I used to live on the mountain top, but now I live in the town,
Staying at a boarding house and courting Betsy Brown
Fare thee well Old Joe Clark, Fare thee well I’m gone
Fare thee well Old Joe Clark and goodbye Betsy Brown
Old Joe had a yellow cat, could neither sing nor pray,
She took a bath in a buttermilk jug, and washed her sins away
Old Joe Clark he had a mule, his name was Morgan Brown,
And every tooth in that mule's head was sixteen inches round
Old Joe Clark he had a house, full fifteen stories high,
And every story in that house was filled with chicken pie
I wish I was a sugar-tree, standing in the middle of town
And every time my sweetheart passed, I'd shake some sugar down
If I had a sweetheart, I’d sit them on the shelf
And every time they smiled at me, I’d get up there myself