kissed her, he said, I'm right behind you, honey   It wasn't long 'til we laid him in the ground      And now they're dancin' to the tune of a twenty dollar bill   They've got a fine fiddle band at the barn up on the hill   And by midnight they just might wind up dancin' standin' still   By the Father's lantern light, they're walkin' home