Johnny Cash
"The Ballad Of Annie Palmer" lyrics

The Ballad Of Annie Palmer

One time I went down to Jamaica
To a place called Rose Hall Plantation
They grow a lot of sugarcane
And tomatoes and things at Rose Hall now
It used to be just a sugarcane plantation
Back in the days of slavery

And they tell stories about the place
And about the great house at Rose Hall
That many, many years ago
There came from the country of Haiti
A lady named Annie Palmer
Who lived in that great house there

And she was the mistress of the plantation
She was the boss
Her word was law

Well, they tell a lot of tales about Annie
They say she had three husbands
One at a time, I guess
But they also tell tales about Annie
And the slaves
There were about five thousands slaves on the plantation
She had her favorites
And she had the ones
That weren't her favorites

Well, down on the sea
There are three tall palm trees waving in the breeze
And they say that maybe Annie Palmer's three husbands
Are buried under those palm trees

On the island of Jamaica
Quite a long, long time ago
At Rose Hall Plantation
Where the ocean breezes blow

Lived a girl named Annie Palmer
The mistress of the place
And the slaves all lived in fear to see
A frown on Annie's face

Where's your husband Annie?
Where's number two and three?
Are they sleeping beneath the palms
Beside the Caribbean sea?

At night I hear you riding
And I hear your lovers call
And I still can feel your presence
Round the great house at Rose Hall

Well, if you should ever go to see
The great house at Rose Hall
There's expensive chairs and china
And great paintings on the wall

They'll show you Annie's sitting room
And the whipping post outside
But they won't let you see the room
Where Annie's husbands died

Where's your husband Annie?
Where's number two and three?
Are they sleeping beneath the palms
Beside the Caribbean sea?

At night I hear you riding
And I hear your lovers call
And I still can feel your presence
Round the great house at Rose Hall

Authors: Johnny Cash