(Traditional)
Jesse James we understand
Has killed many a man

He robbed the Union trains
He stole from the rich and gave to the poor
He had a hand and a heart and a brain


Well it was on a Saturday night
The stars were shining bright

They robbed the Glendale train
And the people they did say from many miles away
It was those outlaws Frank and Jesse James


Now Jesse had a wife
Lived a lady all her life

Her children they were brave
But history does record
That Bob and Charlie Ford

Have laid poor Jesse in his grave

Well it was Bob and Charlie Ford

Those dirty little cowards
I wonder how they feel
For they ate of Jesse's bread

And they slept in Jesse's bed
And they laid poor Jesse in his grave


Well the people held their breath
When they heard of Jesse's death
They wondered how he came to fall

Well it was Robert Ford in fact
Who shot him in the back
While he hung a picture on the wall