The Georgia court room was crowded
As Ellie May took the stand
You see, she was accusing
Reverend Joe Henry
Of being a no good preaching man
Yes, she was
She said, the Reverend
Partook of my lovely body
The preacher said, she lies
The judge said, now listen
I'll do the talking and
This courts gonna justify
Yes, the will
Now, the prosecuting attorney
Started pacing the floor
He was sweating and making threats
The judge's wife
Sitting back in the back row
Said, hey honey, I'll check
Cause Reverend Joe Henry is a good man
He preached all over the bottom land
He spoke so a child could understand
And there oughta be a whole lot more good folks
Like Joe Henry
Preaching in the bottom land
The judge said, shut up, Sally
Will the defense state it's case
But the defense walked to the jury box
With a stern look on his face
One by one he pointed to the jurors
And said, the Reverend picked cotton by your side
He blessed your children
When they were born
And he cried when your mama died
Yes, he did
Then he turned his back on the jury
And his face was getting red
Then he pounded his fists
He shook the room
And he whirled around and he said
Now lookie here
Reverend Joe Henry is a good man
He preached all over the bottom land
He spoke so a child could understand
And there oughta be a whole lot more good folks
Like Joe Henry
Preaching in the bottom land
Yeah
Somebody cussed and said
Hang him, he's guilty
The judge said, now you listen here
One more outburst of emotion like that
And I'll have the whole courtroom cleared
Yes, I will
Then the foreman addressed
The court and said
I've known the Reverend
All of his life
Why he got shot up so bad
Back there in the war
That he couldn't even
Take himself a wife
You know what I'm talking about
Don't you?
Now I swore I never would tell a soul
But his life's laying on the line
And there ain't no way
On God's green Earth
That the Reverend could done this crime
Cause Reverend Joe Henry is a good man
He preached all over the bottom land
He spoke so a child could understand
And there oughta be a whole lot more good folks
Like Joe Henry
Preaching in the bottom land