I was born on Stagger Mountain in the sunshine and the snow  And leavin' was the first mistake I made;  But I hungered for the shadows in the valley down below  And the girl that danced the tune the devil played.  Her smile was like the blindin' light of sunshine on the snow  And the flashin' of her hair was black as sin.  And her body set the smokes of hell a-boilin' in my skull  When the fiddle of the devil made her spin.  Morning sunshine [sunshine] high on the mountain,  Where the air is pure and cold;  But there's darkness in the shadows  In the canyons of my soul.  The lantern cast a shadow like a demon on the wall  And the naked sweat was breathin' on her skin;  Then the room was spinning closer as her clothes began to fall  And the eagle started screamin' in my brain;  Then I saw the laughin' dagger and I heard the devil scream  And her bleeding heart was beating in my hand.  Then the darkness blew away and I was standin' by a tree  With a hanging rope a-danglin' from a limb.  Morning sunshine [sunshine] high on the mountain,  where the air is pure and cold;  But there's darkness in the shadows  in the canyons of my soul.