He was on his way home from Candletop

He was two weeks gone, and he'd thought he'd stop

At Web's and have a drink 'fore he went home to her

Andy Wo-Lo said hello

He said "How you doin'?"

Wo said "Sit down, I got some bad news and it's gonna hurt."

He said, "I'm your best friend, and you know that's right, but your young bride ain't home tonight

Since you been gone, she's been seeing that Amos boy, Seth."

He got mad, and he saw red

Andy said, "Boy, don't lose your head, cuz to tell you the truth, I been with her myself"



That's the night that the lights went out in Georgia

That's the night that they hung an innocent man

Don't trust your soul to no backward Southern lawyer

Cuz the judge in town has got blood stains on his hands



Well Andy got scared, and left the bar

Walkin' on home, cuz he didn't live far

You see, Andy didn't have many friends, and he just lost him one

Brother thought his wife must've left town

So he went home and finally found

The only thing Daddy had left him, and that was a gun

He went off to Andy's house

Slippin' through the back woods quiet as a mouse

And came upon some tracks too small for Andy to make

He looked through the screen at the back porch door

Saw old Andy there lyin' on the floor

In a puddle of blood, and he started to shake

Georgia patrol was making their rounds

So he fired a shot just to flag them down

A big-bellied sherriff grabbed his gun and said "Why'd you do it?"

Judge said guilty at a make-believe trial

Slapped the sherriff on the back with a smile

And said "Supper's waitin' at home, and I gotta get to it."



That's the night that the lights went out in Georgia

That's the night that they hung an innocent man

Don't trust your soul with a backward Southern lawyer

Cuz the judge in town has got blood stains on his hands



Well they hung my brother before I could say

The tracks he saw while on his way

To Andy's house and back that night were mine

And his cheatin' wife had never left town

That's one body that'll never be found

You see, little sister don't miss when she aims her gun



That's the night that the lights went out in Georgia

That's the night that they hung an innocent man

Don't trust your soul with a backward Southern lawyer

Cuz the judge in town has got blood stains on his hands

repeat