Reverend mr. blackartists: the kingston trio (peak billboard position # 8 in 1963)words and music by billy edd wheeler, jed peters, jerry lieber, and mike stoller he rode easy in the saddle, he was tall and leanand at first ya thought nothin' but a streak of meancould make a man look so downright strongbut one look in his eyes and ya knowed ya was wronghe was a mountain of a man and i want ya to knowhe could preach hot hell in the freezin' snowhe carried a bible in a canvas sackthe folks just called him the reverend mr. blackhe was poor as a beggar but he rode like a kingand sometimes in the evenin' i could hear him singi got to walk that lonesome valleyi got to walk it by myselffor nobody else can walk it for mei got to walk it by myself.if ever i could have thought this man in blackwas soft , had any yellow up his backi gave that notion up the day a lumberjack came in and a-wasn't a-prayin'yeah, he kicked open the meetin'house doorand he cussed everybody up and down the floorand then when things got quiet in the placehe walked up and cussed in the preacher's face.he hit that reverend like the kick of a muleand to my way of thinkin' it took a pure foolto turn the other cheek to that lumberjackbut that's what he did, the reverend mr. black.he stood like a rock, a man among menthen he let that lumberjack hit him againand then with a voice as kind as could behe cut him down like a big oak tree when he saidyou got to walk that lonesome valleyyou got to walk it by yourselffor nobody else can walk it for youyou got to walk it by yourself.it's been many years since we had to partand i guess i learned his ways by hearti can still hear his sermons ring down in the valley where he used to singi followed him, yes sir, and i don't regret ithope that i'll always be a credit to his memory‘cause i want ya to understandthe reverend mr. black was my old manyou got to walk that lonesome valleyyou got to walk it by yourselffor nobody else can walk it for youyou got to walk it by yourself.you got to walk that lonesome valleyfade: you got to walk it by yourselffor nobody transcribed by ronald e. hontzronhontz@worldnet.att.net