He came into town in the early springtime

To work with my daddy down in the mines

It was hot in the summer when he said goodbye

And he left me a secret I can no longer hide

Now the only thing here that is welcoming me

Is a cold rainy morning, and a Greyhound bus seat

He just had to come back and try to explain

Cry for your daughter, Appalachian rain



Mountains of sorrow, mountains of pain

You'll never give for my baby a name

My family's honor took it away

Cry for your daughter, Appalachian rain



I was washed in the blood of the river you filled

Now the sound of a shotgun rings through the hills

And the blood of her father runs through its veins

Cry for your daughter, Appalachian rain



Mountains of sorrow, mountains of pain

You'll never give for my baby a name

My family's honor took it away

Cry for your daughter, Appalachian rain



Tears in the hollow, tears of my shame

Cry for your daughter, Appalachian rain