Lyrics
One night I went out walkingDown a dark, untravelled streetAnd by a house all boarded upA man I chanced to meetI asked him as I passed him by"What brings you to this place?"For the lamplight clearly showedHis pale and haunted faceHe said' "A woman lived here long agoThe fairest of them all -I remember she wore a light blue dresshe night I came to callIn one hand I had a diamond ringIn the other hand a gunWhen she turned me down, I shot her to the groundAnd no one saw me run"He said, "I do not dress in prison bluesI wear no ball and chainBut wherever I go, and whatever I doI bear the mark of Cain"His words made me back awayHe said, "You have nothing to fear from meFor you're looking at a man whose soul is damnedThroughout eternityIn my dreams I see her stillLyin' by me deadI wake up in a cold sweatThe flames of hell around my bedYou can carve it on my headstoneThat all may read it plain'This dust that once was flesh and boneStill bears the mark of Cain'"